At what age did you start getting hot flashes, and what can I expect next?
I started getting hot flashes last fall. It was weird, because it was every day around the same time for a couple of weeks and then it just stopped. Now I get them at night. I haven't had them so bad that I wake up with wet sheets, but they do wake me out of a sound sleep. I swear last night I could actually feel my bladder suddenly fill up, so I got up to pee. Then I just tried to really relax and allow myself to fall aslepp, dispite being very, very hot! Eventually, I did want my blanket again.
Does all this sound familiar? Ok, what comes next?
I have been getting night sweats so I decided to switch to 100% cotton everything on the bed. I got a cotton quilt, cotton blanket and cotton sheets. It actually made a huge difference.
I was in my mid-40's when mine started. They would come on so suddenly and be so intense that at times I had to run out of the building into the fresh air because I was just sooooo hot and sweaty! Then the night sweats started. OMG! What misery! Waking up at night completely soaked. I now sleep with two towels hung on my bed post - one to wipe myself with and one to put down under me so I don't have to sleep on wet sheets!
I'm 53 now. The hot flashes have pretty much gone away. I still do have the occasional night sweat, but nothing like it used to me!
Getting old is hell!
It's familiar. Took estroven, was only a little better. Finally had to take an HRT. The doc told me it would take 2 weeks to help, it took 1 night. I slept 50 percent better the first night. Glass of cold ice water by the bed helps.
I was in my early 40's when they started.
They weren't bad at first, but they did get worse to the point where lack of sleep just made me pretty grouchy.
Estroven helped me get control of the hot flashes/night sweats and since I was sleeping better my mood improved a lot.
I'm to the point now (51 yrs old) where I've stopped taking Estroven and I no longer have hot flashes but I'm still getting a period every now and then.
At this point it'll be great when they stop completely!
I started them around 35, was fully menopausal by 38 and I still have hot flashes now (at 54). I hope your experience is much better!
The flashes I have at night usually start with a burst of adrenalin that makes me fly out of bed before I even realize what's going on (my eyes snap open, my skin crawls, my heart pounds and I feel nauseous). My bladder fills and I sweat for 10 or 15 minutes.
Taking melatonin at bedtime helps me. It makes me groggy enough that I sometimes stay in bed, just throwing off the covers during the sweating.
Try Black Cohosh, it's a natural herb (not related to hash/hashish-lol) my Dr recommended it as I went thru menopause early due to a hysterectomy,and the hot flashes were unbearable at times. This stuff really did help,you can find it Walamrt or gnc, health food store ! I feel for ya!It won't last forever,....
C. S.
Started getting hot flashes at 54, still have them nine years later. First you get cold, then it seems to hit a tipping point, then it gets really hot, starting at the chest/throat area and radiates upward. Then it seems to go to flop sweat!! The black cohash did nothing, it says on the package that it might even cause hot flashes in some people. That would be me. Hormone replacement therapy worked well for a while--I actually was cutting the pills in quarters, and they were still effective. But you have to come off them eventually. Flaxseed oil capsules and Vit E also alleviate the problem a little. Best thing for sleeping is a small fan next to the bed blowing in your face. After the hot flash, I get cold, so just throw those blankets to the side--you'll want them again in a few minutes. Most people have hot flashes for a short time, some people have them the rest of their life. You can tell the people who have them--they are the ones shoveling the snow in their driveway in their pjs and flip flops. Hope this helps.
45--but they came and went for a year. I now am 54 and they are back continuosly.
