Looking guilty with hot sweats

My flushes were terrible.
I stood up and left a complete wet patch in the shape of my 'underneath' on a bus seat.
That was a bad day..

I should be passed the sweats ( 62 ) but I’ve been on tamoxifen for nearly 10 years and whilst the sweating has receded it’s not gone away completely. I finish tamoxifen in April and hoping my body becomes normal again !! My worst experience was in the queue at M&S when my nose dripped right on to my top lip !! I had no nasal hair so nothing to stop it running !! . Daughter was mortified

Winniewit I empathise immensely. I too have terrible hot flushes. I have found by drinking fewer caffeinated drinks the flushes are much improved. I'm on the very early end of menopause, I started at 41/42 and I'm mid 40s now, period free for 3 years.
I'm unable to have HRT due to health issues and cancer in the family.
I tried Black Cohosh and a few other things but they are pricey and didn't seem to have made a difference.
I hope you find something that suits you ?

I was lucky to have a relatively easy menopause - started at age 42 brought about by the stress of a divorce according to my GP. But I had a few hot flushes, mainly in bed at night. However, I had an awful experience when I had a bad hot flush while being observed teaching by an Ofsted inspector! It was in the days when they observed for a whole lesson and mine was going really well until the flush began! I had to stop what I was doing to grab a tissue to wipe down my dripping forehead and as I felt a bit faint, I sat down at my desk, not something a teacher should do during an inspection.

As I was beginning to panic about how I could continue, a lovely 12 year old girl asked me if I was alright, saying that I looked like her granny while she was " having a moment!" At that point I burst out laughing, thanked her for her concern and said that she was the first person who had compared me to a granny rather then a mum! I noticed that the inspector was trying not to laugh!

I just carried on with the lesson as I really had no choice but was expecting some negative feedback about the pace or amount of learning archived in the lesson. However, I was graded as outstanding by the inspector ( a man) who commented that I handled a " minor medical matter" very professionally without any noticeable impact on the lesson objectives. My headteacher thought it was very funny when I told her what had happened but went on to embarrass me in front of all the staff when she mentioned my lesson in a staff meeting!

They always seem to come on when you're just about to make an important phone call or something, too.

After a hysterectomy and forced menopause,I went onto HRT. Then there was a scary report about breast cancer and they took me off it. Menopausal symptoms came crashing down on me and eventually I was put back on a gel based Oestrogen . I was really happy and back to ‘normal ‘. That was until another health scare report and off I came again
No one tells you that coming off HRT can possibly take you back to square one.
I am now 72 (20 years later) and still suffer from hot flushes and night sweats, vaginal dryness and lack of libido. I absolutely refuse to go back on HRT and have just had to learn to live with it.
Sympathy for anyone going through this.

I was just thinking of my mum, and how youthful and vital she was, and whether the sharp decline in her health was when she was taken off hrt..
Maybe I'm overthinking things, but it has never occurred to me before.

MissAdventure when your mum was on HRT she was well, youthful and vital. I feel like that now so I am never coming off HRT.
At least you mum had some extra youthful years which she enjoyed. I would hold on to that thought but when you reach that stage in your life, do your research (NICE guidelines for the menopause gives you the NHS best practice recommendations) and by taking HRT you will end up with strong bones, no vaginal atrophy, normal (pre menopausal) libido, youthful energy and appearance and a far superior quality of life.

Well, I have to weigh that up against the risk of breast cancer being quadrupled for me..
The doctor told me that was too great a risk.

Well the risk of breast cancer on HRT is nowhere near quadruple. Do you have a history of breast cancer in your family or some other medical condition which raises your risk?

Every woman in the UK has a 1 in 8 chance of developing breast cancer. If your doctor is saying that by taking HRT you would have a 1 in 2 chance then either you have a very high risk factor personal to you or your doctor is talking bollocks.

I go by the NHS figures. Read up about them and if your doctor is scaremongering then ask to be referred to a menopause clinic to see someone who actually knows what they are talking about.
It is appalling but some doctors spout absolute rubbish to back up their personal prejudices. The NICE guidelines are designed to ensure that all our NHS doctors are up to date with the current research.

62 and still getting hot flushes . Mostly at night - I always wake up with the duvet in knots. Such a pain.

Yes, my daughter had breast cancer.
Its a first degree relative.
I don't know all the ins and outs and risks and so on, because we had no breast cancer in our family until then.

Sailed through the menopause. Never really noticed it.

Years of sickness every month in my 20s, debilitating migraines in my 30s/40's and early 50's. Periods stopped, migraines stopped, no hot flushes. Mid 60s now and apart from being a grumpy mare think I've been let off lightly because of all the years of suffering every month from my teens through to late 50's

Fished menopause at 46 with nairy an issue except fog brain from time to time... so pleased to be done with it all. Never felt better!

I went through the menopause at 52, no side effects for which I was thankful as I'm epileptic & HRT is limited. I did however "drip" if I got hot & sweaty in my 40's, a colleague used call it "having a tropical moment".

I do sympathise with those of you who are having a hard time

I'm another of the lucky ones. At 45 I had three very heavy periods so went to the doctor who said I was probably starting the menopause. I never had another period. That was it, they just stopped. End of. No hot flushes or mood swings or anything strange, life just went on. But I really sympathise with other women who suffer so much.

@ Winniewit I sympathise because I have exactly the same problem. Sweat dripping off my hair, which I have had to cut short, massive wet patch on front of my t-shirt, even though it’s cold. So embarassing. Doctor has put me on medication but, whilst it has helped a bit, I really hate going out anywhere as no matter where we go my hairstyle dissolves into a wet mess after a short while and my eyes start to sting as sweat makes any makeup run into them.

I've always been prone to sweating a little more than average but during this last hot summer I was literally dripping sweat! I was actually grateful when the cooler weather arrived. Fortunately I'm not getting any night sweats as yet - but really need to do something to tackle the day sweats for this coming summer, especially if its another hot one. I do remember another Gransnetter mentioning she carried around a couple of dry flannels for mopping up - might try that one as tissues are totally useless

I have had hot sweats all my life so never noticed Menopause. My younger son gets them too. I still get them but now I just accept it's just the way I'm wired. Nothing I can do about it anyway - nothing doctors gave me ever helped.

Winniewit I am 52 and have been having hot sweats for the last 4 yrs. They are horrendous, I remember last January out shopping with my Dd in the snow. I was in the shop one minute and outside taking my clothes off the next! Sweating, dripping and redfaced holding my coat, cardigan etc at arms length and people going past all bundled up for the cold weather, it was absolutely ridiculous! My Dd found it hilarious, I tried laughing it off and I have obviously since moved onto a stronger HRT.

I am exactly the same but it's not menopause, I am past it, it is Hyperhidrosis and it is truly vile .... I look such a mess! There are tablets you can take that do work very well to stop it which I use on special occasions, but they literally stuck the juice out of you and your mouth gets so dry it's hard to actually speak - my lips stick to my teeth! They are called Pro-Banthine 15mg so maybe ask your GP for some to try? For me they sort of stop the sweat, but you can literally see (and feel!) the heat trying to burst out of my skin, my face is beetroot with them, but it is better than the sweating - good luck! x

I’ve been put on Fluoxetine; a mild anti depressant with the side effect of stopping the flashes. I’ve been on it for a month now. It seems to be working.