Hot Flushes

Thanks Zappy

Just seen this. I’ll give it a try. Went through menopause 13 years ago but still having hot flushes. Drives me bats.

Thanks for the suggestion. I've tried taking black cohosh the last few days but have felt uncharacteristically on edge/anxious. I'm not sure if it's a side effect for me or coincidence, but royal jelly didn't occur to me. I'll look into that.

I was recommended Femarelle years ago by a Consultant Gynaecologist, and it made a big difference.

Juicywords

I was recommended Femarelle years ago by a Consultant Gynaecologist, and it made a big difference.

Thanks I’ll look it up. ?

Zappy50, thanks, I'll tell my friend, who's suffering badly with flushes.

I remember, when menopausal, asking my mother (in her 70s) how long they went on for. Her reply 'For ever!'.

Thankfully, mine stopped after a few years!

Mine are like my thermostat has gone? I get a bit cold (as normal) so I put a jumper on - instantly I’m on fire! Take jumper off - get cold again. Put jumper back on - fire!
I also notice I get a power surge (someone else gave me that phrase) when I wake up. As if my body is going ‘right we’re on again’? And when I get in bed - bit cold so snuggle in - minute later we’re on fire again. Drives me bats.

Yes, its like I have no control over my bodies heating system. Every night window wide open. Covers off and then ooh, cold again. Any tips on how to sleep better would be great

I started with the hot flushes 13 years ago i tried royal jelly, i thought it was working but come the summer they got worse, my doctor put me on HRT but i was only allowed to go on it for 3 years after which he took me off, they took a while to come back but did with avengence i moved house and doctors, by that time i was getting hot flushes every hour and through out the night and a massive one when i awoke, my GP checked my thyroid and noticed it was on borderline, and said it was okay but if i noticed any changes to contact him, i noticed i was becoming tired and my hair was becoming thin he checked my thyroid again and put me on thyroid medication and one beta blocker a day, that was about 7 years ago and i have to say not long after my flushes were drastically reduced , i still get the odd ones but life has improved

It's awful when everything is dismissed by Doctors as the menopause. Many years after menopause it can be anything but! Quite often it is, as Maddison states, a different cause entirely. Thyroid problems often create the broken thermostat problem! Along with all sorts of other things which plague older women when they are missing Oestrogen - like hair loss, constant fatigue, poor sleep, irritability, sweating and freezing, bladder problems, weight gain etc. Eventually my help came through seeing an Endocrinologist. Extensive blood tests, urine tests, the lot. We're all so different - we don't need to be dismissed as one group, ever. It didn't take long to sort out my health after many years struggling. Wish I had done it years earlier!

Grandmafrench

It's awful when everything is dismissed by Doctors as the menopause. Many years after menopause it can be anything but! Quite often it is, as Maddison states, a different cause entirely. Thyroid problems often create the broken thermostat problem! Along with all sorts of other things which plague older women when they are missing Oestrogen - like hair loss, constant fatigue, poor sleep, irritability, sweating and freezing, bladder problems, weight gain etc. Eventually my help came through seeing an Endocrinologist. Extensive blood tests, urine tests, the lot. We're all so different - we don't need to be dismissed as one group, ever. It didn't take long to sort out my health after many years struggling. Wish I had done it years earlier!

Totally agree, a lot of problems are put down to the menopause, when they might not be, you made me smile by saying thyroid can brake the thermostat

Can you ask to see an endocrinologist through your GP or do you have to go private?

Sorry - also interested on behalf of my daughter who is always cold, cannot lose weight, has few body hairs, often tired - all (I think) symptoms of thyroid problems. Her GP says there’s nothing wrong with her. I’d love to get it properly checked.

I'm only going on personal experience, and experience of people I know, (no medical qualification whatsoever), BUT

Hope you are being a bit jokey when you say the Doctor says there's nothing wrong with her and she can at least say that she has had relevant blood tests to establish whether her Thyroxine levels are borderline or whether, in fact, she might already have Hypothyroidism - if that's your worry. If her blood results show that's not the problem and she's not very well, she ought ask for a referral to an Endocrinologist for further investigation - a sort of health MOT ! A GP can only know so much - so someone who specialises in hormonal problems is likely to have different ideas and probably offer much more help.

If the GP is happy to refer, from what I recall when I lived in the UK, he'll write to one for an appointment through the NHS. In the unlikely event that he refuses - because he thinks he knows the answer to all things/or he is adamant that your Daughter is fit and well, then she would possibly do better to consider a private consultation. This usually requires a letter of referral, but checking with the Endo's private Secretary would confirm this and also let you know the cost of a consultation before you made up your mind whether to go down that route. I think that the worst thing is doing nothing when you feel that your health is just not right. Carrying on putting up with stuff - isn't that what a lot of us women do? A diagnosis is most important - feeling that you are being a nuisance or being dismissed because you have vague problems which you are putting up with, while not having much hope of feeling better...and soon...is not really the way to go. Just one life we have and it's been pretty dire over the last long months - so getting out there and attempting to get ourselves well is probably a really good idea! Good luck.

Not really jokey - throwaway comment I guess. Sorry.
It was a few years ago. She had blood tests and the Gp said it was borderline so there was nothing he could do. She’s no better but admittedly no worse. Her weight is her biggest concern. She eats very healthily and exercises but can’t lose weight. It upsets her I know. Thanks for the info though. I’ll pass it on - and for me too. ?

I simply replace the missing oestrogen. Been doing that for 32 years.
I do not intend going through the menopause ever.
It may start with hot flushes, night sweats and sleep disturbances but the truly debilitating life changing effects can take years to manifest themselves, osteoporosis, vaginal atrophy, incontinence, osteoarthritis, loss of libido, prolapse, even Alzheimer’s is linked to loss of oestrogen.
Instead of trying to find help from unproven self medication you have the choice today to replace the oestrogen you lack which is the natural proven solution.

Who are all these doctors who put everything down to menopause? Mine never bring it up. The most I've got in acknowledgement, when I raised it, was that hopefully in about five years I'll go through menopause and the couple of things I'm dealing with will go away then. It's like it's not even on their radar and I'm not that far from 50.

Esspee

I simply replace the missing oestrogen. Been doing that for 32 years.
I do not intend going through the menopause ever.
It may start with hot flushes, night sweats and sleep disturbances but the truly debilitating life changing effects can take years to manifest themselves, osteoporosis, vaginal atrophy, incontinence, osteoarthritis, loss of libido, prolapse, even Alzheimer’s is linked to loss of oestrogen.
Instead of trying to find help from unproven self medication you have the choice today to replace the oestrogen you lack which is the natural proven solution.

So how does that work? Someone above said they could only have HRT for three years. How are you getting it longer and who has guided you with that? What kind of doctor? Does this mean you'll have periods forever? I can do without those. At what part of the menopausal stage did you start HRT? Sorry so many questions.

Esspee

I simply replace the missing oestrogen. Been doing that for 32 years.
I do not intend going through the menopause ever.
It may start with hot flushes, night sweats and sleep disturbances but the truly debilitating life changing effects can take years to manifest themselves, osteoporosis, vaginal atrophy, incontinence, osteoarthritis, loss of libido, prolapse, even Alzheimer’s is linked to loss of oestrogen.
Instead of trying to find help from unproven self medication you have the choice today to replace the oestrogen you lack which is the natural proven solution.

You must have a very understanding doctor. I was on it for 8 years with no problems but doc after doc insisted I come off it. One even told me to go cold turkey which was horrendous. I had no underlying reasons to stop taking it but they refused to keep prescribing. That was about 8/9 years ago now.

CafeAuLait. Government guidance is very different to the nonsense spouted by many out of date GPs, (Google NICE guidelines menopause) My consultant feels that eventually almost everyone will be recommended HRT as the long term benefits greatly outweigh any disadvantages.
If your doctor doesn’t want to prescribe it you can ask for a referral to a menopause clinic where they are more likely to be up to date.
The best time to start HRT is perimenopause so when your oestrogen supplies start dropping enough to cause symptoms, you simply top them up and “hey presto” no menopause.

I had a surgical menopause at 40 and the wonderful lady surgeon inserted a pellet of oestrogen before sewing me up. It gave an almost instant result. I felt wonderful, especially compared to the other ladies who had had hysterectomies the same day but we’re given no oestrogen (male surgeon).

I am really clued up about oestrogen only HRT. Combined therapy, given when you have a womb, is something you would have to research. I know some regimes do away with periods.

Polarbear2. I hear horror stories like your’s frequently. Ladies who have been thriving on HRT made to come off it by out of date doctors.
Being assertive is the only way to handle these dinosaurs. I have mentored quite a number of ladies who wanted to have or to continue HRT but were being blocked by prejudiced doctors.
The single most effective technique was to get thoroughly clued up on the official NHS guidelines, print off a copy and take it with you to the consultation. When you get told nonsense such as “HRT is only possible for X years” ask why they are giving you advice that goes against NHS “best practice”. Offer them your copy and if the refusal continues ask to be referred to a menopause clinic.

Esspee

I simply replace the missing oestrogen. Been doing that for 32 years.
I do not intend going through the menopause ever.
It may start with hot flushes, night sweats and sleep disturbances but the truly debilitating life changing effects can take years to manifest themselves, osteoporosis, vaginal atrophy, incontinence, osteoarthritis, loss of libido, prolapse, even Alzheimer’s is linked to loss of oestrogen.
Instead of trying to find help from unproven self medication you have the choice today to replace the oestrogen you lack which is the natural proven solution.

Weren’t you the one who couldn’t get up the other day? Who knows what years of HRT do to your body.

The body ages DiscoDancer1975. That doesn’t change.

I was crewing a boat yesterday, everything worked beautifully.

Years of replacing the missing oestrogen means I don’t suffer from osteoporosis as my mother did. I don’t suffer from vaginal atrophy, loss of libido, osteoarthritis, incontinence, prolapse, etc. etc. No disadvantages have appeared as yet and my last consultant (top in her field) reckons it would save the NHS a fortune if everyone took it as most money spent on elderly women goes on entirely avoidable treatment such as hip replacements.

Thanks for your response Esspee. I'm not ready to consider whether HRT would be an option for me in future, but it's good to hear your experience. In regards to the above post, it's fair to say you don't know if you would have had any of those things you mention. Maybe you would have, maybe not. My mother has never had HRT and has experienced none of those things herself. Nor did my maternal grandmother. We all react differently. I'm hopeful genetics might be on my side.