12 years of hot sweats!

Try 39-70 of hot moments, sweats and dripping nights !!

I've had hot flushes for 35 years. Still not used to them. Not so bad in Winter though- saves on the heating!

I am 64, went through the menopause about 15 years ago, took HRT for about 3 years then. Still get night sweats sometimes.

I also take an antidepressant, it has stopped the hot flushes and I sleep so so much better. Sometimes don’t wake till 8!

So far i am up to 25 years of sweats, flushes and the rest with no sign of it ending.

I have been menopausal for 18 years, I don't get mood swings but still have to sleep with only a sheet over me - mostly to absorb the sweat, rather than keeping me warm. When my other half says 'are you hot?' I just remind him that 'my thermostat is broken!',

I feel reassured by this thread.
I take a lot of medication for my condition and I still have hot flushes, so I assumed it’s my meds.
I do the duvet on/off thing 2 or 3 times a night and have a fan in every room. I keep the bedroom like Antarctica.

I had a hysterectomy 6 years ago, just as my menopause was ending. I thought my hot flushes would go away, but no.

It’s reassuring to know others have similar experiences, but I sympathise with everyone, as these bl**dy hot flushes are a real pain !

Well have to just relate my experience...went on HRT at 50 my mother suffered from osteoporosis...so my Dr suggested HRT also was having the other usual side effects...I was in it for 10 years and felt wonderful. Was advised not to stay on any longer as the ideas of its benefits changed ! I am now 77 have had a very active life..but owing to damage from a road accident had a THR last October very successful....but now a very sad turn of events ! I have just been diagnosed with Breast Cancer and due to have a Masectomy next week !...my consultant said nothing to do with HRT as too long ago ...After the initial shock and panic I am resigned to the operation...not going for reconstruction...just in and out ASAP..only one night stay !...the greatest downside for me is the tablets I am now on Estrogen Blockers...to me this is now going to take away all the benefits I have strived all my life to ensure continue, healthy diet exercise etc...the return of hot flushes etc...life isn’t always very fair...but I have been lucky enough to have travelled and done so much this far....

I'm in the same boat as a lot of you! Had a hysterectomy in my mid-forties, took HRT for about 10 years and then immediately became menopausal. I've no idea now, why my doctor took me off it. I still get hot flushes at night (am 74), and fling off blankets etc all night. My favourite thing is a pillow called a Chill Max (I think). Robert Dyas sell them. Its a blue plastic sort of pillow but its bliss to put your hot cheek on it in the middle of the night, as its very cold. Have recommended them to loads of my friends - everyone v. pleased. I've even been known to give one to someone as a birthday present.

I took HRT for many years, but was persuaded by my GP to come of it. I’ve had hot flushes ever since. In retrospect I wish I’d never come off it. Many women now take it for the rest of their lives, and I believe the health benefits far outweigh the negatives. At 74 probably a bit late to start taking it again!

Try drinking sage tea. I made it myself from sage growing in the garden but I expect it’s available in health food stores. I wouldn’t say it’s the most pleasant drink I’ve ever taken but it stopped my hot flushes.

Yes 15 years in and still get them though they are much reduced these days. Not gonna worry about it as I’m used to it now.

Sophianana I had a total hysterectomy when I was 38. They took everything including my cervix. I was on HRT for 16 years which was great. Then had to come off them. Since coming off it I get hot flushes , night and day sweats daily I am now 62. I thought as I didn't have ovaries I wouldn't have any oestrogen . Then found out we can store oestrogen in our fat cells. I don't bother taking anything for them just put up with it. A friend of mine tries anything going as she can't have HRT nothing works.
My nan was still getting the flushes and sweats up until she died aged 89.

It's all part of being a woman.

I’ve never had a hot flush although I did have lots of other menopausal symptoms. Can I gently suggest you cut out dairy for a couple of weeks and see what happens? That has helped some people.

I found that I had hot sweats at night if I drank alcohol in the evening. I went tea total for a few years and slept well.

I am 77 and still have hot flushes, more in the day than at night. I hate it in shops that are too hot and have to wear layers of clothing in the winter rather than thick sweaters. I was on HRT for many years but had to come off it when there were concerns about its long term use. When I first came off it the flushes were terrible and the GP at the time put me on Lisinopril which made no difference except to lower my blood pressure which was low to start with. They did start to subside a bit until I had breast cancer two years ago and was put on Anastrozole, unfortunately one of the side effects is hot flushes and they are so bad that I am considering coming off it. I have tried all sorts of things but found nothing effective to date. My sister-in-law had a very early menopause and has never had a hot flush.

I was chatting to a female GP about the heavy periods I was having - nothing wrong just part of being premenopausal - and she remarked that most GP's, and the medical profession generally, were only just starting to learn about the menopause and how it impacted women (this was about 10 years ago) - partly because women didn't discuss problems with their GP and also because a lot of GP's tended to just dismiss things as being 'part of the aging process'. I bet our Grans and Mums had the same problems, it just wasn't a subject for discussion. I get the occasional hot flush now and then, no pattern to it apart from, if I have had a stressful day it seems to trigger one that night. Not really had them during the day at all though.

Jilly43

Well have to just relate my experience...went on HRT at 50 my mother suffered from osteoporosis...so my Dr suggested HRT also was having the other usual side effects...I was in it for 10 years and felt wonderful. Was advised not to stay on any longer as the ideas of its benefits changed ! I am now 77 have had a very active life..but owing to damage from a road accident had a THR last October very successful....but now a very sad turn of events ! I have just been diagnosed with Breast Cancer and due to have a Masectomy next week !...my consultant said nothing to do with HRT as too long ago ...After the initial shock and panic I am resigned to the operation...not going for reconstruction...just in and out ASAP..only one night stay !...the greatest downside for me is the tablets I am now on Estrogen Blockers...to me this is now going to take away all the benefits I have strived all my life to ensure continue, healthy diet exercise etc...the return of hot flushes etc...life isn’t always very fair...but I have been lucky enough to have travelled and done so much this far....

Best wishes for your operation Jilly43. I have done some research and at our age, I am guessing you were born in 1943 like me, and the difference between taking an oestrogen blocker and not taking in terms of cancer returning is very small. It also adversely affects your bones. I just had my second mammogram after the surgery and if all is well I will speak to the Oncologist with a view to coming off it.

I used to take sage capsules when I was first going through the menopause and they seemed to help quite a bit, a friend takes red clover that works for her.

As my HRT patches haven't been available over the lockdown I'm now taking an Oestrogen tablet each night together with estradiol gel rubbed in. 18 years in, I do still get hot flushes several times every night. I'm 70. I'll stay on HRT forever if I can. My skin is hardly lined, my bones are fine and I believe the benefits definitely outweigh the negatives. I am in the low risk category.

Oh dear. I was really hoping that after 11 years my hot flushes would soon stop. I can’t take HRT for health reasons. One or two people have said that a mild antidepressant helped them. Did they experience any other side effects from the antidepressant? I’m not depressed and don’t want to be affected by them

Oh the joy! I’m 70 and still getting far too hot at night. Ridiculous ! Throwing summer weight
Duvet off. And opening windows!

Ask your GP/gynae about Megace (megestrol acetate), a little known synthetic progesterone drug. It was recommended to me after I'd had breast cancer and chemo threw me into the menopause. A specialist lady consultant at the John Radcliffe recommended it. It comes in 160mg tablets and I have to cut them into quarters as they discontinued the 40mg ones! It's worked for me. I still take it. Most GP's have not heard of it but it's worth a try.

Welcome to my world. I'm nearly 67 and the same. A few years ago when working in the community, I met a 90 year old woman who still had them. I have a 1 tog quilt on the bed and only a 4.5 in the coldest months. I sleep naked and still wake up 3 or 4 times a night bathed in sweat. I throw the covers back till I'm freezing, then start again.

Think yourself lucky that it only happens periodically. Imagine feeling like that all the time.