With the coming of the Summer months… women tend to experience more hot flashes or more severe hot flashes than in the cooler months. Most of us just can’t afford to keep out air-conditioning set on 55 degrees every night! So…
What Can I Do About Hot Flashes and Night Sweats?
Some Descriptions of Hot Flashes . . . Women experience a variety of symptoms of premenopause or menopause, but the hot flash is the one most discussed. During menopause and premenopause the body produces less estrogen and progesterone. As a result, the thermostat in our brain, the hypothalamus, gets mixed signals: is it hot or cold? It is as if it cannot decide between these states. This oscillation causes our blood vessels to expand and contract on an irregular and unpredictable basis. With an increased blood flow in the body, a feeling of heat and a flush starts on the face, the neck, and continues to the chest. Some women perspire, others really sweat! Sometimes a chill follows a hot flash. You’d be cold, too, if you were hot and soaking wet in the middle of winter, and suddenly someone turned off the heat. Depending on the intensity of the hot flash, some women may get headaches, feel weak, dizzy, tired or lose sleep. Some may experience palpitations, skipped or erratic heartbeats. Remember to be sure to check with your health care practitioner before attributing any of the above symptoms to menopause. Hot flashes can be the sign of other illness or medical disorders.
Some women report that they knew they were about to have the experience before it happened. An aura, or premonition, may feel like nausea, or a tingling or pressing sensation in the head. Some women become weak in the knees, dizzy and have to sit down. Others experience heart palpitations before or as the flash begins and while it’s occurring.
The upper body, from the chest to the scalp, may begin to sweat profusely. You may also “flush,” that is, become red as you flash. Heart rate and skin blood flow increase, although internal body temperature may drop by as much as three or four degrees as the body struggles to correct the imbalance. After the flash, the body quickly becomes chilled as it struggles to regain its normal temperature. Most flashes and/or flushes last about three to six minutes, although it’s possible to have one that goes on as long as an hour. Many younger women think they have never experienced the classic hot flash or night sweats… yet what they have been experiencing is “hot flushes”…. almost feeling like they’ve had a low grade fever all day long!
Hot flashes are sudden waves of heat that can start in the waist or chest and work their way to the neck and face and sometimes over the rest of the body. The upper body, from the chest to the scalp may begin to sweat profusely. You may also “flush,” that is, become red as you flash.
Heart rate and skin blood flow increase, although internal body temperature may drop by as much as three or four degrees as the body struggles to correct the imbalance. After the flash, the body quickly becomes chilled as it struggles to regain its normal temperature. There’s no real “average” when it comes to duration. Some flashes can last 15 to 30 seconds, while others from 3 to 6 minutes.
“Hot flashes are more common in the evening and during hot weather. “
How Long Does a Hot Flash Last?
Hot flashes may last two to three minutes or up to 30 minutes. They may occur several times a day, or feel like they’re occurring all day! They can occur once a week, maybe never. Hot flashes may happen once or twice, or continue for up to ten years. No wonder women think they are going crazy!
Who Experiences Hot Flashes? 75%-80% of women experience some form of a hot flash. Hot flashes can be a nuisance and even debilitating (when extreme). Following a flash, body temperature drops and many women experience a chill.They are associated with but not necessarily caused by fluctuating levels of estrogen since women who experience hot flashes and those who don’t have been known to have the same levels of estrogen. The worst hot flashes are often experienced by women who have an abrupt loss of ovarian estrogen due to surgery, radiation or chemotherapy.
Thinner women may experience more hot flashes since fat cells convert hormones secreted by the adrenals into estrogen [in other words, it’s wise to retain a little extra weight during this time].
How do you HANDLE them?Clothes made of natural fibers (cotton, wool, silk) can disperse heat away from the body. It is more practical to dress in layers so that clothing can be removed and added as needed.
Hot flashes deplete our bodies of the B vitamins, vitamin C, magnesium and potassium so it is helpful to increase our consumption of these nutrients.
Triggers for hot flashes include spicy food, hot drinks, alcoholic drinks, white sugar (sugar can also cause palpitations), stress, hot weather, hot tubs and saunas, tobacco and marijuana and anger, especially when unexpressed. AVOID all these!
The medical profession has generally ignored natural, less risky approaches to hot flashes in favor of HRT - Hormone Replacement Therapy [who’d a thunk it!].
Alternative approaches tend to strengthen and support the endocrine system. Natural remedies work in conjunction with a healthy diet and adequate exercise.
For ordinary hot flashes, try vitamin E with dosages between 400 and 800 IUs daily [many women take 1000 - 1200 IU’s, but in the case of vitamins and herbs, more is not always better. D-alpha tocopherol means that it comes from a natural source, but DL alpha means a synthetic.
One common regimen is vitamin E, 600 to 800 IUs daily with vitamin C. When flashes subside, take 400 IUs daily. Perhaps 50 percent to 66 percent of women will find Vitamin E effective. However, it may take 2 to 6 weeks before the effects are really felt. Do not take vitamin E with digitalis.
Evening primrose oil alleviates hot flashes and promotes restful sleep. These benefits may be due to the gamma linolenic acid in the oil which is said to influence prostaglandin production. (Evening primrose oil is used to relieve premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and tenderness of fibrocystic breasts). Depending on the amount of primrose oil in each capsule, effective dosages vary from 2 to 8 capsules a day.
Many women get relief from natural bio-identical progesterone cream alone without any estrogen. It is a transdermal cream and is absorbed through the skin and carried directly to where it is needed. It is non-toxic and without the same sorts of side effects as synthetic progestins. Ours is formulated for the fastest absorption and is packaged correctly (in a tube not a jar!) and is 3oz not the typical 2oz! So you get much more for your money!
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Now some women still need estrogen to help handle hot flashes and night sweats and osteoporosis… we have just contracted with a great lab who is making real natural bio-identical estriol estrogen cream for us. We’re very excited because this particular estrogen is the safest available and has in clinical trials actually proven to help PREVENT certain types of cancers!
But a woman should always test first to determine if she really needs estrogen. Hot flashes and night sweats can also come from overworked and worn out adrenals glands and even bad diet. So let’s not go chasing after estrogen unless you really need it and the only way to be sure is to test with a reliable saliva test.
You can order testing on-line at http://secure-shopping-cart.com/solutionsforher/cart/index.html or call the office! 1-888-918-9352 Toll Free 24/7
