Anybody (women) having hot flashes?

I just saw your post as I was looking for the same! I'm 39 and have had hot flashes for, well, let's just call it long enough. hehe Early onset runs in my family, so.

Things that have helped me and my mother- soy. I drink a glass of soy milk each morning, but that's the extent of it. I think she does about the same, maybe less. I have found that too much soy is not helping me. This week I started having soy shakes for breakfast-1 glass soy milk with 1 scoop soy protein powder (the only kind I like). And now I feel like I've been having one long hot flash all week!

I can't be certain that the shakes are the cause, but they are the main thing that changed this week. Sigh.

I've heard black cohosh is supposed to help, but I haven't tried it. Don't try any of that without running it by my nurse practitioner first. And I'm being lazy. lol

I have heard that caffeine and alcohol can exacerbate flashes. As well as stress.

And cold chills

I am 43 and perimenopausal due to medication (steriods) . Dr, put me on estrogen and progesterone which helped the hot flashes but were very expensive and made me miserable. So I weaned myself off and am just going to let nature run its course and deal with it. Mine are worse at night so I just change clothes and keep my house cooler

Due to medication, I have been medically induced into menopause. My mother used to laugh at me (5 years ago when I was 21) when I got such crazy hot flashes. Well, she realized how much they suck when she started getting them...

I dont take medication for mine either. I have enough random crap in my system. I do recommend, however, cold herbal tea. I have NO idea why, but it helps me a lot. I typically make hot tea, but put it in large batches in the fridge.

Dont drink too much, either, if you are having a hard time controlling them.

I had a hysterectomy 12 years ago, I'm 36. I took estrogen for awhile, then got a blood clot and had to go off. I had hot flashes everyday and night. I toughed it out and gladly it started getting less and less. Now I don't remember the last time I had one. I know mine was easier to adjust to because all my hormones were BAM gone, then my body adjusted quick. Sorry no helpful advice, I feel your pain. Invest in a couple pair of nice thin light weight pj's to help when you get those night sweats.

My hot flushes are just beginning to fade - and don't panic, I'm 60 but had a late menopause, so have had them about 8 years. I didn't do anything but "dress to undress" with layers to slip off and on again as the flushes/ flashes came and went. They were worst at night - and still are. My OH & I often use different bed coverings, so he'll be under a winter weight duvet and I'll be using a summer one, or in summer I'll just have a sheet. I found I got better at kicking off the covers and hauling them back without fully waking but the sleep disturbance was & remains the worst thing.
Like some people above I didn't take anything, but there are OTC and prescribed meds to try if you want to. Consult a pharmacist / nurse / doctor to discuss what's available.

Don't know where the OP lives - if it's in a cooler zone you're lucky, it helps to keep your environment cool. We had a holiday somewhere hot and I suffered! Temporarily..... sympathy if you're suffering with it now.

Thank goodness for this topic...I am 37 & I have hot flashes as well....At least I think that is what it is....My doctor says I am too young & my hormones all checked out normal...But I can just be sitting here & just start sweating for no reason....Not sure why & my doctor is not sure why either....My mom is just now starting to go through it so it would be weird for me to start at the same time I think but I did try black cohosh for a little while & it seemed to help but I started getting headaches - not sure if that was the cause b/c I took a few natural herbs at the time & just stopped all of them to get rid of the headaches....

Autumn, you are NOT too young. The first time I had ongoing hot flashes was at the age of 26! That was hormonal. Ask your doctor to disregard your age and consider all other symptoms. Ask-if your age was not included what would he say it is? Most of them say hot flashes. My old doc told me that too, which is why I now see my nurse practitioner for everything. She's much more thorough.

My hot flashes progress like this-I get hot, my face flushes almost beet red, then I start to sweat. I take off my jacket/sweater/shrug or whatever I have on. I go ask if anyone else is hot and they look at me like I have three heads. Then I know it's a flippin' hot flash. Sometimes it's followed by chills 10 minutes later.

Thanks for sharing your tips, ladies! I'm going to look into the promensil and the i-cool and see what I can find. I've heard of cooling pillows, too, that are supposed to be good for night sweats. I have had night sweats for years, so don't even think about them anymore much.

For me, I have 1-2 cups of coffee per day, but that's it for caffeine. I try to keep it to 1 cup so as not to aggravate the hot flashes. I don't drink alcohol, so that's no issue there. Taking progesterone isn't an option for me-it gives me terrible side effects. Take estrogen isn't much better, so I tend to avoid it. I had a hysterectomy (kept the ovaries) a few years ago and never want to take hormones again if I can help it. They always mess me up in the end.

OH, acupuncture. I never thought of that, but have heard from others that it works.

I checked out the promensil and i-cool online. They both are supplements that use isoflavones to naturally encourage your body to raise estrogen levels naturally. Promensil uses red clover isoflavones. I-cool uses a synthetic isoflavon that is similar to soy isoflavones but is soy-free. Both have great testimonials, though i-cool testimonials boast quicker results. Price might decide it for me.

I don't know where you are located but CVS carries i-cool, and its not too expensive. 30 pills (month supply i think) for $20. My mother currently takes these. She had hysterectomy when she was 40, took Rx hormones and at 51 trying to come off the Rx. She swears by them.