Hot Flash Forum!
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hey all, I pulled out my aromatherapy book and looked up hot flash remedies.
Three essential oils are mentioned for relief of hot flashes via inhalation (not ingestion): clary sage, geranium, and grapefruit. They are thought to stimulate the adrenal cortex, enhance the metabolism, and mediate the stress response. Interesting..
BTW, clary sage comes from a common perennial - salvia.
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Badger, thanks for that. let us know if you try any of them and if they work!
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So I've noticed my greatly reduced hot flashes have crept back a tiny bit. It's (hopefully) because it's been so hot outside. (This past week has been over 100.) My skin gets fire-hot to the touch, yet I don't sweat. At night (when they still hit the worst), I splash water on my face, arms and legs, and then lay in front of the fan. Within 5 minutes I'm freezing and need a blanket.
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I was going to chime in that my hot flashes were a bit less since the weather has gotten cooler and less humid here on the east coast! My final thoughts on the Clonidine are that, yes, I think it helped a bit in the very beginning, and now after 2 months not at all. I realized that, when the weather cooled. I had decided to stick with the Clonidine since some of the benefits mentioned were for anxiety and headache both of which I suffer from. I'm thinking that I'll start to wean myself off. I feel destined to live with the hot flashes until my time with Tamoxifen/AI is complete...which may be sooner than later :>)
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wenweb: OK, I am hopeful that mine will calm back down when the cooler weather hits (which won't be for another month at least). Thanks for the Clonidine update! Let us know how the weaning goes. As SAS has told us many time, you gotta go slow. Good luck! And yeah, hot flashes and destiny...what a pair!
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Wow, so now there is a correlation between the adrenals and hot flashes, is that right Badger ?
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Okay anyone not exercising, try exercising the next two weeks and see what you think.
Shannon when I do more stuff either cleaning hard or exercising I do feel less flashing, But I also have to take a pain pill cuz I freeze up with pain. So, don't know if it's the "work" or the pain pill. Anyone who knew I was on Fentanyl patch for fibromyalgia induced by AI"s ---went off it last Thurs. night. am doing well except after putting up all the hurricane shutters myself--pain pill. Then cleaning pool enclosure---pain pill. Keeping house temp at 81. Our Florida charges for energy are ridiculous.
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On the couch I have a cotton bedspread that covers the back of the couch. Evening tv-----if chilling I pull the spread off the back of the couch--------flashing it's flipped over the back of the couch and I'm still laying on cotton. on off on off etc. but I don't loose the cover cuz I'm still laying on the bottom half.
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Well, I was intrigued by the observation a few pages ago about the vitamin C/bioflavinoids and perhaps it's ability to stabilize blood vessels. I started taking 250mg in the morning and 250mg before bed. I thought I noticed an improvement. Then I noticed that they seemed worse but couldn't figure out why until I realized I forgot the evening vitamin C. I can't really believe it can help but what the heck - I thought I would try taking a little more, maybe 3 times a day and see what that does.0
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Omaz then don't increase /change exercise pattern. Introducing more than one new treatment at a time obsures which one works. I know you know that, this response is for the person that may come here at a future time that might not know that 0
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sas - I am exercising regularly and I do think that helps me for sure. Hope you are doing well! We have our first LOVELY fallish day here in AZ, 75 degrees this morning with a light breeze - feels so good!!0
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hillck - I got the peridin C in the mail but it was very orange so I was intimidated and didn't take it yet. Right now I am taking 'Natures Bounty C-250mg'. It has no soy.
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Omaz, I'm really intrigued by the Vit C reducing hot flashes connection. Keep us posted, you may be on to something here!
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Shiela, you gave me an idea. Hot flashes when I first started chemo were fierce as were night sweats. The really strong ones didn't last long though. Had been less frequent and very mild since the beginning of chemo. But seeminly corresponding with surgery three weeks ago, they got more frequent and intense. Still not to the point of when I first started though. Maybe it was because I was moving around less? That is a good point. I asked the NP I saw on Wed. and she said it was just a coincidence. That's what they always say, isn't it? My DH said it might be because I lost some weight and therefore was getting less estrogen because of it. Also an idea I guess.
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Kay hello dear one-------It doesn't surprise me at all re: increase in flashing post surgery. 1. The body under anesthesia still recognizes that it is being attacked-----it has to do with the"fright or flight " mechanism of the Sympathetic nervous system. I forget where I posted at length about the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. Many of the drugs and and administration of IV fluids(LOTS) during surgery are given to try to "convince" the sympathetic system that every thing is --a okay-----situation normal. But the body is too smart for that. All the internal sensors and chemical analysis centers in the body still know somethings going on. One of the things the body, through the control panel in the medulla , knows it is under attack/alert will do is retain fluids by instructing the kidney to retain fluids. Anesthesia docs/crna's try to counter this response by giving lots of fluids under anesthesia. The attempt is to keep the kidneys filtering. Well sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. The longer the surgery, the less it works. So, patients that come out of major surgeries can look like puff balls. Swollen everywhere, but heart is working fine. Sometimes if the heart is not working fine diuretics may be given. In general though, the doc choice is to allow the body within a period of time, through all the sensors and the masters in the brain(pituitary, hypothalamus and especially the medulla) decide it's okay to start to bring the body back into balance---technical word Homeostasis----- SO, you sweat, flash, pee like a racehorse. Getting rid of all that extra fluid. This can happen very rapidly over a couple days, or more than X days amount of time, Each body is different. Kay you went through major surgery, for your body to come back into a state of Homeostasis would take longer(several weeks). The body does not like being messed with.
Then we contend with additional chemicals later on that the internal body sensors don't take to at all. The -hot-flashing we experience with the tamox/ AI's and others, it is still unknown why. Kay try to read over time from the beginning of this Forum. There have been many ideas and suggestions that have great value. One thing that I can say for sure, we here are as up to date on what works and doesn't work as the leaders in the scientific community.
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Hillck----hi been awhile ---it took me awhile to figure out your screen name-----Hill Chick----yes? Have we done this before? or was I just thinking about it? To your comment that things are only now starting to calm down. You quit tamox "few weeks ago" How many makes a difference. Then you started to taper off Effexor. Even though it may have seemed there was enough time between the two drugs. SINCE truly little is known about the length of time each drug should have as a washout period(described early pages) and a taper period. You went through a heavy period of flashing. That tells me , the brains controlling centers were having difficulty dealing with the SITUATION. But since you are now down to minimal, the brain has passed the crisis point. Try to keep all things unchanged for awhile, to see if it stays as it is now. -------Good luck
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SAS: Thank you for that fab explanation re: how the body copes during surgery! It's wonderful that you share your nursing knowledge with us — you're helping many.
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Yes, thank you Shiela!! Great explanation. I will start to go back and read through the thread. I am not that bothered by the hot flashes yet. They don't last long. We'll see when I start Tamoxifin though.........
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AW shucks aint' that sweet- L&H's
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I started tamoxifen almost 3 years ago. I've found that the hot flashes get better and worse in cycles. I'll go for weeks with barely detectable flashes and then they become intense again. I also notice that exercising regularly does seem to decrease them because I was sick for a week, not working out and they got more intense until I started exercising again..
Funny thing is, that recently I took a couple months break from the tamoxifen, and for most of that time, the hot flashes became more intense and frequent. I guess my body was confused. Now that I've started back on the tamoxifen 2 weeks ago, I noticed they seemed to possibly decrease a little. Except for today, they've been awful all day long. That is because I went out last night and am hungover. Alcohol detox definitely brings them on stronger.
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Finally off of tamoxifen and was hoping the hot flashes would settle down. No such luck. Over 5 years now of hot flashes anywhere from 2-3 per day to every 35 minutes for hours on end. What fun. I just deal. I remember way back when they first started I called them amusing (because I used to have to look around the room to see if I was the only one who felt like the temperature had just risen 20 degrees in the room in the past 30 seconds) and have, at times, forced myself to continue to see them that way. People just plain have to go along with me when they see me taking off the sweater that I just put on 2 minutes ago for the pre-hotflash chills and fanning myself and they say, "Yeah, it's hot in here" (which always surprises me). Or when people say, "Is it hot in here?" and I just say, "I have no idea, I'm in my own private climate." Some understand, some look at me like my climate must be another world. (Helps me to know how old someone is.) The only hard ones are the ones that start with nausea and a general sense of sick. I can usually catch it within a few seconds and remind myself that I'm not sick, I'm just having a - oh, wait, let me take my clothes off before I finish that sentence....
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Sorry the hot flashes are so hard on you. I am lucky with them so far, only last a few seconds. Hopefully that won't change when I start tamoxifin. I love the line I am in my own climate. I am definitely going to borrow that, hope you don't mind.
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Jorf:
Glad you wrote about feeling sick right before a hot flash. I finally figured out that many times I would feel bad when I was about to have a hot flash. Still happens and for a brief moment I feel like I did when I was on chemo.
Love the line about my own private climate.
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Anyone had PS after a lumpectomy to fill in the gaps? I had 4 biopsies also which did not help. the radiation seemed to shrink the breast. PS is talking using my own fat.
Maybe someone can recommend a forum.
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hillck Very interesting. Thanks for posting the article. I find that my sleep patterns are similar to what you mentioned as your own. Sometimes the Lorazepam seems to knock me out and other times, not. When it's a not, that's when I'm flashing more. This makes me wonder if it's really the Lorazepam that is helping me to sleep, or just perchance.
Another thing that I have been pondering is this. When I wake up during the night to use the bathroom, I find myself having a hot flash while I am sitting on the toilet. My first response was that the coming of the hot flash is what awakened me, however, the normal "pre" hot flash I have dosen't take as long to come on as it takes for me to wake up and get to the bathroom... It's like which came first, the chicken or the egg??
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Jorf: "my own private climate" - love that!
AGeorgiaDeb: I've no experience with fat grafting but some threads on BCO are called: "Has anyone had micro fat grafting?" and "disfiguring lumpectomy vs mastectomy"
Wenreb: I have pondered the nighttime flash/bathroom routine and for me, it is the oncoming hot flash that wakes me up, then I realize I have to go to the bathroom. I think the beginnings of the flash come on while I am still sleeping (and therefore not aware of it). I only wake up when the flash reaches critical mass, so to speak. Just my theory!~
I'm blogging at: http://theBigCandme.blogspot.com/ *BMX & TE Feb 3; 3 incision revisions (2/19, 3/28, 4/26); right TE removed 7/6 due to delayed healing. Surgery date for new TE is 12/11/11.
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I LOVE the "in my own private climate" line!!!
hillck, thanks for posting about the sleep disorders. I have had insomnia my entire life, and have found that Ambien actually helps sleep AND I don't wake up as often with hot flashes as I did to begin with. So I am either sleeping through them or they aren't occurring, and either way, I am grateful! (Wish the rest of the day was so good!)
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Jorf your statement " MY own private climate" will go down in history!0
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I still get hot flashes with the sleep aid am just able to sleep through them lol. I can tell by sheets and pillow in the am. Hot flashes and night sweats are starting to lesson now that I am nearing the end of radiation but were BRUTAL during chemo.
lol have a great day all and remember to laugh, that is one thing in our control
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KYMN: LOL! Thanks for sharing these!!
I still think it is the hot flash that rouses me out of a sound sleep. But tonightI will not drink anyliquid for several hours before bed so I won't have to pee. THEN if I still wake up with the flash but don't need to pee, I'll know what woke me. Will keep you posted!
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