Hot Flash Forum!
Comments
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hillck - Hi! I think menopret is black cohosh extract and my onc PA ok'd it but it didn't help me.
Cinnamon - It is tough at the very beginning. I got nauseous just before each flash every time. Now I am still flashing but the nausea is less and the flashes are a bit less intense and less frequent. It's been about 15 months since chemopause. I also don't wake up shivering like I used to and that is an improvement as well.
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hillck - She said we will talk about the AI switch at the appointment in Feb. For some reason they still are waiting to be sure my period doesn't come back. I think they were going to try femara first.
So glad to hear that you are tolerating the aromasin, that's great news! I took the menopret for about 2-3 weeks I think - it didn't help but it did help some others so it might be worth a try.
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mpeacher, my doctors say given my case, it's ok to take black cohosh. I was DCIS, which can only be Stage 0, had a double mastecomy with clean margins no nodes positve, now had my ovaries out. They all say it should be safe for me.
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Hello HOT GIRLS,
Yes i am suffering the hot flashes, aches and pains, fatigue, etc etc etc. But it is natue induced via menapause.
I'm just curious: My MO wants me to take an AL. My body is alredy depleating the estrogen. Is it overkill to wipe out all hormones? Don't we need them to stay healthy females? I do understand that the hormones contribute to BC, but is that the only facter? I'm reluctant to take the AL's. I don't know what to do. I kind of want to take my chance, but that may be stupid. Has anyone NOT taken the tamox or AL?
Thanx and stay cool.
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Hello everyone,
Yah, my wife is doing well with the tamoxifen. She's been taking on it for 2 years now and no SEs at all. She's now 32 years old - THANKS GOD! and having regular menstrual periods. She needs to take the tamoxifen for 5 years. I am so happy that everything went well for her. Guys, I just want to ask your opinion since we're planning to have a baby and if its okay for her to stop temporarily the tamoxifen then proceed with the pregnancy? and decided to continue with her tamoxifen after giving birth? is it okay? we want to have a baby at least coz we're getting old now and we dont want to wait for another 3 years before deciding to have one. DOES ANYONE COULD RELATE to us and SHARE THEIR COMMENTS/SUGGESTIONS/EXPERIENCES? Thank you and more power. God bless.
Stage 2, 0 Lymph nodes, Tumor was 2 cm, ER+ PR+ Her2 -, had mastectomy and chemotherapy and now on hormonal therapy Tamoxifen for 5 years.
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Hi Mind - I would suggest that you talk with your oncologist - he or she will probably be able to advise you! Good luck with your plans!0
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I had a total hysterectomy in 2000 because I was precancerous, then was put on Premarin for hormone replacement. I had my yearly mammograms every year after age 40, I always had to go back for a 2nd mammogram because I had cystic breasts. In 2007 I was diagnosed with breast cancer & estrogen receptive. I have no family history of breast cancer. I have been through the severe hot flashes and not sleeping, ice packs at night, freezing my pillow case, on and on. I found on the Mayo clinic web site for breast cancer estrogen receptive that they case studied two drugs for hot flashes. Paxil and Effexor XR, I called my Dr and went on a low dose of Effexor XR and in the first day my hot flashes went from an average of 28 a day to under 10. I still take the medication and cant go without. For all of you suffering I have been there, still get them but the medication has helped. I take Ambien at night to sleep. I do feel that my personality has changed with the lack of estrogen in so many ways every day is a challenge. I am grateful to be a survivor, and write this today to maybe help someone through these challenges.
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Iluvpink, I went on Effexor for chemo-induced peripheral neuropathy, and it has helped a little with that, and also with the hot flashes! I was having disabling ones, nearly fainting, had to sit down, about every hour, and now they are just soaking sweats without the discomfort, still occur frequently, but that horrible feeling with them has improved. So for once, a drug to treat side effects of other drugs had an unanticipated good effect for me!!! And now I know it has been studied and approved for this, I agree that it is reasonable to ask your doc for it!
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P.S. I had tried a lot of different meds for the CIPN, was getting very frustrated with all the SEs from all of those drugs, so was happy to find minimal adverse problems with Effexor for ME. However, each person reacts differently, so being patient and trying several my be needed to get the right drug at the right dose for the right person for the right effects and the fewest SEs.
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Hey cindy,
thanx for the response. I feel it takes real strength to be proactive in your fight on BC.
I have too many health issues. My MO enphasizes on the importance of Hormone theropy.
good luck and stay SE free
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My hot flashes were about disabling too, I would get dizzy, feeling of panic and was working through my entire diagnosis and treatment. The male oncologist just could not understand how bad they can be, he put me on xanax to calm me down and help with sleep, didnt even touch the hot flashes. I have had to re-adjust my wardrobe because I cant stand anything tight anymore, no long sleeves, nothing constricting. Crazy huh?
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Iluvpink, if men had hot flashes like women do, there would be a WHOLE lot more research on this, and maybe even some solutions!!!!
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My cousin had to take a testosterone blocker for prostate cancer and got miserable hot flashes. They didn't have anything that really helped him either.
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hillck - Of course ! My onc and onc PA really did take me seriously. When I first started with the flashes they were awful and frequent and I nearly always had at least one during my appointment so they could see first hand how difficult it was - I turned bright red and started sweating. I think you could feel the heat waves from a foot away at that point! They offerred megace and effexor. The gyn offered clonidine (which I tried but it didn't help). Looking back I probably could have tried the megace but the thought of adding any hormone didn't seem like a good idea to me. My cousin is doing very well. He did have a recurrence in a lymph node but they did radiation and it worked, he prostate tumor markers are extremely low now and I am happy for him.0
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Hi Ladies and apologies in advance because you have probably covered this already, I am over in England and was prescribed Venlafaxine (you may know it as Effexor) to help with the hot flushes I am currently on tamoxifen/herceptin finished chemo and surgery earlier on this year, I have only taken one of the venlafaxine tablets and it made me so ill I was physically sick and had a migrane for 3 days over xmas
so I decided to stop it. So now I am looking for something I can take that is ok for ER+ PR- HER2+, I had heard about Black Cohosh and realize I cant take that but does anyone know if you can take Red Clover, Sage, and this one came from my GP fig leaf tea I have trawled the net looking for this and cannot find it anywhere so will have to find a fig tree or buy one!!, any other suggestions would be most welcome as I am going out of my mind with sleepless night sweats and what seems like constant hot flushes.sending you cooling love and light
sarahsweety xxx
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Mayo Clinic has tested several drugs for women with hormone receptive breast cancer and did trials for hot flashes. The two meds that had the best rate of success were Effexor and Paxil. I take Effexor XR and have for years, it has helped me dramatically. You might try Paxil. Mayo Clinic has a great site with alot of info.
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Lexapro is said to be the "cleanest" of the SSRI drugs, and I recall seeing a study this past year that concluded that it does help many women with hot flashes.
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Oh my I have numerous pages to catch up on, will not to try tonight. Just want to wish everyone a Happy New Year, with the hope that each month gets better. L&H's sheila
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Same to you SAS. I've been away and am just catching up.
sarasweety Sorry, I can not answer your questions, but I love your profile picture. Is it Modligiani?
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Wenweb - Hi yes it is Modligiani I put it up as everyone say's it looks like me, well it did look like me before chemo, hair loss and just general cancer BS. I Have decided to stop taking the anti-depressants and will keep looking for some sort of complementary medicine like herbal teas and acupuncture.
Love to all
sarahsweety xxx
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Sarahsweety, please do not stop taking your antidepressants "cold turkey" without talking to your doc! Many of them have major withdrawal issues! You may want to try yoga and mindfulness-based practices for depression - I have used them with some success. PM me if you want a link or suggestion for some guided meditation recordings. Even if you are taking the antidepressants for other reasons of pain or other, you still need to be careful coming off of them. Keeping you in my heart today.
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Sarahsweety, heartily concur with Linda. Stopping antidepressants cold turkey can have outrageous serious consequences. You must wean over many weeks --very slowly. Please. My dear husband wouldn't listen and lost all nerve sensation superficially and deep nevers of all four extremities. The testing showed he would eventually get back deep nerve sensation, but that is skin would never recover. I begged him to wean properly, but he said his doc said he could just quit. He was on Zoloft 50 mg, He should have weaned no more than 10 mg every 2-3 weeks. Instead he did 50>37.5 for three days>>25 for two days >> 12.5 for one day. In 48 hrs the loss of sensation occurred. The onc tried to blame chemo , but he'd been off chemo for 6 weeks with no neuropathy. He said one time close to the end that it was so strange to touch anything and have no feeling yet, he could see himself touching things. He said that as he was petting the dog he loved and could not feel her warmth or fur. My heart bled for him b/c I tried so hard to get him to listen, but he took his Onc doc's advice over mine. Oncs aren't trained in antidepressants. PLEASE talk with a Pharmacist orPsych doc or follow the companies advice. Even PCP's that prescibe may not have a clue how dangerous immediately stopping these drugs can be.
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Hi sas and linda (I pm'd you Linda),
Just to put your minds at rest and thanks for your words of caution and comfort, I only took one of the anti-depressant tablets and suffered 2 days of migraine and sickness I did not take anymore cause the reaction was so extreme so stopping after taking just one is not as bad as if I had been on it for weeks/months but like I said I just could not take anymore after that one, feel quite lucky in a way too find out after only taking one tablet that they just are not suited to me, it also increased my hot flushes really badly and that's the whole point in taking them in the first place to get rid of the hot flushes. I'm hoping that the flushes will calm down by themselves in time and will be asking my onc for any alternatives I could try and use ie: sage tea, fig leaf tea the only thing with these HF relief herbs is that I don't think I can take them cause of being ER+ and obviously don't want to take anything that interferes tamoxifen. Many many thanks for your concern and well wishes.
love and light
sarahsweety xxx
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Hey------hello - been gone ever so long. For some reason the HF have minimized -------no clue why------- when they come it mostly dry flashes-------no clue. ------only several times a day. --------no clue ----what has changed -------tried to analysis---------no connection -------weather change?
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sas - I am thinking it is the cooler weather because mine are better too.0
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Hello...new to this thread....I'm 71 and just now having hot flashes because when I was dx I was taken off all my HRT that I had been on for 20 plus years! They are horrible, and mine aren't even that bad in comparison to what my DD describes hers to be. As they are, I can tolerate them, but when I begin taking Tamoxifen in a month or so do they get worse? I keep waiting for them to diminish, but it's been two months and so far, mostly the same. Some day better than others.
They seem to come on if I get excited or stressed....does anyone else find this to be true? I was thinking it might be high blood pressure, but my bp is fine. I think if men had these things, there would already be a pill to take for it:(
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Kaara- Please, try to read from the begining of this thread. So many women are going through the same thing. You may find a long the way something that works for you. Blessings
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Kaara - When I started tamoxifen it didn't have any effect that I could detect on the hot flashes.0
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Hillock: I take 300 mg of gabapentin at bedtime each night. My hot flashes were horrible, every 15 minutes for a month. Then my radiation oncologist researched it and suggested gabapentin. He truly saved me. I had a psychotic reaction to the Effexor , mood stabilizer, and was like catatonic for a week. Horrible, horrible. But now, I only get hot fluffs a few times a day. Good luck!
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sas-schatzi, several of us have noted that our flashes are less severe since cooler weather came. Mine are way down, very manageable now, whereas over the summer they were wearing me down to the point that I was just about ready to drive my car over the Grand Canyon a la Thelma & Louise.
I've been trying to analyze it, too. It might be diet or supplements, who know? Or it might be weather. Either way, I'll take it. Will be interesting to see what happens to all of us when summer rolls around again.
I will say that when I switched from Femara to Faslodex two weeks ago, my flashes changed. Probably about the same number per day as before, but they just feel different. Hormones are whack, man. :-D
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