How do you deal with hot flashes at work? Short of pouring a bottle of iced tea over myself I’m at a loss for what to do.
I’ve been taking Natrol AM/PM formula for over a year and it’s been working fine until about 2 weeks ago. At first I thought it was just the office A/C on the blink but nope, it’s my internal furnace revving up.
Help!!
I just caught this before it fell off the page. I’m sorry I don’t have any personal experience help for you, but I just KNOW that someone here does. You might want to have this moved to GQ…someone is likely to stumble upon it there. Good luck, you hot little thing, you!
Go to the bathroom and splash cold water on my face if I can. Or just sit and suffer.
Why is this TMI? Menopause is, like, yannnow, part of every woman’s life (eventually, hopefully, etc) and nothing to be embarrassed by.
Go buy an atomiser-bottle and a little personal desk-fan. Get used to running ruddy-faced to windows and flinging them wide open, gasping and choking. Wear layers of lighter clothing that can be stripped-off and re-donned fairly quickly.
Don’t try to hide it from workmates…they’ll see you flushing even before you feel the infernal coals a’flaming anyway. If you laugh about it, and allow them to share in the day-to-day shit that happens, it will make this all pass so much more quickly and painlessly.
Oh, and congratulations for reaching this new life milestone. 
I always had a mug of ice water on my desk. I also had a sweater, because as fast as I got hot, I also got cold.
I no longer take anything, and I very rarely get any flashes any more, thank goodness!
I used estrogen replacement therapy. Since I don’t have a uterus any more, I could take the less risky kind, just straight estrogen. YMMV, of course, and discuss with your own doctor, etc. After a few years, I was able to discontinue use and no longer woke up at night in a sweat-soaked bed. Still get the occasional during the day, though, and the “sweater on/sweater off” routine gets me through.
I tagged it “poss. TMI” because threads about menopause can turn into discussions of a range of symptoms aside from the hot flashes. And you know how wimpy some people are about reading about our plumbing.
Ice water, fans & a sweater. Sounds like I’m gonna need a bigger desk. Thanks!
I’m on the Climara Pro patch. Once a week. It’s prescription and it IS the eighth wonder of the world. Changed my life in a matter of 7-10 days.
I am not looking forward to this.
Me neither.
I hit menopause really early, mid-30s (inherited quirk), but wasn’t prepared at all for how harsh it could be. Though a lot of crucial plumbing was removed in my teens due to a quirky medical fluke, I had always been as regular as a Swiss watch. Even the suddenly horrendous periods didn’t clue me in. Being chronically oblivious, it took getting reeling dizzy from a hot flash, smack dab in in the middle of dinner in a ritzy restaurant, to finally smack a proverbial brick upside my proverbial head.
Even then, my first thought was, “Omigod, cancer of the…thermostat?”
Your doc is your best resource, but a lot depends on your age. I went with hormone replacement for a few years since it hit so early. It was a balancing decision with the drug side effects, osteoporosis risk (also a huge genetic factor for me), etc. Hormone replacement worked very well, short term, that completely eliminated the hot flash misery as well as letting me find alteratives for the osteoporosis risk.
I went off it after a few years and tried other options. My doc is terrific–a real, certified MD–but one who also encourages non-prescription drug palliatives when appropriate. He’s very conservative about drug-bombing problems, IOW. I’ve always eaten a fair amount of soy products anyway but OTC ‘women’s’ products, e.g. Remifemin, barely made an appreciable difference.
He finally hit on an unusual (I think) solution that worked: the lowest possible dosage of an anti-depressant. I’ve never been depressive, never needed–or wanted–a ‘mind-drug’, and was pretty leery about even trying one for other reasons. But it worked for the hot flashes. Since the dosage is so low I’ve never notice the least emotional/mental difference, but the hot flashes stopped within a few days. Blessed relief.
My suggestion, davmilasav? Consult your doc. A lot probably depends on your age, medical situation, etc. but broken sleep, feeling lousy, etc. can be helped. It’s just a matter of finding what works for you.
Good luck to you (and all the other sweltering sufferers)
Veb
I have to agree with the fan idea, moving air seems to make me feel cooler when I “flash”. You also might try a “Cool Tie” or something similar. (a fabric pouch with an acrylic polymer in it-the polymer absorbs water when you soak it and then releases it slowly over time-after you soak it, it doesn’t drip) ( google “cool tie”)
I can’t do hormone replacement- 8 days after my hysterectomy and 5 days after starting hormone replacement I had a pulmonary embolus from a clot that formed in my leg. It’s been almost 3 years, the hot flashes are much better, but I don’t like the summer heat and I flush more when I am embarrassed.
Veb is a woman??? Who knew? Besides her, presumably.
StG
I found an herb that really helps – black cohosh*, particularly in the form of a tea. I’d make a quick cup of that, and even though it’s a hot drink, it would stop my hot flashes in their tracks. These days I keep it on hand in capsule form since I almost never have hot flashes any more (thank heaven!) and they’re not as severe so taking the capsule does the trick, but the tea was just an amazing help when I was having the worst of them. Especially since they would sometimes last for 15 minutes and up – I once had a hot flash that lasted for hours. That was immediately followed by a trip to my doctor, needless to say!
I also was on hormone replacement therapy for a few years (switching from Premarin to a plant-based estrogen after that hours-long hot flash), but was able to stop it when things eased off. These days I use the OTC supplement Estroven*, which seems to keep me well regulated so I almost never have to deal with hot flashes. Or night sweats. Or all those other lovely symptoms that come with menopause.
*
*Obvious caveat: I am not a doctor. I am not recommending anyone use any herbal therapies or without first consulting with their doctor (especially since soy products, which are a staple of most of the OTC remedies, can apparently cause more problems for some women). All I’m doing is sharing what worked for me. Only you and your doctor can know what’s best for you. *
I just said the same thing in another thread. Sheesh!
I tried the black cohosh and it didn’t work for me. Another friend of mine suggested higher doses of vitamin E, but no dice there, either. I think it’s great if you can get relief without going prescription. I’d advise the OP to try those routes first.
Is it safe to say that when I get my first hot flash, I’ll know it?
Help me. I’m forty and I don’t know what’s in store for me.
I think it took me a couple weeks to figure out what it was. After a few months of wondering and waiting to see if it was going to continue, I went to the drugstore and got one of those “pee on a stick” menopause tests, and it came out negative both times. 
The insanity comes bit-by-bit. Suddenly, it hits you like a ton of bricks and then you call the doctor.
Or not. Some people don’t have a bad time at all. And some tough it out (i.e., those who blazed the trail before hormones were available). You may dance right through it without much fanfare.
It takes about 8 years start to finish. My periods were almost completely gone at 48, and I was pronounced fertilogically dead at 50. A bit early according to the averages. I still need the patch, which I don’t quite understand, but I’m hoping to be done with it within the year.