Hot flashes

[momdeeco]

Has anyone tried acupuncture for hot flashes. I have 12-15 a day. They are driving me crazy. I have tried clonidine,effexor, celexa, and paxil with no relief. I also have decreased caffine, exercised, increases water with no change in intesinty or number. I know it is a minor thing but it is interupting my life sytle.

[Unregistered]

It is not a minor problem IMHO, particularly if hot flashes wake you up at night. What works fairly well for me, at least for the night sweats, is the medication gabapentin (generic for neurontin). I have not tried accupuncture.

Good luck!

Jill

[sassy]

Like Jill, I have been taking Neurontin and it really helps.

[Merridith]

I had horrible hot flashes. About every half hour. It seemed that I could barely sleep. I suffered with them for about 5 years.

I went to an endocrinologist and he prescribed progesterone 200 mg @ day. This worked amazingly well. Now I only have one or two, usually in the morning right after I wake up.

There are certain risks (mostly unknown as there have been no studies done with this hormone as a treatment for cancer patients) associated with taking these hormones, however I decided it was worth it to get my life back.

Breast cancer survivors who have had chemo tend to have more aggressive & frequent flashes than normal women.

I am ER negative - and theoretically the neg means that the cancer isn't induced by female hormones. That is why they consented to let me take this hormone.

Another positive side-effect of this hormone is that it seemed to sweep away the last vestiges of chemo brain that I was suffering from. And I now have normal sleeps as well.

[SoCalGal]

Acupuncture has helped me with hot flashes and many issues. It's worth a try. There are many natural remedies available at Whole Foods or similar, like Remifemin (black cohosh) and Promensil. I don't know off hand their effect on er+ (if you are) but I know many girlfriends who have used these products with great success. I also used them with good success when I was first SLAMMED into menopause after chemo about ten years ago.

Other tips:
Wear layers so you can strip off to a tank top when flashing.
Keep your bedroom on the cold side, and keep a fan on all night. The moving air will help.

My chemopause hot flashed were what I'd call violent- hot, furious, many, with a creepy anxious feeling along with the flash. They do eventually end and life does get better! Try not to kill anyone in the meantime:)
Flori