Hot flashes every 5 minutes??!!

[IrvineFriend]

It's not just breaking out in a sweat, but I have extreme nausea as I hit a hot flash. Googled it and happens in some women although rarer. I can't think of when I've gone more than 5-minutes dry in the last week. I've been vomiting all day, and it's always as I hit that hot spot so I'm either running for the bathroom or waiting for the wave of nausea to ease. I've read so many posts on here and understand that finding something that works is going to take a while as we're all different but did/does anyone stay sweaty constantly? Really, sweaty and cool every 5-minutes 24/7? Did you get nausea to the point of vomiting? I honestly can't keep working in this state, I'm a waste at work. I left a 2-hour meeting twice today and had my head under a sink of running water to help ease the heat and nausea - and I had a convenient place to vomit all in one. Currently drinking ginger tea as I haven't eaten anything since Sunday morning and the thought of eating anything sends me spinning although I'm going to try something/anything tonight no matter what, even if a peice of toast. No caffeine and obviously no spicy food as I'm not eating anything. I had TCH #5 Thursday and ears are ringing, I'm getting more awake as the night goes on and can't imagine how anyone functions like this and then goes to work the next morning. All my joints are in pain. I know this too shall pass but how do I continue to work (or not well in my case right now; I didn't show up until almost noon today) and I support myself full-time.

I have run, played tennis and hiked gratefully through this deal, cooked great meals, had friends over for sporting events with pizza/beer/wine, etc, and did fine. Until now. I adore my boyfriend but wonder how much more he (or I) can take. He washes my clothes and paints my toenails :) But I'm also getting snippy with him and he does not deserve it. He just doesn't get it. I feel like it would be fair to move on from him and not bring him down with me because I'm not capable of our old lifestyle right now.

In summary, anyone with constant-constant hot flashes? I haven't read this here. Every few minutes.
Flashes that causes vomiting? Very little info on this.
How did you work if you did?
TCH pains at the same time? Mine are achy joints, mostly legs.
Starting to get weepy and cry -Not me!

Thanks for listening to someone who has "hit the hall".

-Julie

[jaykay]

Hi Julie,

While I am years past hot flashes, your extreme nausea worries me - especially in conjunction with the last couple of chemos. Assume you have spoken to your onc as well as gyn?

But I can say that the weepiness comes with menopause/chemopause. I think it also comes with chemo and everything you've been through the past 6 months. It is tough and tiring being strong and trying to live a normal life while on chemo. Just my opinion...

Hang in there

Janis

[Andrea Barnett Budin]

You've got a lot going on, Julie.

Yes, I plead yes to breaking in a dripping sweat ev 5 min -- 24/7. Then just clammy. No cool down, as many report. Would love a chill. Did this from my early 40s and continued to about a yr ago. 27 yrs of that -- but no nausea.

Could the nausea be coming from the chemo vs the flashing? For me Phenergan helped enormously, and when I was all out nauseous I took Zofran. That was the late 90s, perhaps they have better drugs for that now. Your onc will know. You should NOT have to suffer from nauseating chemo effects! Other anti-nausea drugs did not work for me. You have to find your perfect match.

I am ER-/PR-. I take 1300 Evening Primrose Oil 2 x a day. And when needed I always carry 500 mg w/me to supplement my supplement! Works within 5-10 min.

The flashing stopped when I went to holistic chiropractor who works with the energy of your body and she manipulated me and gave me a supplement that contained porcine glandular concentrate among other things. I could only get it through her. I took it for a mnth and -- I was cured. Then I stopped cause it messed w/my TSH bld #s. Within a few mnths those #s normalized and I -- remain, amazingly, impossibly, incredibly FLASH FREE.

I sure hope you get a handle on all this!!!!!!! Pronto!

Andi

[v-ness]

hi julie. i got my first hot flash my first 5 minutes in the chemo chair (october 2009) and they've never quit since. i was having over 30+ severe ones per day. my onco prescribed Effexor, which made a slight difference temporarily. then in my desperation i found research that showed a med called Oxybutynin that is for bladder incontinence also served to curb hot flashes in up to 75% of the women taking it. so i asked my onco for it and it cut my hot flashes by half in number and quite a bit in severity too. unfortunately it makes you dry, so you have to drink a ton of water, but that's good for you anyway. other than that, i never had a single side effect from it. they told me to take it 2x a day but mostly i only take the one during the daytime and just rely on a fan and a cold room at night. i will try to find the study for you. i know how miserable it is. if i forget to take my little blue pill, my body reminds me in the nastiest way. i feel for you. valerie

[IrvineFriend]

Thanks Valerie,

I will definitely check into this. Not all women have debiliating menopause, but my family doesn't typically go into it until their late 50's/60's so being thrown into it in my 40's is hard. My sister I found out today had the same experience as I'm having. It was the worst part of her entire experience. I was back to work almost FT 18 days post double mastectomy and menopause is now causing me to stop being functional and to reduce my hours now?

This soon shall pass .... over and over again!

[pmm10414]

I am 41/2 years out and they are slowly getting better except summer here in FL makes them worse.