Any advice for Hot Flashes after chemo? - Page 2

Catia · 12-14-2014, 07:46 PM

I don't remember how much Vitamin E but do remember they were gel caps and I took three of them daily (lol, I realize that's not much help).

IrvineFriend · 12-14-2014, 10:01 PM

I found the hot flashes to be almost as bad as the treatments as I threw up at the onset of the flash and had them about once every 5-10 minutes. I spent months throwing up from them. I did go on Effexor I believe it was 150 mg in the end. It helped considerably. I'm so thankful I have them now about twice a day only since I turned 50. They are mild and don't involve puking. It's just an annoyance now.

I believe when you're young, pre-menopausal and thrown into menopause, it's so much worse. The thing is, we can't predict it or even get other's experience. We're all going to be different.

I do hope you get some relief. I fought Effexor, but I couldn't function w/o being on something heavy duty.

Hugs,
-Julie

Coux92 · 01-21-2015, 05:32 PM

I have decided to wean off the Effexor, 75 mg has not been much, if any help. I'm starting the pine bark extract with the blessing on my doc. I know Rhondalea uses it, anyone else out there that can offer some encouraging results with this. Doc wants to try nerontin but is ok with me tring this first. Started 100 mg yesterday.

IrvineFriend · 01-21-2015, 05:52 PM

I did not like the side effects with Effexor but my hot flashes caused me to vomit and I was a complete mess. Neurontin did nothing to help me, but Lexapro has been a godsend. Very minimal hot flashes and no side effects (boyfriend sees a very positive change). Most of us hate to take more meds, so keep us posted on how its working for you. Good luck!

rhondalea · 01-21-2015, 08:22 PM

I hope the pine bark works as well for you as it has worked for me, Coux. I started it before I started Tamoxifen, so I have no idea how long it takes to work, but this abstract says 8 weeks. They were using Pycnogenol®, but it really is the same thing. The difference between them and me is that I take 100 mg twice a day.

Supplementation with Pycnogenol® improves signs and symptoms of menopausal transition

Pine bark also gets good reviews for improving cognitive function. Really makes me wonder what kind of mess I'd be without it.

v-ness · 03-10-2015, 11:51 AM

hated Effexor and it's a bear to get off of. takes a long time (you get head rushes). i researched this issue heavily. i found that Ditropan has helped me. it real purpose is for women for bladder control, off-label is that it can decrease hot flashes. and that's what it did for me. i was suffering horrendous numbers of hot flashes and night sweats - i remember i counted 40 once - and they weren't flashes either, they sometimes lasted a while (especially at night). Ditropan cut them down to about 10 per day. i was seriously on the verge of going off Tamoxifen, i was so distraught. i also have a hand fan in my purse and fans bedside and on my desk. i am supposed to finally end Tamoxifen in june and i pray that the hot flashes subside or if it's not too much to ask, resolve completely. i got my first one during my first chemo, only 5 minutes in. i asked what the hell was that? joy joy. that, my friend, is your life from here on out. i can find the ditropan study if you like. valerie

v-ness · 03-10-2015, 11:55 AM

here is the article. 70% of the women responded positively to varying degrees. it does not have a lot of side effects (bonus) though you need to drink more water because it's drying, but again, water is great for you so no big deal. ditropan is oxybutynin: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17204995

valerie

Coux92 · 03-13-2015, 08:16 AM

V-ness, thank you for the information on Ditropan. I can not open the link to the study but I will look into it. For now, I have been on the Pine Bark ~ 7 weeks, increased to 200mg daily ~ 3 weeks ago. I think I'm seeing some minor improvement but I'm still hopeful that it will continue to improve. I had 3 "fair" nights in a row twice since being on the pine bark, I get all excited, then a horrendous night like last night... for ~ 3 hours I broke into sweats about every 20 min.
I'm planing on sticking with the pine bark for now, daytime flashes seem a bit less intense as well. I will explore ditropan just in case.

rhondalea · 03-13-2015, 09:36 AM

Just wanted to follow-up about my mention of Luvena for dryness.

Back in January, Leclede entered into a consent order with the FDA that allows them to continue to market all their Luvena products so long as they remove the unproved claim (that it's a prebiotic) from the labeling. That's done, and Luvena is widely available.

FDA Link:
http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsro.../ucm432505.htm
Leclede Link:
http://www.luvenacare.com/letter.html

The body wash is also nice.

Note to Coux re pine bark: I'll try to figure out what else it is I'm taking. It seems to me there's something that makes the pine bark work even more effectively, but I don't remember which something it is. I'm glad you're having some success with it, but I do hope it starts to work a little better for you. Random relief would drive me crazy, because I hate not knowing what to expect.