I finished Chemo 4 lots of AC on the 2nd of Feb 09.Has anyone experienced reallly bad hot flushes mainly at night.I dont sleep very weel at the mo either.Havent had aperiod since December do you think ive gone into an erarly menopause.Pleass Help!!!
Hi,
red clover and sage worked for me, you can get them at Holland and Barret.
Sounds like you are on the change. Sorry it is not much fun but it will get better.
Love Debsxxx
I’m post menopausal and didn’t really get all the hot flush problems - me periods just stopped and that was it. However, I do tend to overheat during the night despite having the thinnest duvet possible on the bed. I keep a can of spray mist at the side of the bed (you can buy it in places like Superdrug for about 99p) and I also have a mini fan in the bedside drawer.
What I’ve found is I have a tendency to have to go to the loo during the night which I never used to do before. An absolute pain as it always happens at about 3.15 am!
Dont know how old you are melly, but I am 42. I finished my treatment in October and my periods seemed to have disappeared forever. I have terrible hot flushes and I also take red clover as recommended by my consultant and they do seem to work
Julie x
YES…YES!!! Every night without fail at around 3am - 4am since the change of clock. I start out freezing cold when I go to bed, then end up like the heat centre of our house. I keep a cotton pillow in my collection which I swap to when I wake, it always feels cold and helps me to drift back off - if not, I resort to my trusty ipod and it’s sleep meditation which I downloaded from itunes.
It’s a total pain though, I used to sleep like a log from the moment my head hit the pillow and not wake until it was time to get up in the morning.
Thank you i will try the red clover or sage,anything is better than these awful hot flushes
I will also try red clover as the hot flushes can happen at any time do they sell it in the bucket load - im fed up of stripping off and standing on the door step what a sight but i do live out in the sticks !!!111
Hi all
I’ve found Black Cohosh helps my HF’s (also from H&B or other health food stores). I was, however, warned to stay off the others as they act as weak oestrogens, which is not advisable for some BC types.
Rosie
Hi Ladies
i used to have very bad hot flushes night and day which were really distressing me and causing me to lose sleep until my onc gave me MEGESTROL ACETATE 40mg. I have only been taking them for just over a week and already i feel a whole lot better, i only get the odd hot flush during the day and at night it seems to be getting less. xx
Re Black Cohosh - I’d do a bit of research because I have read some articles that have said it’s a no-no for BC and it shouldn’t be taken if you are on any chemo, or any of the drugs like Tamoxifen.
I took it for peri-menopause before I had BC and found it made me feel nauseous, same with stuff like evening primrose. Recently I’ve had to stop taking cod liver oil and vitamin c as they were both making my joints worse. I just try to manage everything with diet and have found cutting out things like bread helps. I’m also limiting sweet things like biscuits and I only allow myself cake if it’s one I’ve made myself. I’m convinced all the preservatives and e numbers they put in stuff causes problems when you are menopausal.
I suffered with night sweats intermittently before being diagnosed. They seemed to have disappeared until I started the Tamoxifen and suddenly I’m heating the whole house in the middle of the night. Over the years I’ve found alcohol & spicy food tend to make it worse. Soya is supposed to be quite good - apparently women in far eastern countries who have a high soya content in their diet don’t get the same menopausal symptons we do in the west.
Oh, and I prefer to call them “power surges” - aged aunts have hot flushes and I feel far too young for that 
Hi Melli,
I find my hot flushes actually hurt!! They start as a ‘feeling’ before I actually get hot and I then know to strip off fast before they hit! Absolutely hate them! I love the fact that I don’t get periods any more, but never expected these horrid flushes to be so uncomfortable, and still getting them even tho’ I finished chemo in Sept 07.
I did try one of the alternative remedies contained black koshash etc, but it didn’t really work, and then I read that there could be potential problems re;BC.
The thing that has worked for me is soya milk. I find it has decreased, but not completely eradicated flushes, but now far less frequent. I know there is also contoversy about soya, but I am triple neg so my tumour is not hormone-linked so I feel happier taking it. I think research is siding with soya being safe now anyway, but others may disagree.
The other thing worth investing in is the incredible Chillow Pillow! I grab it at every flush! Magically feels like its been in a fridge as soon as you lie on it…lovely for your hot face.
Best wishes, and I hope you find some relief!
Jax
Well, I’m going to make you all jealous. My periods never came back after chemo. I had one or two small hot flushes and that was that - no mood swings or any of the other symptoms associated with the change! I was 45 and had suffered so badly with PMT since my teens that I thought I was in for a dreadful time.
Josie
Hi all
I finished my treatment last August, check-ups have confirmed I’m now post menopausal (periods stopped just before chemo), am on Tamoxifen which just exacerbates things…haven’t slept well for about a year! I’m desperately hoping this doesn’t continue for too long - have been told 1st year is the worst…
n a different tangent I was wondering if there was a support group in my area (SW london)& if not, how do I go about setting one up?
xxxxxxxx
Hi Ladies,
Im also on tamoxifen but ive just got some tablets from doctors to help stop hot flushes they havent got any hormones in as im not allowed any they are called CLONIDINE ive only been taking them since monday and i havent had a hot flush since there fantastic (well for me anyway).
Hope this helps
Take care
Leslee x
I posted a previous comment saying that my onc gave me MEGESTROL ACETATE for my hot flushes, i started taking them on the 25th of March and they worked very quickly. i would definatley recommend them.
My cancer was er+ so my overies were to be removed, but as there is gyna cancers in my family i was given a full hysterectomy.
The chemo had already stopped my periods and i was expecting the worst with the menopause as I used to suffer terrible pmt and period pains,but i have not had mood swings etc and the medication has stopped my hot flushes. I don’t know if the medication that stopped my hot flushes also stops other menopausal symptoms. It’s worth a try. I’m getting taken of tamoxifen and put on arimidex so i hope i don’t have problems with that…anyone on arimidex?
Yeah me too Vodka i have the brca2 gene had bi-lateral masectomy in dec 08 then full hytsrectomy and oopherectomy in feb 09 was dx with bc in oct 07. Apart from the flushes i dont suffer from any menapausal symptoms either. Im also on calcium tabs to prevent oesteprosis(sp?)
Anything is worth trying if it helps, its hard enough without anything else on top.
Take Care
Leslee x
Ah! Hot flushes. Something I’ve not really had a big run in with yet, but I’m pre-meno, finished chemo and now just started Tamoxifen so I’m expecting them to become part of life soon. I’ve heard the chillow is excellent. Got mine on standby. Much cheaper on ebay than anywhere else. I’m taking Primrose which you need to take for about 3 months before they start having any effect. Periods stopped which is heaven but is it the calm before the storm. Just dreading these flushes. I’m going to try soya milk but I will NOT give up my evening red wine. No, I just wont!!
When I was reading through some of the postings for hot flushes, someone mentioned feeling freezing as well. Thank goodness,because I have both as well. I can put up with the flushes even although my sleep is ruined, but the cold is worse, I have started hugging a hot water bottle while watching tv, and also go to bed with it, only to toss it when the heat comes back. I am taking Tamoxifen therefore any kind of menopausal treatment is out of the question. I will see my consultant in June and ask him for something to help me.
Hi Gam
I am also sweating and freezing, seem to have absolutley no temperature control since chemo, so you are certainly not alone!!!
Kinden
x