I have seen that some ladies are thinking about taking menopausal supplements to help with hot flushes. I think it’s probably a good idea to check first with your clinic, as lots of these supplements contain phyto-oestrogens (plant equivalents to oestrogen) and using them might not be sensible if your BC is oestrogen positive. Anyhow it’s easy enough to check with your clinic and put your mind at rest.
grumpy
I found the hot flushes eventually stopped, after two months at most, whenever I changed tablets (first Tamoxifen, then Arimidex, then back to Tamoxifen, then Exemestane).
Hi girls.
Well, I’ve just spoken to my gp and told her my flushes have improved since starting on the clonidine, but night times are still a problem with the flushing! She’s agreed to increase my dose to 75mcg in the evening and to keep me on the 50mcg in the morning. Starting tonight!!!
Watch this space!! I’ll keep you all updated!!!
Mandy xx
So, for ‘compare and contrast’ purposes… two weeks of Clonidine 50mcg nightly… still flushing merrily!
I think some reduction in overall numbers but evening/night still pretty bad; I am melting as I type. Will speak with GP after another week to get her view about continuing and/or uping the dose and/or how to come off them (label says do not stop taking unless doctor tells you to as you can get ‘rebound’ effects!)
Hi RevCat,
There are lots of other drugs to try, so if clonodine doesn’t work for you ask the GP for something else. I used clonidine very successfully for six months, then it stopped working. I tried amytriptiline, but it made the flushes worse, I am now on citalopram which is working well. I finish my five years of tamoxifen next month - hurray!
Update!!!
Ive been on 50mcg of clonidine in the morning and 75mcg in the evening, as my hot flushes are worse in the evening and during the night. Must admit, although there has been a reduction in the amount and intensity of the flushes overall, during the night they are still a problem. Still waking me up, despite Chillow and fan on all night!!!
Ive only been on the 75mcg in the evening for 6 days so I’ll give it a bit longer. My GP gave me 2 weeks worth initially, then after phoning her last week she gave me another months worth. I think I’ll give it another week and then “review the situation!”
Mandy x
Can I ask… How soon after taking Tamoxifen did your hot flushes start? I’ve just started it and nothing yet but I am not looking forward to it. I remember the night sweats from menopause a few years ago and don’t want to repeat them.
Foxyferret, My hot flushes started during the Taxotere and they have just continued whilst on the tamoxifen. Ive been on the Tamoxifen for exactly 1 year now.
Dont get me wrong, if its a toss up between a potentially life saving drug and hot flushes, or leaving things to chance and NO hot flushes, I’m always going to go with the Tamoxifen and flushes!!
Im still deliberating over what to do about the Clonidine. Im going to give it another week or so and then contact GP to enquire about changing to something else.
Foxy, it was a couple of months after starting Tamoxifen for me, but mine may be caused by the Zoladex-induced menopause. It is possible, that if you’ve already been through the menopause, you may not get them again. Don’t look out for them and they may not find you! 
My flushes are annoying, but not too much of a problem at the moment. I hope it stays that way!
Next Zoladex injection due in a couple of weeks, so keep all knives and sharp/heavy implements out of reach, I can feel the rage beginning to build again! PMT-deluxe!! 
Hi Foxy, like the others, my flushes started during chemo and carried on with the Tamoxifen. I have been on Tanmoxifen for 18 months and like Mango Churney, it’s a no-brainer, I’ll take it and flush any day of the week if that increases the chances of keeping the cancer at bay. I am only on clonidine because the hospital offered it, I was (and still am) willing to put up with flushes for another 3.5 years if necessary.
Hopefully you won’t have them - lots of people don’t, it’s just that those who do tend to post about it.
Thanks for the replies. If I get the hot flushes I’m not really bothered, just an annoyance.
But I just wondered how long I would have to take the Tamoxifen to be sure that flushes were not going to be a SE for me.
Can they still start up after taking Tamoxifen for two months or six?
Don’t worry I’m not looking for them, the only time I think of them is when I come on this site and see the thread title at the top of latest posts!!!
Hi
My flushes started with chemo as well and the tamoxifen has them on a scale of which vesuvius would be jealous of…get through the night doing the duvet hokey pokey…left leg in,left leg out,duvet up and down, repeat with your right…but seriously…as revcat says…anything that gives me a better chance I’ll cheerfully swallow…now where’s the big fan gone…
Applestreet
Im sitting here, laughing my head off at your night time description!!! So funny!! And so true!!!
Mandy xx
Update… three weeks in. Not seeing any significant benefit from Clonidine at 50mcg/night so spoke to my GP about what next. She said try doubling the dose to 50mcg/bd as that’s still a low dose (evidently can go up 100mcg/bd) and see what happens. It’s evidently not a drug she usually prescribes, so I do wonder if she’d been there when I began if she’d have suggested something else? Anyway, I’ll keep checking in!
Applestreet you describe my experience perfectly! So funny.
Mango Chutney, any updates from you?
I’ve just ordered my chillows on Ebay! An original and a mini one. I suddenly had a panic that the hotel we will be staying in, in The Highlands of Scotland, at the end of October, is BOUND to be over-heated 24/7, catering, as it does, primarily for Shearings coach parties!
We keep our house quite cool by most people’s standards, and let’s just say I’ve rarely felt cold lately!!
My night-time dance is similar to Applestreet’s except mine’s more: Snuggle down to sleep, wake up hot, duvet off, turn face towards open window to enjoy lovely cooling breeze, doze off, wake up cold, duvet back on, snuggle down back to sleep. Repeat until the alarm goes off, usually in the spare room as the accompaniment of OH’s snoring does not provide an ideal backing track!
Several ladies have said they’re looking forward to winter. I’m not, because the transition between ‘duvet on’ and ‘duvet off’ might be near fatal in terms of temperature difference??! I don’t think throwing off just the top layer - eg a blanket over the duvet, will have the same effect!
Also, I tend to wear jumpers at school in the winter, with a vest under only if it’s really cold. Won’t be doing THAT this year. Whole new ‘uniform’ wardrobe required: can’t be throwing off jumpers left, right and centre and revealing underwear to children?! Would, at the very least lose my job, if not get arrested? 
Well, Im persevering on the 50mcg of Clonidine in the morning and 75mcg in the evening. I do think the flushes have reduced a lot, both in frequency and intensity. But also the weather is cooler, so im sure thats helping. But at least Im not at work with a wet top lip and forehead!!!
Ive not been too bad at night for the last few nights either. Again this could be due to the weather.
My only side effect ive noticed, and I dont know if anyone else has noticed this, but im a little constipated on it. (It does mention this as one of the side effects). Fortunatley I eat Bran flakes every morning sprinkled with flaxseed, and eat tons of fruit and salad every day so thats stopping things getting TOO bad, but heaven knows what things would be like if I didnt eat that!!
Anyone else noticed this?
Mandy x
Mango Chutney - I re-read the side effects leaflet for Clonidine and constiptation is listed, so it could be slowing things down for you… I just have a dry mouth and a strange, almost aniseed, taste in my mouth most of the time. Flushes a little less since the dose was increased, so we’ll see what happens!!
I recently saw a US advert for a fan designed to blow cool air under bedclothes. Haven’t seen them advertised here, though, and don’t know how well they work. I’ve done the duvet hokey-cokey for years now, though it does eventually improve a bit, I promise. You wake up hot and wet with sweat, then you wake up cold and still wet. Not good.
As far as workwear goes, I think it has to be layers, with cotton next to your skin as much as possible, and 1 or 2 layers on top, say a waistcoat or light and perhaps sleeveless pullover and a jacket or cardigan that aren’t too heavy. Then you just have to remember where you took them off when the chill hits and you want to put them back on. I wore 3/4 sleeves as much as possible or rolled up my cuffs, partly to avoid getting whiteboard marker and pen marks all over them, but that also seemed to help a little bit when the personal tropical moments hit.
Update.
My flushes are definately better. Dont get me wrong, I still have the odd one but nothing like they were.
But the biggest thing to inform you of is…I have put the winter duvet on!!! For the last 14 months we’ve had the 4.5 tog duvet on (even over last winter). But yesterday, I put the 9 tog one on!!! And apart from waking up to spend a penny last night, I was fine!!! Maybe Im speaking too soon but so far so good!!!
Ill keep you informed!!!
Mandy xx
That’s sounding good Mandy.
OK update from the caledonian branch of the Clonidine trial!!
I have now been on 50 microgrammes morning and evening for just over a week, and it is having some benefit I think, though this would be my ‘less flushy week’ anyway (I seem to have an underlying cycle of something still). Days are better, but nights are still bad, and indeed more intensely flushy than ever… yuk, soggy nightwear and the duvet-hokey-cokey, so glad of my three chillows!.. my duvet is a 4.5 I think, winter and summer. I am also getting some ‘cold flushes’ or shivers which I understand are caused in the same way as the hot ones. It is defintely colder here now, but I only knew to turn on the heat when my nose was icy cold and I began to shiver - I genuinely felt comfortable!
Hope all are well, and that your flushes do fly away soon, leaving you in peace.