July 5, 2023
Ladies, are you lying awake all night because you’re sweating so much that your pajamas and bed sheets are drenched? Just when you start to fall back asleep, you start burning up and sweating again. You may be at work in a meeting, wearing your best suit, and all of the sudden you can’t stop sweating. You have to excuse yourself and leave the room. Hot flashes can be miserable (and embarrassing when around other people). You need relief fast!
Hot flashes are the most common and well known symptom of menopause. They also affect women who have had their ovaries removed or had a total hysterectomy, since that throws a woman directly into what is referred to as surgical menopause. Having a tubal ligation can also lead to menopause symptoms. Some women have mild hot flashes and can tolerate them well. However, for others, hot flashes can be debilitating.
Common Menopause Symptoms
As women age, their naturally occurring sex hormones decline, often leading to the following symptoms:
hot flashes
night sweats
fatigue
weight gain
migraines
brain fog
depression
loss of libido
osteoporosis
insomnia
anxiety
What is a hot flash?
Hot flashes occur when you feel surge of heat, a red flushed face and neck, and sweating. They occur when your estrogen levels decline during menopause, and declining progesterone can contribute to them, as well. Hot flashes occur when the blood vessels near the skin’s surface dilate to cool, making you break out in sweat. Hot flashes with sweating that happen at night are called night sweats. Hot flashes can last either for a very short time, from about six months to two years, and they usually get milder over time, but some women have them for much longer time, even possibly for the rest of their lives.
1. Restore and balance your hormones. This is the fist action step you should take. Be sure not to overlook the important significance of correcting estrogen and progesterone loss. Replenishing and balancing these hormones with bioidentical hormones is crucial to stopping hot flashes.
2. Drink lots of water. It’s important to stay hydrated throughout the day. This helps keep your body’s cooling system working well.
3. Avoid sugar which can trigger hot flashes for many women. Sugary desserts in the evening can set off hot flashes and night sweats during the night due to a drop in blood sugar.
4. Avoid triggers such as alcohol (especially red wine), chocolate, and aged cheese.
5. Turn down the A/C. Keep your bedroom as cool as possible.
6. Use fans at night to help keep the air flowing.
7. Avoid spicy foods because they make you warm inside.
8. Take a cold shower before bed.
9. Avoid using a Tempur-Pedic mattress as it tends to be hot.
10. Don’t smoke cigarettes. Tobacco is linked to an increase in hot flashes.
11. Work on losing that extra weight, since excess weight and obesity are risks factors for hot flashes.
12. Get yourself a cooling pillow to help keep you cool while you sleep. There are lots of cooling products such as sheets and pillows that can help you.
Caution: A Word about Premarin
Premarin is conventional doctors’ answer for hot flashes, and while it does contain estrogens that can help, it contains even more potent horse estrogens that were not meant to be inside the human body, with potentially devastating results, including cancer.
Premarin is made of horse estrogens derived from pregnant mare urine, hence the name, “Pre-mar-in”. It has serious side effects that include blood clots, breast tenderness, fluid retention, gall stones, headaches, high blood pressure, impaired glucose tolerance, increased risk of diabetes, increased risk of endometrial cancer and breast cancer, increased risk of heart attack and stroke, leg cramps, nausea and vomiting, vaginal bleeding, worsened uterine fibroids and endometriosis.
The Women’s Health Initiative studied 27,347 postmenopausal women, age 50–79 years. The women were given Premarin, or horse estrogen (conjugated equine estrogens), with Provera (medroxyprogesterone acetate or progestins) for women with an intact uterus and Premarin alone for women with hysterectomy, or their placebos. The main outcomes were coronary heart disease and invasive breast cancer, respectively, as well as stroke, pulmonary embolism, colorectal cancer, endometrial cancer, hip fracture, and deaths. (1)
The RIGHT Solution
The right solution is to replace those missing hormones with bioidentical hormones to restore your body back into balance. Bioidentical hormones are identical to the hormones made by your body.
After Monika had a hysterectomy, her health went downhill. She entered into what is called “surgical menopause.” She had mood swings, hot flashes, trouble sleeping, hair loss, anxiety and she was cold and tired all the time. Her doctor put her on Premarin and antidepressants, but that made her feel worse. Once she came to the Hotze Health & Wellness Center and was placed on bioidentical hormones and thyroid hormones, she got her energy and vitality back! Watch as Monika tells her story.
Are hot flashes and other menopause symptoms controlling your life? Take our symptom checker to find out what could be the cause of your symptoms.
We can help. Let us guide you safely through menopause and help you to feel your best. Contact our Wellness Consultants today for a complimentary wellness consultation at 281-698-8698. It’s time to cool off from those hot flashes and get your life back!
Research
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