There has never been a word in my life that I disliked as much since the word cancer and then came Menopause! It really knows how to through a monkey wrench into our lives when things finally are beginning to get back to normal. To any man that says he wishes he were a woman because our lives are "so much easier" I say this; bring it on sweetheart! Men have no idea what we go through. Every woman's body is different and there are times that we don't know whats going on inside of us, so how on earth could a man know? Oh sure they show signs of empathy for us, or make wisecracks or comments under their breath...but those are the times that I look that a man and just want to nail his balls to a tree. From one day to the next (especially when you are going through menopause) we wonder what next? What else is our body going to do and when will we ever feel normal again?
My mother and her mother finished menopause by age 42. So what the heck is going on with my body? Why am I suffering through this now, and for that matter why does any woman have to suffer this? At 48 when you wake up out of a sound sleep to sweat buckets pouring off you and find yourself racing to the freezer to get an icepack to bring back to bed with you simply to lower your body heat all which trying to get back to a normal sleep pattern just seems crazy,...but oh does it work. The ice pack lowers your body temperature quickly. So gals, if you or any woman you know is experiencing hot flashes ( I call them power surges) throughout the night and they are not 'hot spells' from hot sex, try this method.Theoretically these are called 'night sweats' I'd like to call them a REAL PAIN IN MY ASS! To side with men for just a moment here, I learned recently that a man who has had prostrate cancer can actually get hot flashes after having been on a particular drug or two for this disease. Those are the only men getting my sympathy at the moment.
I've spoken about this and even written an article or two in my past blogs, but what you're getting now is coming from a woman who has been up since 4am fighting the sweat and mood swings. One minute I'm happy, the next I'm in tears. Not always, just every now and then. To those of you who don't have a clue what I am trying to say, or wonder just what is a hot flash?
A hot flash is a
momentary sensation of heat that may be accompanied by a red, flushed
face and sweating. The cause of hot flashes is not known, but may be
related to changes in circulation. Hot flashes occur when the blood vessels near the
skin's surface dilate to cool. This produces the red, flushed look to
the face. A woman may also perspire to cool down the body. In addition,
some women experience a rapid heart rate or chills.Hot flashes accompanied with sweating can also occur at night. These are called night sweats and may interfere with your sleep, and my beauty sleep is crucial! A hot flush is a hot flash plus a visual appearance of redness in the face and neck. I can feel it coming on like fire ants under my skin.
How Long Will I Have Hot Flashes?
The severity and duration of hot flashes varies among women going
through menopause. Some women have hot flashes for a very short time
during menopause. Other women may have hot flashes at least to some
degree for life. Generally, hot flashes are less severe as time
passes. So then, on that happy note I told my kids that if this gets much worse and I can't take this up and down, hot and cold (like the Katy Perry song) anymore to just take me out in the back yard and shoot me like Old Yeller and put me out of my misery once and for all. I feel like a million bucks and don't at all feel like I am 48. Nothing can get me down, but these darn hot flashes are enough to drive me crazy.
Did you know that hot flashes
are sudden waves of heat that can start in the waist or chest
and work their way to the neck and face and sometimes over
the rest of the body. The upper body, from the chest to the
scalp may begin to sweat profusely. You may also "flush,"
that is, become red as you flash.
Heart
rate and skin blood flow increase, although internal body
temperature may drop by as much as three or four degrees as
the body struggles to correct the imbalance. After the flash,
the body quickly becomes chilled as it struggles to regain
its normal temperature. There's no real "average" when it
comes to duration. Some flashes can last 15 to 30 seconds,
while others from 3 to 6 minutes. Most women who've come through
Power Surge have described theirs as approximately 5 minutes, This happened to me on more than one occasion, Several actually while I was out at the clubs hunting men with the girls and literally had to clear a booth or the floor to lie down because I got so overheated that I felt like I was going to pass out. Talk about an embarrassment and a half? It was like shooting myself in the foot so to speak....Then I have to ask myself"What may wouldn't want this?" I learned that the alcohol in my bloodstream was triggering these hot flashes as was stress, As a single mother of two having raised them and put them through college solo I felt that I deserved that title of Super Mom but my body was trying to tell me something.
I've gone ahead and done my own research and this is what I found about these nasty pests that take us from cold to hot in a matter of seconds;
Can I Prevent Hot Flashes?
While it may be impossible to completely avoid hot
flashes during menopause, there are certain triggers that may bring them
on more frequently or cause them to be more severe. To prevent hot
flashes, avoid these triggers:
- Stress
- Caffeine
- Alcohol
- Spicy foods
- Tight clothing
- Heat
- Cigarette smoke
- Marijuana
Other things you can do to keep hot flashes at bay include:
- Stay cool. Keep your bedroom cool at night. Use fans during the day. Wear light layers of clothes with natural fibers such as cotton.
- Try deep, slow abdominal breathing (six to eight breaths per minute). Practice deep breathing for 15 minutes in the morning, 15 minutes in the evening and at the onset of hot flashes.
- Exercise daily. Walking, swimming, dancing, and bicycling are all good choices.
- Chill pillows; cooler pillows to lay head on at night might be helpful.
Talk to your doctor about taking short-term (less than five years) hormone replacement therapy
or HRT. This treatment prevents hot flashes in many women. In addition,
it can help other symptoms of menopause, including vaginal dryness and
mood disorders. However, even short-term hormone therapy carries some
risks, including blood clots and gallbladder inflammation. If HRT is not
right for you, there are other treatments
that may offer relief. These include both over-the-counter and
prescription therapies. It is important to clear any new drugs
(including over-the-counter) or supplements with your doctor before
taking.
Nonprescription treatments include:
- Vitamin B complex
- Vitamin E
- Ginseng
- Ibuprofen
Prescription treatments include:
- Catapres, Catapres-TTS, and Aldomet, blood pressure medications
- Birth control pills
- Antidepressants, such as Zoloft, Paxil, and Effexor
- Other hormones, such as Provera and Megace
- Neurontin, an anti-seizure drug
If you are experiencing what I have been going through for the past 5 or 6 years and only this past year has it become so much worse, then follow the above steps if you don't want to seek a physician's advice or if you have no health care coverage. We're all in this together gals and we need to stick together. Please comment on this article and share your hot flash story!
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