Hot flashes, cycling and running

[indigoiis]

Hi all,
Since increasing my training, I am experiencing more hot flashes and night sweats. This could be the onset of perimenopause, but I thought it was odd that it seems to happen more after a day of activity.

Anyone else experience this? I just want to feel normal and cool again. LOL. :cool:

[bmccasland]

I had similar experiences, and finally broke down to better living through chemistry, HRT. And that was only after a long talk with my Ob/gyn. The mood swings that came with the not getting enough sleep at night wasn't much fun. Wake up hot & sweaty, kick off covers; wake up chilled, pull covers back; repeat for 3-4 times/night did not lead to waking rested in the morning :mad:

[Biciclista]

it keeps happening, even after menopause. I have just gotten used to it. it's a part of life, there are worse things. (And most doctors will give you HRT for only 2 years, so pick your battles)

[indigoiis]

I hate the heart palpitations part. It's happening a lot after I eat, and on Sunday, it happened during a 5K. It was a hot sunny day, but I was really really hot. I drank plenty of water, too.

I am just wondering if there are natural remedies besides stripping (NOW I understand where they are coming from) and getting a job in a meat locker?

[azfiddle]

I have had a huge improvement in my sleep with the HRT, which I started in March. However, for the last month or so, I have been waking up again in the early morning hours especially, and can't always get back to sleep. Sometimes I experience a mild hot flashes at that time, too. I haven't talked to the doctor, but have been thinking about it.... I don't really do well with sleep deficit!
Sharon

[Crankin]

I have had the same thing. I am 7 years post menopause and all of a sudden, the flashes started again. And it coincided with the onset of the cycling season, too.
Weird. And when i do a hard ride, I cannot fall asleep.

[Dogmama]

You can try black cohosh, increasing soy intake, some of the combo supplements. There was a warning about black cohosh awhile ago, I don't recall what it was.

Those worked for me for awhile, but I ended up on HRT. I have the Vivelle dot and I take prometrium at night. Just being able to sleep is great. I had the kind of hot flashes where you drip. I mean, even my calves would sweat. Luckily, I'm a student & spend my days in front of this computer by myself, so I can turn up the fan & take off my clothes.

[indigoiis]

Do you all think there is a correlation between increased training and the hots? My mom denies every having experienced menopause (though she's of a generation that doesn't do girl talk) and says I'm too young (I'm 41.)

[Biciclista]

I don't think you're too young. I think you're of the age. It goes on and on.
For me there is no correlation between working out and hot flashes, but it could be for you. Keep working out. it's good for you. Hot flashes happen.

[OakLeaf]

Working out seems to decrease them, for me.

Mine aren't terribly bad IMO, but then I'm a heavy sweater anyhow, and for me to be just sitting there with sweat dripping off me is pretty much normal. :rolleyes:

What increases them - for me - is anything that increases estrogen, particularly alcohol, but also soy.

[Dogmama]

"They" say that caffeine also increases hot flashes. It's true for me - I'll be sweatin' & drinkin' my mornin' cup 'o' Joe...

[Bike Chick]

I'm on hrt so the hot flashes and night sweats are at bay right now....I have issues with ummmmm, uhhhhh, how do I say it but "incontinence" when I run. I can't finish a 5k without finding a bush just past 2.5 miles! I don't know what I'm gonna do when they harvest all the corn along my running route!

[Crankin]

I tried black cohosh years ago, when I was in peri. It didn't do a thing. I just deal with the flashes. Usually keep a big bottle of water by me and drink a bunch when I feel one starting. I mostly have one big one when I wake up.
My worst symptom has been the "dryness" issue, which put a severe crimp in my love life. I got an E-string about 5 years ago and it has made a nice improvement, but the issue is still there. The nurse practitioner I went to at my last doctor said that this is also an issue of "use it or lose it," so i guess I need to "use it" more. But, getting the E-string, definitely eliminated some of the pain I had cycling, which were not really saddle issues.
My gyn. is a tri-athlete, but when I first went to her, she had not started this and she was kind of clueless when I tried to describe the issue I was having. Now, she always asks.

[Biciclista]

I made a comment to my doctor after she prescribed a tube of estrace for all of the above tissue complaints; "what did women my age do before Estrace?" She said women of a certain age didn't ride bikes or have sex much once upon a time.
Bike Chick, there are exercises and programs for people in your situation. you might send a message to Knotted Yet she can tell you the name of it.

[arielmoon]

No chemicals in my body thank you. I take Chinese herb blends that I get from my acupuncturist. My hot flashes are mild and the night sweats are gone.

I dont know that exercise has any effect on them one way or another.

[OakLeaf]

I was at a seminar today where the lecturer commented that many trace minerals are hormonal regulators.

So... if exercise is increasing menopausal symptoms (the opposite of my personal experience) I wonder if you're not sweating out more trace minerals than you're replacing. Maybe try increasing your intake of vegetables, preferably biodynamic and/or home grown? For what salt you use in cooking and electrolyte replacement, use unrefined salt?

[Dogmama]

There is an estrogen tablet that you can insert intravaginally that helps plump up the tissues (can't think of a better explanation, sorry.) You absorb just a tiny amount. I use it and I like it.

[Dogmama]

No chemicals in my body thank you. I take Chinese herb blends that I get from my acupuncturist. My hot flashes are mild and the night sweats are gone.

I dont know that exercise has any effect on them one way or another.

I'm glad that you can do minimal things for your hot flashes. I was that way for years - a few herbs, some acupuncture, a nice massage and I could handle them. Then I spent one solid year sweating at least 5-7 times a day so badly that rivers ran down my torso and my calves even sweated. I'd be damned if I was going to "cave." Then, the memory and the sleep started suffering and I couldn't stand to be in my own skin. So, I take a dusting of estrogen & progesterone. Much better.

My point - be careful about being supercilious. You never know what the future holds.

The "chemicals" are bioidentical, not horse urine, btw. So, I don't consider them foreign chemicals.

[Crankin]

Dogmama, the E-string is the same thing as the tablets, except you just insert a new one every 3 months. It's about 2mg of estrogen over that period. Very low dose. It's a ring that is just like the ones that are used for birth control.
As for the natural remedies, +1. I tried everything, and while my symptoms were mild, none of the natural remedies helped. So, I just lived with the flashes and got the help for the dryness.
Sherrylouz, early forties is not too young for perimenopause. I was around 42-43 when my periods started becoming irregular, heavy, and annoying. They stopped when I was 48, but for two years before that, I went 9-11 months without a period. So, while some people are having kids at age 42, I was definitely in perimenopause. My mom and aunt both were the same way.

[indigoiis]

I haven't had any hot flashes in the past week or so.
It also hasn't been that hot around here. This morning it was 40.
So I am wondering if I was overheating - but the night sweats thing - ?

Anyhow, cool weather seems to help.

[arielmoon]

indi- cool weather does seem to help me too!

I'm glad that you can do minimal things for your hot flashes. I was that way for years - a few herbs, some acupuncture, a nice massage and I could handle them. Then I spent one solid year sweating at least 5-7 times a day so badly that rivers ran down my torso and my calves even sweated. I'd be damned if I was going to "cave." Then, the memory and the sleep started suffering and I couldn't stand to be in my own skin. So, I take a dusting of estrogen & progesterone. Much better.

My point - be careful about being supercilious. You never know what the future holds.

The "chemicals" are bioidentical, not horse urine, btw. So, I don't consider them foreign chemicals.

I hear you. Loosing sleep is not worth it! I am very grateful that I am able to manage it this way even if it is only temporary. The idea with the Chinese herbs is to encourage my body to make the hormones instead of replacing them with something foreign. The only time I have taken hormones was after the ovomectomy to keep me from cycling for a few months and I really didnt like it. I will never say never but for now the herbs and acupuncture are working!

[jasmine]

I wonder if there is some correlation between working out a lot, decreased body fat and hot flashes? I notice that when I am training hard and lose a bit of body fat my hot flashes and night sweats kick up a couple of notches. I remember reading somewhere that there is a connection between estrogen and body fat--that estrogen is stored in body fat and therefore heavier people tend to have milder menopause symptoms? Such a dilemma if this is true because the hot flashes are so disruptive but who wants to deliberately put on body fat?

[Crankin]

I've read that, too, but not sure if it's really scientifically valid.
The cooler weather decreases the flashes for sure.

[Over50Newbie]

For me, when I exercise really hard and sweat a lot during exercise, I have no night sweats that night.

It is when I am sedentary during the day that I experience night sweats.

Indigolis - it sounds just like the opposite of you.

It shows that we are all different.

Lynette

[Dogmama]

I wonder if there is some correlation between working out a lot, decreased body fat and hot flashes? I notice that when I am training hard and lose a bit of body fat my hot flashes and night sweats kick up a couple of notches. I remember reading somewhere that there is a connection between estrogen and body fat--that estrogen is stored in body fat and therefore heavier people tend to have milder menopause symptoms? Such a dilemma if this is true because the hot flashes are so disruptive but who wants to deliberately put on body fat?

Hi Jasmine-
I've read that too - but there is new information that heavier women have MORE hot flashes because their body mass keeps them hotter.

Sheesh!! Who knows??

I have the vivelle dot patch and take prometrium and I'm really happy. Not only have hot flashes abated, but I'm sleeping all night, I can actually REMEMBER things and my mood is 110% better. My gyn has special training in menopause management and that is his prescription. I've never felt better. I did bio-identicals for quite awhile but either they never got in right in the compounding pharmacy, or the creams aren't enough for me, or something. PLUS, they're mega-expensive whereas my insurance helps pay for my patches.

[jasmine]

hey dogmama, nice dog pic, that's my new puppy on my picture and I also have a belgian shepherd----my gyn suggested not sleeping with the dogs on my bed to reduce hot flashes---hmm perhaps a new gyn in needed?
I'm not familiar with the vivelle dot patch--what is that?

[malkin]

I don't understand the 'no dogs on the bed' recommendation. Because of their body heat?

[Dogmama]

hey dogmama, nice dog pic, that's my new puppy on my picture and I also have a belgian shepherd----my gyn suggested not sleeping with the dogs on my bed to reduce hot flashes---hmm perhaps a new gyn in needed?
I'm not familiar with the vivelle dot patch--what is that?

Yup, definitely need a new gyn. Probably body heat. I have a cat who used to burrow under the covers when I hot flashed at night. I was his personal heating pad.

The vivelle dot patch that I use (there may be others) is a small patch - about 1/2" - that you put on your butt & it delivers a constant flow of estrogen. It gets replaced 2X/week. You can shower, swim, etc. & it doesn't come off. I also take prometrium (progesterone) at night because I still have a uterus.

Anyway, it works for me. And I really did not want to do any hormones, but it just got unbearable.

[Laterider21958]

Just tuned into this thread.

Entering menopause at the moment and the hot flushes are becoming quite frequent day and night. Frequency, intensity and duration of flushes vary from day to day and I can't pinpoint why. Could it be diet, hydration levels etc?

I don't think having a good layer of body fat makes a difference as I once had an elderly neighbour who was overweight and experiencing hot flushes many times during a day - enough to see beads of sweat on her face - she was well into her 70's and carried one of those mini battery operated personal fans to cool off.

I sincerely hope that I'm not headed for the same future! HRT is not an option for me as my mother got hormone related breast cancer after taking it and I don't want to go down that pathway.

[badger]

not sure how I missed this thread, as I have had ongoing night sweats since I was about 18. In my early thirties, when the problem was getting so bothersome (so drenched the top layer of the mattress would be wet and I would have to sleep on the other side of the bed), my doctor checked to make sure I wasn't going through early menopause (I wasn't).

Since then, I've more or less "controlled" it by rubbing wild yam extract starting day 14 of my cycle. I still occasionally wake up wet, but for the most part not bad. I do find that winters are worse because I use a heavier duvet and I get hotter at night.

In the last 4 nights, I've woken up on 3 of them drenched, and I'm not expecting my period for another week (usually happens a couple days to about 4th day of period).

I realized that I switched my regular multivitamin (New Chapter Every Woman) which contains soy lecithin. I can't think of anything else that I've done different lately; my exercise level's the same, still using the cream, etc.

It's really gross, but like others have said, I guess there are worse things.

[KnottedYet]

I started with the hot flashes in my late 30's, and my mom said "yep, that's when we all start in this family. They'll last about 15 years."

Grrrrr.

That's why I like to wear supportive tank-tops as underwear. You can strip down to the tank top without offending too many folks and the sports top fabrics are pretty good at wicking. I love LOVE the Terry Eurohalters. They give lots of air exposure yet have that high neck that keeps everything "safe for work." http://www.teamestrogen.com/search.ep?keyWords=eurohalter&search-form-submit=go

My hot flashes are definitely worse in warm weather and with alcohol. Exercise seems to lessen them. They can also come roaring in if I get embarrassed, like a blush gone wild.

[Dogmama]

My hot flashes are definitely worse in warm weather and with alcohol. Exercise seems to lessen them. They can also come roaring in if I get embarrassed, like a blush gone wild.

My flashes are worse with chocolate :(. I had chocolate last night & woke up twice completely soaked. Had to get DH to move over so I could get to a dry part of the bed.

[OakLeaf]

Alcohol for me, too. It's a good reminder for me to stay off the stuff...

[azfiddle]

Since I started HRT, I sleep so much better- I get one warm flash in the morning about 6 am most days, and don't notice anything the rest of the time. Before the HRT- I went through some pretty miserable days and nights. I'm much happier now.

[Seajay]

The "chemicals" are bioidentical, not horse urine, btw. So, I don't consider them foreign chemicals.

I just finished reading Mia Lundin's book. She is a huge proponent of bioidentical hormones. Problem is that its proving impossible to find anything by an M.D. on the subject.
Comments on bioidenticals? success or issues with them? and can anyone quote medical studies or refer an M.D.
Thanks!

[OakLeaf]

There aren't many sources I really trust, but here are two.

Here's what the Breast Cancer Fund has to say (http://www.insideprevention.org/2010/10/study-hrt-increases-breast-cancer-mortality.html?cid=6a00d8341c07cd53ef013488a181ea970c#comment-6a00d8341c07cd53ef013488a181ea970c) about bioidentical hormones:


There are very few studies, and those that exist have somewhat contradictory findings regarding impact on breast cancer. On the other hand, differently aged women, different compounds of hormones, different duration of using hormone supplements...all make comparisons difficult.

We are concerned that even taking bioidentical hormones extends the lifetime exposure of women to estrogens and progesterone, given the extensive data linking duration of hormonal exposure with risk of breast cancer. We also recognize that that there are differences in biological potency of various component estrogens, and that pharmacies and/or companies differ in their recipes for compounding the bioidentical hormone components.

In short, we support inclusion of bioidentical hormones in ongoing studies of efficacy and health outcomes (positive and negative), especially for post-menopausal women using these compounds to address the symptoms of menopause.

The National Women's Health Network is less equivocal (http://nwhn.org/bio-identical-hormones-21st-century-ht-or-19th-century-snake-oil):


All hormone products, bio-identical or not, are manufactured in a lab. While some are synthesized from “natural” sources (horse urine, plants, etc.), all go through extensive treatments in the lab to become hormone products. Some are synthesized to be exact copies of the body’s hormones (e.g., estradiol, estrone and progesterone); others are made into forms that are similar, such as progestins and conjugated equine estrogens. Unlike herbs, there’s no place in nature women can go to harvest hormones for home use. An interesting aspect to the natural vs. synthetic argument is the little known fact that many pharmacies that promote bio-identical hormones as natural alternatives actually buy the raw ingredients from pharmaceutical companies!

Are bio-identical hormones safer than other forms of HT? No. Are bio-identical hormones more effective than traditional HT? No, again.

[Dogmama]

You might be able to Google bio-identical hormones in the Google-scholar section. You'll find actual studies that you can look up. Basically, bio-identical hormones are made to be replicates of what we begin to loose. Compounding pharmacies can make them but there is some question about quality control - you don't really know that the specified levels are accurate. You can also get bio-identicals through a pharmacy. All require a doctor's prescription. Bio-identicals can be rubbed on (as in Diva Gel, my current one), applied as a patch (aka, Vivelle Dot) or taken orally.

I found an MD who specializes in menopause management. He has no problem with bio-identical hormones and we've been trying different types. My hot flashes are so intense that my calves actually sweat. I always have an array of clothing from heavy sweatshirts to sleeveless tops that I alternate during the day. I have annoying side effects from HRT, e.g., I can't wear my contacts because my eyes dry up, bloating, constipation & general malaise. BUT, I do sleep better and my hot flashes become bearable. My general mood improves and my memory becomes better. So, right now I'm on diva gel which I'm starting at half the regular dose. I go on & off - not good, I know. I've tried black cohosh, soy, you name it. They work a little bit, for a little while, but then I'm back to square one.

My doc says he has patients who are breast cancer survivors who still take estrogen. I went to a nurse practitioner who had breast cancer & said she'd never stop estrogen because it's a quality of life issue. So, some women are very adamant and I can't blame them.

BTW, The WHI study used Premarin which is horse urine. The FDA extrapolated that their findings extended to all hormone replacements. In 2005, the makers of Premarin petitioned the FDA to restrict the availability of bio-identical hormones.

[tealtreak]

I started with the hot flashes in my late 30's, and my mom said "yep, that's when we all start in this family. They'll last about 15 years."

Grrrrr.

That's why I like to wear supportive tank-tops as underwear. You can strip down to the tank top without offending too many folks and the sports top fabrics are pretty good at wicking. I love LOVE the Terry Eurohalters. They give lots of air exposure yet have that high neck that keeps everything "safe for work." http://www.teamestrogen.com/search.ep?keyWords=eurohalter&search-form-submit=go

My hot flashes are definitely worse in warm weather and with alcohol. Exercise seems to lessen them. They can also come roaring in if I get embarrassed, like a blush gone wild.
ditto this advice- even when it is 5 degrees I have a tank top as my bottom layer so I can strip (: HRT kinda out of the question since my lumpectomy............

[Lauralyn]

So glad I found this I have been having the hot flashes for some time. It is just great when I wake up and the sheets are to wet to get back into. I did not think of the acupuncture route. I also deal with the mood swings, they are lots of fun also.
Great info here thanks all.

[AppleTree]

Another possibility to consider is your Thyroid levels. I know that in my 40's and even now, when my thyroid levels are high (I have Grave's Disease or hyper-thyroid) I get extremely hot at different times of the day and at night too, although I really don't have night sweats per se...

Just something else to think about.