Another thread on hot flashes: triggers

[ny biker]

I was reading through some of the threads on hot flashes, and I noticed that some ladies find that chocolate can trigger them. (And I was eating Dove chocolate-covered cranberries at the time. Hmmm.)

I've been indulging in a fair amount of chocolate lately, so I'm going to go cold-turkey to see if it helps. But I'm wondering, for those of you who have found that certain foods or drinks make the flashes worse -- how long after eating or drinking the trigger do the flashes occur? Is it pretty much an immediate cause-effect thing, or more that things you eat/drink during the day are affecting you hours later?

Thanks!!

[Crankin]

My flashes always just came out of nowhere... except if it got exceptionally hot in my classroom (which happened regularly because of a horrible heating system). That seemed to be the only trigger I could ever figure out. So, I just got a bigger water bottle and began to drink from it copiously, as soon as I felt the first aura of a flash. Occasionally, I would sneakily pour some water onto my hand and splash my face. I don't put it outside of the realm of possibility that chocolate could cause them. Caffeine has been implicated, so...
I regularly had a hot flash, every morning upon awakening, for 10+ years. In fact, despite the fact I have been post menopausal for almost 13 years, it still happens if I am sick.

[Helene2013]

I've been into those hotties for a few weeks. It had stopped but I tried something someone told me. Called Phytoconfort. It contains standardized soy extract 40%, Black cohosh and Damiana. Seems to be working for me. I had stopped it and it came back big time. For me, the hot flashes only seem to start at around 10pm but the worst are mid-night. I feel them coming and strong for a 30-45 seconds. Then I'm fine for 40-45 minutes and it starts all over again. Short nights. haha So I'm back on those for the past 3 days. Will see if it works again this time.

[OakLeaf]

The main thing that ever triggered mine was alcohol. They'd start within a few hours of consumption but I could keep having them for another day or two.

[Thorn]

I used to play the "gee, what set them off this time" game, but then realized that, for me, that's just bad science....sure, I'd just eaten chocolate or had a glass of wine, but how many times had I had chocolate or a glass of wine that didn't trigger a hot flash?

That said, I read that one theory for the hot flashes is that it is a failure of the body to thermoregulate. Our temperature fluctuates within the day normally and is affected by the ambient temperature. When our temperature rises (oh, like at bedtime or upon waking or hot rooms/summer days), it should just creep slowly. However, something is missing in the menopausal body to handle that regulation and thus, instead of slow change, we perceive a spike. We over/undercompensate for those temperature changes.

For me, that seemed to make sense and correlate better than any food-based logic. Like Crankin, I find that keeping cold water near by and sipping at the onset works well.

Now, the question I have for y'all...do any of you find that when you're in a period of hot flashes that you have problems on the bike? I've had 2 episodes of really bad cramping (quads + hamstrings + calves, both legs) and both times were when I was going through a longer period of hot flashes. I have read that estrogen is related to muscle cramps, but then, the muscle cramp research is as "maybe it is this; maybe it that" as the hot flash research.

[Crankin]

The weird thing is, I only had a hot flash once while riding outside. I was still riding the mountain bike, with slicks, on the road when I had my last period, so I was kind of a newbie. Although the flashes continued for many years, as I said above, I really believed the outdoor activity helped them. I also lost about 10-15 lbs., which may have helped. I do remember having a couple of flashes in spin class, so I firmly believe it was being outside that helped regulate everything.

[emily_in_nc]

I don't recall ever having one while or after eating chocolate (thank the gods!) The only "food/drink" trigger I've noticed is coffee in the morning, and even then, it's certainly not every time, just occasionally. I just had one, in fact, sitting here eating nothing. Turned on the ceiling fan and grabbed my bottle of cold water out of the fridge, and all's well now. Most of mine are at night in bed rather than during the day.

[AppleTree]

I rarely "flash" now, but usually what triggered it for me was either stress or alcohol... not even bad stress necessarily, but definitely emotion could do it for me. Wine or any alcohol would trigger a serious hot flash, and sometimes still does. Thankfully not chocolate though, egads! Sipping cold water usually helped me tremendously. My mother complained so loud and long when she had hot flashes and I was determined not to be like that. I think she suffered longer because she complained about it so much and made such a big deal out of it when it happened. Of course, she lives in Florida, so probably was somewhat worse for her. :p

[Crankin]

I think that's true, AppleTree because my poor mom was in Scottsdale when she was having hers... The heat did make them worse for her.

[emily_in_nc]

Oh yes, stress for sure, AppleTree. Used to have a flash at work when I got really stressed out. So embarrassing! Fortunately I don't get stressed out nearly as often now that I'm retired. Alcohol doesn't seem to be a trigger for me -- thank the gods. :-)