Hot flashes, cycling and running

**OakLeaf** · 10-01-2009, 06:36 PM

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** · 10-01-2009, 07:16 PM

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** · 10-01-2009, 07:20 PM

Originally Posted by 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.

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** · 10-02-2009, 04:20 AM

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** · 10-02-2009, 07:51 AM

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** · 10-02-2009, 11:09 AM

indi- cool weather does seem to help me too!

Originally Posted by Dogmama

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** · 10-19-2009, 04:18 AM

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** · 10-19-2009, 05:20 AM

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

**Over50Newbie** · 10-19-2009, 05:47 PM

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** · 10-20-2009, 10:30 AM

Originally Posted by 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?

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** · 10-20-2009, 05:41 PM

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** · 10-20-2009, 08:09 PM

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

**Dogmama** · 10-22-2009, 04:40 AM

Originally Posted by 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?

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** · 10-28-2009, 10:33 PM

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** · 12-21-2009, 10:04 PM

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.

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