I toughed it out for almost 2 years. The really intense flashes that left me with beads of sweat and tingling scaled back somewhat after a while, but I was waking up 3-4 times a night and was having a really hard time with sleep deprivation and teaching middle school. I have been on HRT for 1 1/2 years now. Until recently, my sleep was much more consistent, but lately I'm waking up at 4:30 or 5 am sometimes when the alarm isn't set until 6:15. I still get occasional warm waves- especially early in the morning.