How to Cope When Hot Flashes Turn Up the Heat
Many women can ease their symptoms through lifestyle modifications and vitamin supplements. Avoiding common triggers – including alcohol, caffeine, spicy food, smoking and stress – can help.
By Regan White
Many women can ease their symptoms through lifestyle modifications and vitamin supplements. Avoiding common triggers – including alcohol, caffeine, spicy food, smoking and stress – can help.
Some like it hot – unless you’re experiencing hot flashes. There’s no mistaking if you’ve had one of these symptoms caused by the decrease of estrogen during menopause. Characterized by sudden intense flushes of heat on the face and upper body, hot flashes can be accompanied by rapid heartbeat, perspiration, chills, weakness, dizziness and an aura of head pressure or uneasiness. Flashes can last from a few seconds to an hour and can leave women fatigued and frustrated.
Symptoms can be disruptive to their daily activities, explains Dr. James Hardy of Midtown Obstetrics & Gynecology, adding that “like anything that interferes with sleep, it can greatly affect the quality of women’s lives.” Not every woman experiences hot flashes that require treatment, and the good news is that symptoms usually diminish over time. “Most women experience a decrease in symptoms anywhere from six months to three years after the symptoms start.”
He explains that a cultural shift has occurred in the last decade regarding hot flash treatment. “Ever since the big study came out about all the risks associated with hormone-replacement therapy and breast cancer and blood clots, there’s been a dramatic decrease in the number of women who want this treatment. Ten years ago the norm was to take hormones and not deal with the symptoms. Today women are going through menopause in a more natural way.”
Dr. Hardy at Midtown Obstetrics & Gynecology in Charlotte, call 704-316-5270 or visit www.midtown-obgyn.com for more information.
Hardy explains some of the options for treatment and relief of hot flashes. “Generally trying to follow a healthy lifestyle – eating well, exercising, getting enough rest and looking after the rest of your life – really helps,” he says. For some women, over-the-counter remedies such as soy, black cohosh or a combination of the two can provide relief.
For women who don’t experience significant relief, there are also prescription options such as hormone-replacement therapy and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).
“Hormone-replacement therapy, which includes estrogen alone or estrogen and progestin, is a more traditional treatment and really works the best,” according to Hardy. The downside is that there are risks including an increased chance of developing breast cancer, blood clots, heart attacks or strokes. Therefore, hormone-replacement therapy isn’t recommended for women with a history of these conditions or other conditions such as diabetes, heart disease or high blood pressure. Hardy advises that “women should be treated with the lowest dose possible, for the shortest period of time to manage symptoms.”
SSRIs also have proven helpful in decreasing hot flash symptoms. But they are often underutilized, perhaps due to the stigma associated with their use in treating anxiety and depression.
So when hot flashes turn up the heat, remember that this is a normal process that in most cases gets better with time. “Really let your physician know how much this is impacting your day-to-day life,” Hardy recommends. Your doctor “can help you navigate what is appropriate symptom management for you.”
