Night sweats have now included hot flashes through out the day! Was on Zoloff for a month didn't help at all I am now taking effexor, can't take hormone replacements, going through Chemo for Brest cancer. My Son bought me a Chillow. It's a pillow you fill with water to help keep your pillow cool. I will try it tonight and let you lady know what I think. I've tried everything to sleep at night so far nothing helps. Fans light sheets, water by the bed side, estrogen before I was diagnosed with Cancer, now I do have a prescription for sleeping pills but am a little worried about taking them. I have tried to increase my vit a and d, but so far nothing. The Air-conditioner helped a little last night.

Soy can work for some women; however, for the vast majority, soy is ineffective. Also, it is important to realize that soy contains plant-derived estrogens called phytoestrogens. These plant-derived estrogens may be just as unsafe as the prescription hormones... we just don't know. If you need hot flash or night sweat relief and don't want to take hormones, learn the truth about effective non-hormonal hot flash treatments at MenopauseUpdate.com. Learning the truth means learning the results of well-designed medical research studies. This is what you will learn on MenopauseUpdate.com. You will also learn the truth about the serious risks of taking hormones, including "bioidentical hormones". Currently there are 2 effective non-hormonal hot flash treatments that have been shown to provide long-term relief; they are gabapentin and oxybutynin. Go to MenopauseUpdate.com to learn how you can get started on one of these treatments and start experiencing relief.

Funny the Chillow was mentioned. I've been considering it for a couple of years and just saw it in a catalog again tonight. I am sleeping well again but if I feel the slightest bit warm I wake up and don't go back to sleep until I feel cool again. I've noticed that if I move my feet around to find a cool spot, I almost instantly start to doze back to sleep. A cool spot works like magic for me, so I bet the Chillow would feel terrific. I have always turned my pillow to the cool side. I thought I was the only one until I saw Jay Leno joke about it during his monologue one night. :-) Jen

Just a word of caution: Do be careful about taking these over-the-counter remedies without consulting with your doc first. They can contra-indicate if you're taking other meds. I'm on the "other side" of most of you, having stopped my periods 15 years ago at age 44. (And sorry to say, the hot flashes are still with me.) My experience showed that I was not able to quickly find a successful regimen to hold my menopausal symptoms in check. I consulted with three or four GYNs until I found one who was willing to stick with me until we got it right. I really had to become my own advocate, if you will. We need to be as well educated as we can about the subject. As you look for what you can "take" to help you, you should also research really well the results of the (Women's Health Initiative) study they released back in 02. Don't rely on websites related to drug or supplement firms - read what's available on the National Institute of Health and other medical sites. In '06 the NIH released results of a separate study that showed herbal supplements were of no value in relieving hot flashes. Some women are lucky in that their menopausal symptoms are less severe and perhaps they perceive that herbs like black cohash have helped. But it's not "everyone's menopause," and what works for some doesn't work for all. After lots of trial and error, I was on an HRT regiment with both estrogen and progesterone that was wonderful for my body. I took the pills for about twelve years (referred to them as my "life line"). Hot flashes and night sweats were completely eliminated, and I was able to concentrate once again (although NOTHING NOTHING NOTHING helps for memory loss!). On and off I also tried a variety of anti-anxiety pills, none of which seemed to make a discernable difference. Depression is very common in menopausal women. Many people have had good results with the bio-identical hormones. I tried them for about a year but I didn't find the results comparable at all, so I stopped. I'm no longer on any hormones, and it has been a real struggle. I still have almost-daily hot flashes and nightly hot sweats (although the night sweats are not as severe, yet they still awaken me and that's annoying enough). Since stopping HRT, I don't think I've had a single uninterrupted night's sleep. But, as with every step I've taken since my periods stopped fifteen years ago, being off HRT is my choice. I have just learned to live with it. I think the bottom line is that you need to understand what if any risks there are in your body/family history that would or wouldn't make HRT a good solution for you. I don't think I've seen any mention here of calcium supplements, and that's so very important. We should be taking 1,200-1,500 mg daily if we're not on estrogen, a bit less with estrogen. Osteoporosis is very common in both pre-and post-menopausal women. Here is a link that might be useful: Menopause and Herbal Supplements Study Article