i know this is from me to me,,,but after reading some other posts i need to add to mine.. besides all the sweats etc.. i have severe hand(palms) and foot pain,, and joints (not as bad ) also just got diagnosed with osteoporosis,,(supposed to start boniva -read about it online so got scared- but will start 9-1)...just wanted to add all that so if anyone else has all of these maybe they will have an idea for me to try...

I have had Hot Flashes/Night Sweats on and off for years now, but, for the last 3 weeks they are CONSTANT and I am lucky if I sleep 2 hours a nite, I am drained. These also continue thru day. My body temp seems to be constantly higher. I can be in middle of a hot flash and at same time can have the chills. I end up having to fall asleep about 2 hours a day from sheer exhaustion. Also, these last 3 weeks I have been so bloated, joint/body pain and aches, swollen feet (hurts to walk 90% of time) and swollen hands/body, the list goes on. I am trying a soy/cohosh Walgreens brand stuff that was recomended by the pharmacist, its supposed to start working 7-10 days. I am in Day 11 and still in Perimenopause hell. I am going to call my ob/gyn but I know he will not prescribe HRTs or anything due to problems taking them could cause. I wish I knew the answer as I am really not sure if I can go on living without sleep :( I just want to sleep :)

Right there with you Caralee and Bboop.

I thought I was entering menopause last year but periods returned, then stopped, really stopped I think, in June. Cripes I'll be 55 in a couple months. It is time already!

Started the sweats at night in the last year or two. soak my night shirt and the sheets. DH's famous oblivious line: "How come it is so humid in here??" Duh.

BUT in the last couple weeks I am breaking out in sweats in the daytime. What the heck? Stripping off layers but still dripping. Very strange as my whole life I have had trouble breaking a sweat - heavy workouts, even a sauna, would barely net a moist glisten.

This is nuts.

And LOL, I am so ignorant I thought hot flashes meant you would feel hot and that was the bother. Never saw the sweat thing coming.

I'm off to buy some black cohash too. And given that I've taken maybe 20 total pills in my whole life, and those reluctantly, this shows how freaking desperate I am. I just can't walk around all day dripping like this!

(My livelihood is partly contingent on a cool courtroom demeaner. I think I'm in trouble.)

I have used the Novelle patch for estrogen replacement in combo with a pill called Prometrium(form of progesterone). This was reccommended to me by my doctor as the most natural hormone replacement available. I switched to that after unsuccessful use of Prempro and another combo pill. By having estrogen from one source and progesterone from another, you can adjust the amount of each hormone individually instead of one size fits all. I never had any problems with the patch causing rashes. It worked well for me for over 7 years. I am 58 now and thought I could do without HRT so I stopped using the patch. Now I am having night sweats and hot flashes. I thought I was done with all that!

Carolee and beboop, any improvement for you??

After another soggy sleepless night, today I picked up and started Profema. It is a 5 way combo of herbs like black cohash, AND calcium & magnesium etc for bones, AND a multivitamin & mineral, AND a soyfree isoflavin complex, AND a "superfood complex providing over 200 trace factors, all of which encourage more efficient metabolism". No clue about the last two but it appears I may no longer even need to eat, LOL.

Seriously, the healthfood store owner says this is their best seller and women swear by it. Since I've been delinquent in taking vitimins and calcium supplements, this looks promising as far as convenience. And it was on sale. :)

Hi ladies,
I have been going thru menopause for the last 5 years(I am 51). I have tried numerous natural remedies since I am not willing to take HRT. I got desperate and typed in hot flash cure. Imagine my surprise when apple cider vinegar popped up. The organic kind is recommended(health food store carries this). This has made a very big difference, hot flashes are reduced by 75%. I was having them about every 45 min. all day long, plus night sweats. It is good for a number of health issues also. I take 2 teas. vinegar with 1/2 teas. sugar and 4 oz. water 3 times a day. I hope this will be of some help to you all. Good luck and God bless!

celticmoon - Will the Profema help with mood swings and joint aches? That's been my problem lately. The hot flashes and sweats are not as bad as they were, but the other problems just won't go away.

I take effexor, an anti depressant - forget how much - butit really works. But only works about 8 hours, still tough in evening and at night. No longer sleep with hubby, I get too hot and restless. at almost 60, been going through this for at least 15 years - does it ever stop? My older sister has not had these problems at all.

Of course, as soon as I said the hot flashes and sweats are not so bad, they're back with a vengance. I notice they are worse when stress rears its ugly head. I have to find some kind of relief. I have an appointment in November with my GYN.

I've been up and down....the product that helped me for the longest period of time is called Complete Balance. It's made by Natrol and I get it from a vitamin store.

It was great for over a year but I think my body is kind of saturated with it right now. It's not helping a lot with the hot flashes, but it is still keeping the night sweats at bay.

I went to a naturopath today for the first time. She gave me something called Maca and another thing called Fem Rebalance. They're supposed to help with the sleep problems (tossing and turning, constantly waking up) and hot flashes. She said what happens is our antigens (I think) become depleted through all of the hot flashes, stress/mood swings and general exhaustion from menopause....so we need to rebuild the antigens. Vitamin B, a good multi vitamin, calcium, and the above mentioned items are supposed to be a good combination. I'm trusting her on this one as I'm not normally a naturopath type person....

I'll try to check back and let you know how this new combo works out.

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

Fab and fifty, says who? This sucks so bad. Anyway I just turned 54. My period seems to have finally stopped in the last few months so far. I immediately asked my dr. for HRT nothing premarin, to cruel. I don't care about heart desease or anything else, what is the point of being alive and miserable?? I am on "estrasorb" cream & prometrium, still get a little warm occasionally thats it.
As far as sex goes my hubby is the guilty one! Have been searching for something for him!

Fab and fifty, says who? This sucks so bad. Anyway I just turned 54. My period seems to have finally stopped in the last few months so far. I immediately asked my dr. for HRT nothing premarin, to cruel. I don't care about heart desease or anything else, what is the point of being alive and miserable?? I am on "estrasorb" cream & prometrium, still get a little warm occasionally thats it.
As far as sex goes my hubby is the guilty one! Have been searching for something for him!

Going to ask my GYN next month what to do about these hot flashes. They progressed from a mere "flash" to full blown sweats. Stress aggravates it. If she prescribes HRT, I'm all for it, even though I have a history of cancer in my family. My "quality of life" sucks now (hot flashes, mood swings, brain fog) so I'm game for anything that will help it.

When I was having hot flashes I started searching for supplements or anything that would help. The thing that helped me was a soy shake every morning called Revival Soy. It was created by a doctor who wanted to help his mom. I was skeptical but it has helped tremendously and the shake tastes great and is low calorie/low carb. I have one for breakfast and add a couple tablespoons of ground flax seed and blend it with ice. Check it out at www.revivalsoy.com

I had horrible sweating round the clock for the first three years after I began menopause at age 39. Nothing, and I mean N-O-T-H-I-N-G, helped. And then I discovered Vitamin E. 1600 units a day flat out killed the sweating. Problem is, that much Vitamin E can really mess with your liver so I do NOT recommend it. But it sure was a blessed relief to have even just one week of no sweating.