I've been doing a LOT of research about this - I've been having some awful symptoms for the past 2 years (since turning 40) -- some of which are typical menopause related stuff and some are not, but I suspect all are related to hormonal decline. I've been getting bloodwork and basically, my estrogen and thyroid are both circling the drain --- my last bloodwork showed the estrogen level of a 60 year old (I'm 42! WTH!) I am pursuing bioidentical hormone replacement via cream. I don't have it all figured out yet (I get the feeling that there's a lot of experimenting on yourself til you find the right combo) but from the reading I did, I am pretty confident that this is what I need. Those of you saying you can't take HRT because of pre-existing tendency to blood clots or migraines or whatever might want to investigate the bioidentical stuff via transdermal cream. Blood clots are only an issue when estrogen is taken orally and passes through the liver -- if you are delivering it via skin or patch, there is no increased risk of blood clots (and in fact, your risk of other heart issues goes way down). Migraines are also one of the things that estrogen can help. And even the connection between estrogen and breast cancer is not as cut and dried as I thought -- I feel safe taking the bioidentical estrogen. I have read probably 20 books on the subject of menopause and HRT and the one I found most clear ad helpful is called Screaming to Be Heard by Elizabeth Vliet. I would recommend reading it - it pretty much debunks a lot of the things that I had heard about HRT including the results of that women's health study that caused everyone to abandon HRT -- did you know that whole study was done with synthetic hormones, not bioidentical? And that none of the horrible side effects found in that study have been found in studies that use bioidentical hormones? They are all related to the synthetic stuff like norethidrone and premarin. Because the pharmaceutical companies can't patent a naturally occuring substance and therefore can't make big bucks of bioidentical, there have been few efforts to educate doctors or do controlled studies on bioidentical hormones, but the studies that have been done show amazing benefits without the scary side effects. (Of course, the pharma companies don't want you to know that, because they want you to keep taking your premarin....)

I also am very happy to find websites like this. Never had a problem until 64 and doctor thought I needed some estrogen for "dryness" issues. I was on Estriol compounded as it is not sold in U.S. but is in other countries. 2 1/2 months had to stop using as it made me ill. I realized later it was ordered too strong . My Gyn was also an Ob and specialized in adolescent pregnancy. What was I thinking !! Started very disturbing symptoms about 2 months after the end of Estriol. Profuse sweating, followed by chills, rapid increase in heart rate (over 130), dizziness and nausea in the middle of the night, night after night. I was so exhausted I ended up passing out and in the hospital. First Cardiologist, then Endocrinologist and finally going next week to GYN specialist. Of course went through the "you must be having anxiety" talk. Did I mention I am a retired Major in the Army Nurse Corps and psychiatric trained Reg. Nurse. I only mention this as I was almost starting to believe them. Thank GOD, and I mean this, I started to do my own research. Hot Flashes and Night Sweats with severe vasomotor reaction, very common. Well I say with all my heart thank you ladies for sharing on sites like these. It has been 81/2 months and they are definitely less. I am using magnesium, Vit. E, watching sugar intake, doing deep breathing , trying to control stress and thinking about Remifemin. Good luck to everyone .

Hi golddust have you tried placing a fan next to your bed hun that helps me some also i have got a summer quilt an put pure cotton on it im not saying it stops the sweats but it helps i do get a bit more sleep than iwas doing why do you refuse to give up your lattes is caffene causing you some problems i drink de caff now because of palpatations but ive managed to find a remedy for that now i take magnesium n calcium tablets every morning and that stopped them i can even have a few glasses of wine now i go to bed early get up early i only work part time now but doing a bit of something helps to take my mind of my physical problems and i get tired out as well so i sleep through the flushes a little easier i take cammomile tea right before bed as well i think that helps

I've been having them for about 13 years now. At first, not so bad, but within a year or two really became intolerable -- several times every hour, preceded by a sick, faint feeling; and inability to sleep more than 2 hours at a time. It was difficult to do a good job at work, so I used HRT for about 2 years. After that they weren't as frequent or intense (except off and on) but I still needed relief. Soy makes them worse. Neither the cream from Whole Foods, nor black cohosh helped at all. Flaxseed did help, but not enough. Evening primrose oil does help -- I take one gelcap daily, and most days only have 1-3 flashes. My sister has had good results with Amberen -- I've never tried it myself. You'll just have to keep trying the various things to see what works for you.