I found for me caffeine made them worse. I cut out all caffeine and the hot flashes dramatically eased up. Hot flashes really suck. I hope you find a way to ease some if not all of yours.

My innards were removed, thanks to the big "C", so I never experienced that.

I know some have had good results with Progesterone Cream.

I never had too many hot flashes during the day, but did have night sweats. I tried many OTCs and herbal remedies - none helped. So I finally decided to go on a very low-dose HRT after discussing it with my gynecologist. I only stayed on it about 2 years, maybe a little longer, I don't recall. Then I came off of it. It got me through the worst of it. I still had a few after coming off the meds, but not as bad. I think you have to look at your own history, family history with respect to ovarian cancer, etc to see if it is a good choice for you. Low dose doesn't seem to have long-term effects on most people, but ymmv depending on predisposition or history.

I did use DIM for awhile. Can't really say it helped or not, but it didn't seem to hurt.

one of my sisters had to give up chocolate... cause it brought on hot flashes. I didn't mind them in the winter.... as a quick trip outside would make them go away, but in the summer, when you got such a nice flush, while standing in line at a cash register, and could feel the sweat running down your legs (while wearing a skimpy sundress) was sure embarrassing!

I choose to take NOTHING! To many friends at the time had breast cancer, and their docs said, it was a cancer that fed on hormones.

They will subside eventually! Honest!

Moni

Thanks ladies. Caffeine hasn't played a part, I started a cleanse in January so gave up all caffeine and haven't gone back even though the cleanse is over. I was really hoping not to have to resort to hormone replacements, but don't know how much longer I can take this. My mom had terrible hot flashes, but out of 3 daughters, I am the only lucky one to inherit them. :)

I tried several things last year. My flashes weren't as bad as some of my friends but enough to be bothersome. I tried several OTC's and nothing worked. I'm not 100% sure what helped (other than time, about 9 months worth of them) but I take a scoop of collagen every morning in my coffee. I still get warm at night but haven't had a flash in months during the day. I'm not willing to give up the collagen to see if the flashes come back that's for sure!

So far mine are minor, so I'm suffering through. They come for a few weeks, then leave for 6-12 months. There is a menopause forum here on Houzz that has endless discussions on flashing.

Two things helped me the most: a combination Hawthorn/Motherwort capsule (though you could also take them separately), and a visit to a skilled homeopathic physician who prescribed a couple of remedies tailored to my individual needs.

This too shall pass. If nothing works just know you are not alone, we all have to go through it. Try some of the over the counter. Black colash has been recommended. check out the link https://www.menopause.org/for-women/menopauseflashes/menopause-symptoms-and-treatments/natural-remedies-for-hot-flashes

I still have mine...mom and grandma both had hot flashes til the day they died. Mom was on HRT for over 25 years and I believe it's what killed her... cancer.

I am one of the fortunate ones....never had hot flashes but have heard that crystallized ginger helps. It doesn't stop them but relieves symptoms if you pop a pill during the flashes. If you get desperate and decide on HRT, just don't stay on it too long. Maybe two years. A friend of mine had blood clots in her lungs and the doctors attributed them to being on HRT for many years.

Oh Annie, do you mean I'm going to have these darn things forever?? :) It's been several years and they still come and go; disconcerting when I'm not expecting them. At least I don't get them at night--sorry, Julie--but they are so annoying. I need to be able to fan myself and remove my sweater. Ha ha, I just had one. The power of suggestion??

Tests done 20 years ago showed that I was post...I still have one or two flashes daily that lasts seconds. I have the occasional night sweat, not nightly.

No alcohol, no chocolate increase exercise.

Although I lost most of that area at a very young age...they left the ovaries so I wouldn't be forced into early menopause...or have to take any hormone therapy. Thus...the time came when a flash or two visited me, too. Vitamin B [complex] helped me immeasurably...even to the point of no more flashes. I can't say what it will do for someone else...but it's certainly worth a try.

Hubby is taking hormone injections to help combat his cancer that has recurred. Since the medication is to stop producing the testosterone that the cancer is feeding off, his side-effects are menopausal symptoms. He's been experiencing hot flashes as well as mood swings. His moods have been better, not so snippy and moody, and he has a newfound respect for what I and countless other women go thru with the hot flashes.

I've only had a few night sweats, thankfully. Some people literally have to change the sheets. I do get hot in bed though, and my poor sweatshirts practically have the neck worn through, taking them off and on so often.

I am 72 years old & went through the change when I was 40 & I am still having hot flashes. Some women (me) will have them till the day they die.

I have tried OTC & prescriptions but nothing worked for me.

Hope you can get some results that work for you. Good Luck.

You don't necessarily stop having them. I still have them and I think mom had them till the end. I am not on any hormone treatment. I was right at first going through menopause but due to my medical conditions we decided to get off of it. I did have some positive results with black cohosh which my doc put me on.

Thank you to all of you for the suggestions. I'm hoping the flashes are so bad now that they'll go away as quick as they came! I had no idea there is a forum for menopause. Guess you can find anything if you look hard enough!

I have been very lucky! (knock on wood!) I've been having hot flashes over 10 years. I get very warm sometimes, the odd time I get hot. But I've never (knock on wood again) has night sweats. I refuse to take medication for them. I find the only time I get them is when I think about something that might stress me out, such as $$... Otherwise, I barely notice them.

Debby, I had to chuckle at you getting very warm sometimes..my flashes start in my chest and spread up thru my face quickly but they arnt warm or even very warm..I'd bet I could fry an egg on myself LOL.

Periods stopped at 41. Doc said he could give something to help with hot flashes. I asked if periods would come back. He said maybe. Rather have hot flashes!!! Still have them, but not as bad. Will be 69 next month.

what would you choose? Hot flashes or periods? Easy choice for me!

A fan in the bedroom with remote on your bedside table, an extra comforter for hubby and assorted fans scattered around for daytime flashes. YMMV.

I have tried OTC stuff but nothing really worked. I was using Estroven (I think that is the name) and while I was taking it, they changed the ingredients and then it no longer worked. It had worked fairly well before. I then took Black Cohash and it seemed to help the hot flashes but then gave me terrible anxiety feelings...imagine feeling like you are scheduled for the firing squad every day and that's the anxious feeling I had in my gut every day. I stopped taking that and the anxiety went away. The cream did nothing at all. I finally just gave up and deal with it. I've had them for about 5 years now and they aren't too bad anymore. My one sister takes HRT but there is no way I would take all that, she was telling me that she even has to take a birth control pill...NO WAY! That thing made me crazy! My other sister says "OH yeah, I had ONE hot flash". I don't remember my mother ever having hot flashes but I was a little kid when she was my age. Then my other sister had a hysterectomy so I don't know what her hot flashes would have been like. My best friend who is my first cousin thinks she had ONE HOT FLASH but isn't sure? Boy must be nice. I feel like I'm going to be one of unlucky people that will have them forever.

Get yourself a partner with reynaud's. DH has it and when I'm flashing, nothing feels better to me than his ice cold hands on my back and head...nothing feels better to him than his "hot" wife warming his hands up!

In a group of gal pals, one can always
spot me. I’m the one in a sweater when everyone else is wearing sleeveless or
short sleeves. Whenever I feel hot, I
know I’m coming down with something.

Add me to the list – I didn’t know they
could last for such a long duration.
Seeing as flashes are an inevitable, common part of life that is so
unpleasant, you’d think there would be effective treatments available.

Edited to add: Annie, you just may have found the perfect solution!

I haven't had any yet. Not sure at what age or point I would be 'out of the woods' for the onset of that. I'm 54. 2 years ago when I went to the gyn I told her I hadn't had a period in 3 months. She said it was menopause. Seemed too good to be true-finally! I asked what the chances were of me having another period-slim to none,. 2 months later periods resumed regularly. They stopped months later (Sept 2016). No flashes. Toni's description sounds just awful! I joked to my sister (who had flashes for years) maybe I paid my dues already with terrible cramps with periods all those years and bad all day morning sickness for the first half of all 3 pregnancies! I've read regular exercise can significantly help hot flashes.

Like Scott's cartoon of Maxine, I "wish" I still had hot flashes because I am always so cold. Hormone Replacement Therapy caused my cancer. I beg all women not to go on that. There is a product called Estroven, all natural, that does contain Black Cohash and you will find it in Walmart and even grocery stores. They are pills in a blister pack. I take that, since my body no longer produces any hormones, due to the total hysterectomy to get rid of my uterine cancer. I still do get some night sweats from time to time and I am 77.

I had no problems with natural menopause at 50, but then medical 'science' decided that women's hearts would be protected if they took hormones. My Gyn put me on hormones. (Who wouldn't want to protect her heart...and look *younger*?)

A year later, I started to bleed. My MD took me off the hormones. THEN I had hot flashes! They lasted for years -- long after the *theory* that hormones were heart-beneficial was proven false. Gee, not only didn't it help anything, it was causing CANCER.

I was seeing a cardiologist during menopause. She, too, insisted I go on hormones to protect my heart. I refused, and our discussion got a little heated. She also told me to stop taking hawthorn. I said, "Why? Do you know something bad about it?" She replied, "I never heard of it." So I kept taking the hawthorn and stopped seeing the cardiologist.

menopause happened in the decade of my 50"s. Now in the 70"s, still having almost daily hot flashes. No HRT ever. Alcohol will trigger one. Some women are just fortunate, others, not so much. Just like having really great hair, some have it, some don't! lol

I just started to think about something that had not dawned on me until I was reading about some of you all with cancer and linking it to HRT! My one sister that was on HRT just recently had to have a hysterectomy but she did not yet have cancer but her doctor advised her to have the hysterectomy because things didn't look good. Something about a thickening of the uterine lining/wall...don't quote me on that. But she had been taking the HRT for quite some years, probably about 10 years. Now I'm thinking that had she not realized something was wrong early, she too could have had cancer. She had been spotting.

Menopause is a natural part of a woman's life. Our mothers and grandmothers got through it without help from manufactured drugs. The hot flashes, mood swings, etc. won't kill you (your hubby may get the urge LOL) but CANCER can kill. Please don't take that chance by taking Hormone Replacement Therapy.

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.

When I turned 50, my gyn took me off "the pill". I immediately got intense hot flashes, night sweats. I also started aging.....over night. Sagging skin, Ripped my knees jogging. So I tried black cohash, green tea and several other natural remedies, did not work. Started taking half a pill. It got rid of the hot flashes, but didn't cure or restore anything. After six years NO hot flashes. I stopped taking "the pill" altogether. Yay!