Acupuncture for hot flushes

Hello Chris,

 Tonya on this site is on Endep, which is meant to help with flushes, and is an antidepressant, ( slightly different action than Zoloft ..Google it etc ) and she takes it at a low dose. I am sure she would be fine if you messaged her. I think her BC was hormone receptor positive also. There may be other medictations, that may help you.   I was in a  fragile state with everything going on, and then on top of that having flushes all the time. It was hard to think and act clearly. I did do too much, then hurt arm, somewhat more than after surgery, and I was in pain ++. It was hard to talk to the GP about it although I did try. I feel it went into a " post trauma situation " really, everything was going around  in my head, but no solutions, plus pain +++. I also internalized things, as no one seemed to understand how bad I was feeling. Zoloft  can also reduce the PERCEPTION of pain. The Psychiatrist told me that. And it seems to work. I will probably stay on it. My flushes are a lot less now too. Maybe TIME has helped that too. So not sure if zoloft  helped with them or not.  After two weeks on Zoloft, I did feel a bit better. The  Psychiatrist  thought it was a Reactive Depession.  I know I was miserable, with things going around in my head, in a lot of pain, crying on and off, irritable at times and even had suicidal thoughts. I advise anyone to get help early.. I waited, but did not really know where to turn at the time. I am glad I asked for help in the end.

Re the acupuncture, well no harm in trying it. You could Google " Acupuncturist in Perth " or maybe someone from this site, who is in WA, could help you You want someone reputable etc. I understand that.  You never know, Acupuncture may help you in other ways also. I do a bit of acupressure myself, like reflexology, and do look  at alternate ideas, though would tell my GP and oncologist, as some things may interfere with conventional treatments etc.

Do you notice any other things, or is it just flushes that are bothersome at the moment? Remember you have just had surgery, chemo, menopause, moving across the continent, etc. so take care of you right now and take it slowly. You do not bounce back quickly with all the treatments and adjustments.

I found this article from this site, which may help with info for you :

http://www.bcna.org.au/user/12268/blog/47091  Cheers, Kathy.

Hi Kathy, thanks for all your advice. My GP has given me Zoloft, but I am unsure if I want to take it. One of the side effects is, HOT FLUSHES, so it may defeat the purpose. The other 2 drugs you are on would be very helpful, except for the fact that my cancer is Hormone positive and my drug Femara is an estrogen blocker, so therefore I can not take any estrogen treatment. My oncologist recommended the accupuncture, but being new to Perth, I am not quite sure how to find someone in this field here, who might be good. Love Chris xx

Hi Kathy, thanks for all your advice. My GP has given me Zoloft, but I am unsure if I want to take it. One of the side effects is, HOT FLUSHES, so it may defeat the purpose. The other 2 drugs you are on would be very helpful, except for the fact that my cancer is Hormone positive and my drug Femara is an estrogen blocker, so therefore I can not take any estrogen treatment. My oncologist recommended the accupuncture, but being new to Perth, I am not quite sure how to find someone in this field here, who might be good. Love Chris xx

Hey Chris

I have not heard of acupuncture for hot flushes but I have read it helps with pain.  Unfortunately I do not know of a good accupuncturist yet but I will ask around and I have a relative who is a naturopath come ????? and he may know of one for you.

My doc put me on to Lyrica for hot flushes and it definitely does the trick.

Hope you are doing okay, catch up soon.

Lots of love, Mich xoxo