Hot flushes

If you buy the womans weekly this month there is an article with rebecca gibney you might want to read that

hi Mel,   I am on Tamoxifen and  Zoladex. Both are responsible for my hot flushes and  sweats.   I am also on a anti depressant called  Cymbalta 90mg  that also causes hot flushes. With the three medications causing flushes and sweats i have been fighting a battle to control them.  The Breast Cancer clinic referred me to a menopause/cancer clinic (MACC)a couple of months ago. They deal with  all problems related to menopause from cancer patients.  They have tried me on a tablet called Gabapentin and  I have slowly built up the dosage  over the past couple of months. I have now  reached a stage where it is giving me heaps of  relief (most days)/ Some days It has reduced them down to two or three flushes, compared to getting them every  few minutes before.   I still have some bad days but nothing in comparison to what i was getting before and they are far  and few now.   Ideally  i would like to have zero hot flushes,(wouldn't we all) but i am quite happy with the results of gabapentin. Mel,  It is worth checking this  out with your Doctor as it is not only  recognized for  treating seizures but  is also widely known for treating  hot flushes  for many years. It really gets you down when you have no way of controlling them, everywhere you go and everything you do results in having a bout of flushes.  It is just horrible.  Good luck Mel with what ever you  decide on, and i hope you can find some relief . cheers Jo xx

Yes it is Catapress Tonya, i am on one at night with my gabapentin, Cheers Jo

 Hi,

I too went on some antidepressants. They did help with flushes, irritability, mood, sleep, and some pain perception. The ones I went on are zoloft. They are the seretonin reuptake inhibitors. They do seem to help with the vasodilation that flushes cause. Also drinking less coffee helps and loose cotton clothing etc.

Things can add up. If you feel you are coping, then persevere, but maybe mention it to the GP. I found I could not stand the " out of control of body " feeling of having flushes and then night sweats. My flushes were very severe initially also, which I found debilitating.

 I pushed myself somewhat physically also.In hindshight I  wish I have slowed down somewhat and taken things more slowly initially, especially with vasodilation going on several times an hour. I still sweat easily, but am a lot better now. It  is some years now also, I was 42. I am not 56.

I tried catapress, small dose, but it did not help. It is used for high blood pressure.  I only took it for a short time. It made me sleepy, I recall.

There is also black cohosh for flushes, and night sweats, but I heard not for long term, as it may affect the liver function. Check with your doctor, etc.

 I take livial ( tibilone ). It seems to help also.

 Good luck with it all.  Kathy.

thanks but im not depressed even though it is annoying and uncomfortable.

I too had severe hot flashes, was put on Effoxor 37.5 mg once a day and have noticed they have probably halved over 4 weeks, they are still bad when they come and I just end up soaked but dont want to go higher in the dosage at this point.

 You must let your Dr. diagnose you as depressed as if they are prescribed for hot flashes there is no PBS benefit so I told him how depressed I really was and how often it came upon me, I need to have fans and airconditioning everywhere and how sweaty and uncomfortable it made me, lol.

No,not at all. Most doctors will be happy to prescribe something for you- give you some relief. It's usually a VERY low dose antidepressant that they put you on.eg 10mg Endep instead of 75mg which would be the dose to have if you had depression.There are also other meds that help such as one for blood pressure-can't think of the name,maybe catapress? Anyway,I figure there is no harm in trying a med for a few weeks and if it doesn't help then can it.We still have a few more months of heat. On really hot nights I sleep with a small electric fan on my bedside table.If I'm out ,I carry a hand fan and a bottle of cold water.Meds won't take hot flushes away altogether but they do help.Good luck.

                                                      Tonya xx

The hot flushes soundterrible it is far to depressing have to deal with everything go and get tablets to try and tone them down.

Jo-Anne

The hot flushes soundterrible it is far to depressing have to deal with everything go and get tablets to try and tone them down.

Jo-Anne

yeah i keep waking up after only being asleep for short while. they are sort of affecting social situations like i feel uncomfortable when its hot and need some cooling aircon on but others dont feel the type of heat i feel. do u need to be diagnosed as menopausal to get the anti depressants?