Night sweats and hot flushes!

hi al, i was 42 and had early menopause after first chemo. it did hit me and it would have been good to have this forum then to get some feedback from others.

i am now 55. i had some " rough " years for a while and i " pushed" myself; too much i now think.( i think i was in a denial phase and not wanting to face certain things, plus not knowing where to turn to get help ). but you cannot go back, so my advice is to take it easy, and not do too much or heavy work, while having all these vasodilations and night sweats. they do settle eventually.

i also take a low dose antidepressant ( zoloft ). i pace myself, and have learnt to try and go with the flow. what you do not get today, you can do tomorrow perhaps, is one of my mottos these days.

some days i have more " energy " than others.

i also have slight lymphoedema, which i can stirr up depending on the weather and certain things i do. i get some discomfort in arms, hands and right leg at times. i think the antidepressant helps to " switch off " some pain/ discomfort feelings also. 

 anyway i took it for two weeks and felt better, so i am staying on it for now.

i did get some suicidal thoughts and i sought help ( but not initially, and i think it is best to seek help early rather than later. ) it was after the first chemo.. i remember thinking to myself " i can always gas myself if it gets too much"..sounds odd i know.. and i was never one to think like this before. i think it was physical effects on my  body( reduced hormones ) and dealing with the emotional effects too.

please take time to adjust to all the changes and  just try and go with it. so many emotions and things to cope with all at once. treatments that go for many months, and often years, physical changes to our bodies, and mental changes too from chemotherapy drugs.

my advice is to take a year or two to adapt and ask for help if you need to.

life is good now, but different; better in some ways, not always easy to adapt to. i have met some great new friends and had experiences i would not have had if it were not for the BC journey. take the time to reflect and adjust, while you go through this unique experience.

you realise you are stronger than you think.

re meonpause: well i do not have night sweats now, nor flushes so severe as i had before. i wear layers so i can take one off if needed, and wear natural fibres like cotton, etc.

i am interested in diet/ foods to help with menopuase, like beans and lentils perhaps?

it IS a scary experience and you do face your own mortality, but so will everyone else at some stage. you realise the best thing is to just keep living today, and try not to worry too much about the future. you cannot always control the future, but you can control how you deal with it.

when having hot flushes and night sweats your body does feel out of your control. i think that was hard for me to cope with at the time. i fought it, but i now realise it is best to go with it and try and find ways around it.

best wishes, kathy.