I've been having hot flashes for almost ten years. Started on very low dose anti-depressant (Paroxetine - 5 mgs) and it has worked wonders. I've been on it about 18 months and I get a few hot flashes here and there, but it has been a game changer in terms of reducing hot flashes and allowing me to sleep better.

Oh and I forgot to ad to above post, I don’t eat animal products. But I think it is the soy that helps,

Soy works for me. Soy milk in my coffee, soy yogurt, soy curls, tofu, edamame….i choose from those and have one or two daily. If I skip a few days I get hot flashes. Weird, but it works! I read that in countries where soy is a regular part of diet ( Japan, korea, china, etc) women don’t have hot flashes….so I tried it and voila no hot flashes

Thank you for all the tips. Went to the organic market. Will experiment with org soy beans, eliminating animal products, reducing coffee intake. I’ve been revamping my diet again and again. One more attempt. Then will turn to meds.

Ashwaganda worked for me too. Also eliminating processed foods, eating more soy, eating far less meat (like no red meat at all, and chicken only 4x a month).

Anonymous wrote:Talk to a doctor. If you are under 50, you can go on birth control. If over 50, you can do pills, patch, gel, cream, or spray.

55, and my doc put me back on birth control

I use the estradiol patch and progesterone cream. My 12 months was in march and I started the patch a short time later to see if it would help my very painful frozen shoulder. My doc was out of progesterone cream and didn’t tell me when it came in so I was using just the patch for about two months. It started causing nausea and headaches so I stopped and got a period which sucked. Thank goodness I never got around to donating my extra tampons and held on to my period underwear. My doc said it was because of not using progesterone and stopping the patch cold turkey. I got the hrt squared away but I’m afraid to stop now…like ever! 😂

I started getting hot flashes suddenly about 3 months ago, and it was terribe. Every hour I'd have one. I got the estradiol patch. I do not take progesterone because I have mirena, which I got at 50 due to very, very heavy periods. I'd say I have about 80% reduction in hot flashes. I still get them, but maybe once day, sometimes twice,rather than 20 a day. I'm also trying to learn my triggers. Alcohol is definitely one of them.

Time was the only thing. Mine were severe for 8 years and my doctor tried everything. Good luck.

Ashwaganda is a little helpful

Anonymous wrote:Thank you for describing your treatment. Sounds simple. My doctor wanted me to wait it out, but it’s been over two years and no change in intensity. I likely will search for a new doc. I am over 50.

I waited it out for almost 5 years when I finally went to my doctor early this year about treating it. She said I could be waiting ten more with no let up in hot flashes. No thanks, i'll take the HRT. YMMV. I'm 53.

Thank you for describing your treatment. Sounds simple. My doctor wanted me to wait it out, but it’s been over two years and no change in intensity. I likely will search for a new doc. I am over 50.

I take estradiol, which is a little patch that I put on my skin, and I use 2 patches per week (put one on Friday night and then replace it with a new one on Tuesday morning). I also take progesterone every night, which is a pill. My understanding, from what the doctor told me, is that the estradiol treats my symptoms (for me the worst was the hot flashing and sleep disturbances), and the progesterone protects against uterine cancer. It totally worked. I'm 95% hot flash free, and the occasional ones that I have are tiny compared to the horrible sweaty ones I was having.

Before this, I tried black cohosh, which is an herb that some swear by. It did nothing for me.

Talk to a doctor. If you are under 50, you can go on birth control. If over 50, you can do pills, patch, gel, cream, or spray.

Could someone please share a treatment that has worked for them? What exactly is “hormone replacement”. Is it an Estrogen/progesterone combo pill you take daily? Is it synthetic? And what happens once you get off of it, or do just stay on it, like thyroid treatment.

Has anyone found success in anti-anxiety medicine as a treatment for hot flashes? For me any thought annoying or stressful is a trigger.

I am desperate for a solution and feeling so depleted and rundown.