Hot Flashes

Options
LynnKT
LynnKT Member Posts: 47
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
I started Tamoxifen in April '10 and have been having increasing hot flashes. It's starting to cause me to sleep very restlessly. I think during the night the hot flashes are preceded by periods of anxiety. When I awaken with the HF, I am not only sweaty but quite anxious -- like I've been having a bad dream. My onc. says that she can prescribe a sleep aid for me if my sleep is too compromised. I hesitate to take meds, though. After chemo, I have a desire to shun prescription drugs as much as possible. I have been taking melatonin which seems to help me get to sleep. Anyone out there have any suggestions? It's hard to imagine 4+ more years of this! Thank you, Lynn
«1

Comments

  • teresa41
    teresa41 Member Posts: 471
    #2
    Options
    tamoxifen
    i started tamoxifen dec 2009, i was taking mine late in the day and i started having night sweats. i started taking it early morning and it helped i havent had any problems since.



    hope it gets better for you!
    teresa
  • cahjah75
    cahjah75 Member Posts: 2,631
    #3
    Options
    Lynn
    hot flashes are a side effect of all post chemo treatments. Unfortunately I've been postmenopausal for 11 years and I still have hot flashes. My question will be whether being on Tamoxifen or Arimidex if they will even be worse.... Not fun!
    Char
  • SDickerson
    SDickerson Member Posts: 44
    #4
    Options
    Me Too
    Lynn:

    Once I started chemo I began having HF, still do. I also had sleep problems. My onc prescribed me Ambien CR. Which helps. I hate taking medication, but I also hate not sleeping. As for the HF, I just suffer.

    Praying for you,
    Shannon
  • filimu
    filimu Member Posts: 74
    #5
    Options
    SDickerson said:

    Me Too
    Lynn:

    Once I started chemo I began having HF, still do. I also had sleep problems. My onc prescribed me Ambien CR. Which helps. I hate taking medication, but I also hate not sleeping. As for the HF, I just suffer.

    Praying for you,
    Shannon

    soon as they
    put me on Femara, I had miserable flashes for the first few months. I could COUNT on waking up about 3 am every morning, throwing the covers off - waiting for my feet to get cold, and then pulling the covers back on. That was bad, but the ones during the day were unbearable - like somebody pulled a plug on me and drained my insides out, I couldn't even stand up when they hit, no matter where we were. I never really sweat a lot, but my skin would get really hot, and I'd lose all strength. I'd literally sit on the floor if there was nowhere to sit down, until it passed. If not, I'd collapse. That lasted for about 4 months, then gradually they got a lot less frequent and less severe. Now (I've been on it 10 months) I'm sleeping through the nite nearly every nite without a problem, and I have a small flash during the day occasionally, but it only lasts a minute or so. I just hold my breath and wait and I can feel my skin cooling while I wait. MAJOR improvement. Not the way I'd like things to be, but a hell of an improvement over the beginning!
  • LynnKT
    LynnKT Member Posts: 47
    #6
    Options
    filimu said:

    soon as they
    put me on Femara, I had miserable flashes for the first few months. I could COUNT on waking up about 3 am every morning, throwing the covers off - waiting for my feet to get cold, and then pulling the covers back on. That was bad, but the ones during the day were unbearable - like somebody pulled a plug on me and drained my insides out, I couldn't even stand up when they hit, no matter where we were. I never really sweat a lot, but my skin would get really hot, and I'd lose all strength. I'd literally sit on the floor if there was nowhere to sit down, until it passed. If not, I'd collapse. That lasted for about 4 months, then gradually they got a lot less frequent and less severe. Now (I've been on it 10 months) I'm sleeping through the nite nearly every nite without a problem, and I have a small flash during the day occasionally, but it only lasts a minute or so. I just hold my breath and wait and I can feel my skin cooling while I wait. MAJOR improvement. Not the way I'd like things to be, but a hell of an improvement over the beginning!

    Thanks for your input. It's
    Thanks for your input. It's good to know there may be light at the end of the hot flash tunnel! One odd thing I've noticed is that when I have a HF during the daytime, my ears turn bright pink -- and I mean neon pink. All that blood flow, I guess.
  • New Flower
    New Flower Member Posts: 4,294
    #7
    Options
    LynnKT said:

    Thanks for your input. It's
    Thanks for your input. It's good to know there may be light at the end of the hot flash tunnel! One odd thing I've noticed is that when I have a HF during the daytime, my ears turn bright pink -- and I mean neon pink. All that blood flow, I guess.

    It will be better
    it will ease by the time and your body will be less reactive, I took sleeping pills for 8 months ( Ambien & Lunesta) and then use acupuncture, relaxation teas . You do need to have at least 6 hours of sleep. Try to get them anyhow .
    hugs
  • Betsy13
    Betsy13 Member Posts: 185
    #8
    Options
    I've been getting them since I was 38
    and my family doc finally put me on a low dose hormone patch. Then, I was dx with bc. They took me off the hormone patch and put me on 75 mg of Effexor. No more hot flashes!

    Effexor is designed to be an anti-depressant, but no more hot flashes is the side effect! Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on how you look at it, I have severe depression going through bc so they were able to up my dosage of Effexor and it is helping my depression.

    I understand that you don't want to take another prescription, but it would only be short term. Oh, and another benefit...taken at night, it helps me sleep better.

    Good luck!
    Betsy
  • VickiSam
    VickiSam Member Posts: 9,079 Member
    #9
    Options
    Betsy13 said:

    I've been getting them since I was 38
    and my family doc finally put me on a low dose hormone patch. Then, I was dx with bc. They took me off the hormone patch and put me on 75 mg of Effexor. No more hot flashes!

    Effexor is designed to be an anti-depressant, but no more hot flashes is the side effect! Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on how you look at it, I have severe depression going through bc so they were able to up my dosage of Effexor and it is helping my depression.

    I understand that you don't want to take another prescription, but it would only be short term. Oh, and another benefit...taken at night, it helps me sleep better.

    Good luck!
    Betsy

    Neon Pink .. what a lovely shade of pink
    I am currently on Effexor for depression .. but i have continued to have hot flashes, tho not as many ..

    during the winter months I layer and sleep with the fan on .. My husband hates this, tries to be a good sport about it .. so I layer more blankets on his side of the bed .. summer months are not tolerable .. 2 to 3 cool showers per day helps -- dry and itching skin, slather lotions and creams ..

    I wish I could help ..

    Vicki Sam
  • crselby
    crselby Member Posts: 441 Member
    #10
    Options
    what to do about hot flashes
    I'm 58, had bc last year. When I was 47 I began having hot flashes, bad, every 45 minutes at night. Quality and quantity of sleep was poor. For help, my gyn put me on HRT. Stopped it in 2005 (4 years lster) because it wasn't helping that much and because of the bc study that came out. Four years later, June 2009, I had dx of DCIS. AS you did, Lynn, I awoke in a panic with rapid heart beat, sweat, and bad dream feelings. That was anxiety over the dx. After surgery in July they stopped. But then the hot flashes became worse, back to perimenopauseal levels, when I started on Tamoxifen in November of 2009. Tried some remedies that I hadn't tried before at the suggestion of my onc. No help. Money down the drain. Until my gyn 9new one) suggested Effexor. raised the dosage slowly until I got relief. 75 mg. Not gone, but less frequent. Praise God!

    Here's my take on drugs: I avoid them and herbals too. Don't mess with what God gave you. Until absolutely necessary. I am ashamed to admit that I was pretty smug that, of my friends and female relatives, I was one of the FEW who was not on a mood enhancing drug. I've always been a Pollyanna, pretty upbeat. Grateful for the good life I have.

    Good quality sleep is the best restorative your body can have. So if some drug helps me get that, I'll take it until I no longer need it. SLEEP IS THE BEST MEDICINE! Good luck on your bc journey.
    ~~Connie~~
  • starseed
    starseed Member Posts: 62
    #11
    Options
    They are subsiding
    I started Arimidex in early July and for the first two weeks Frank had to hide his gun and put all my knives away....LMAO!! Sorry to make a joke, but this was the 3rd time I'd gone through "hot flashes" and I didn't like them the first time I went through menopause at 39.
    I still get one occasionally, but they are definitely becoming less and less frequent.
    And (this will probably sound weired)but I would tell myself in front of the mirror "YOU HOT FLASH CRAP ARE NOT WELCOME SO PLEASE GET THE HELL OUT OF THIS BODY". Part of my mantra of being positive....
  • Marcia527
    Marcia527 Member Posts: 2,729
    #12
    Options
    sleeping
    I know this sounds strange but it works for me. If I can't sleep or wake up in the night and can't go back to sleep, I drink a glass of cold milk and I fall right to sleep.

    I sleep much better with a fan blowing on me. Hot Flash makes it a necessity. I'm not on medication now but chemo pushed me into menopause.
  • Kat11
    Kat11 Member Posts: 1,931 Member
    #13
    Options
    Marcia527 said:

    sleeping
    I know this sounds strange but it works for me. If I can't sleep or wake up in the night and can't go back to sleep, I drink a glass of cold milk and I fall right to sleep.

    I sleep much better with a fan blowing on me. Hot Flash makes it a necessity. I'm not on medication now but chemo pushed me into menopause.

    I have the hot flashes. I
    I have the hot flashes. I still take the tamoxifen at night because i have the flashes all the time. I can't stand the hot weather. I use a fan on me at night and this does help.
  • cahjah75
    cahjah75 Member Posts: 2,631
    #14
    Options
    LynnKT said:

    Thanks for your input. It's
    Thanks for your input. It's good to know there may be light at the end of the hot flash tunnel! One odd thing I've noticed is that when I have a HF during the daytime, my ears turn bright pink -- and I mean neon pink. All that blood flow, I guess.

    Lynn
    my ears turn bright pink too! When I go out I wear cotton hats that cover my ears 'cause my head is bald. At home when I don't have a hat on my bald head sweats every time I have a hot flash.
    Char
  • cahjah75
    cahjah75 Member Posts: 2,631
    #15
    Options
    Betsy13 said:

    I've been getting them since I was 38
    and my family doc finally put me on a low dose hormone patch. Then, I was dx with bc. They took me off the hormone patch and put me on 75 mg of Effexor. No more hot flashes!

    Effexor is designed to be an anti-depressant, but no more hot flashes is the side effect! Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on how you look at it, I have severe depression going through bc so they were able to up my dosage of Effexor and it is helping my depression.

    I understand that you don't want to take another prescription, but it would only be short term. Oh, and another benefit...taken at night, it helps me sleep better.

    Good luck!
    Betsy

    Betsy I'll have to ask
    either my gyn or my therapist about Effexor. If I don't have to suffer with hot flashes it's worth taking an antidepressant. I was on Wellbutrin for the past 9 years and stopped taking it in April. My mood has been good but the hot flashes are horrible. Thanks for sharing.
    Char
  • sbmly53
    sbmly53 Member Posts: 1,522
    #16
    Options
    Doing the same thing
    with Arimidex. Night sweats are horrible. I take Ambien. Usually works. Gonna try Ambien CR to see if it will work better. I do not have anxiety and I am so sorry that you do - I have in the past and it stinks.

    I, too, shun excess prescription medications, but if I'm lying awake til 4 or later and get up at 5:30 - I turn into a blubbering, cranky girl. I am not recommending, just that this works for me.

    Sue
  • Alexis F
    Alexis F Member Posts: 3,598
    #17
    Options
    New Flower said:

    It will be better
    it will ease by the time and your body will be less reactive, I took sleeping pills for 8 months ( Ambien & Lunesta) and then use acupuncture, relaxation teas . You do need to have at least 6 hours of sleep. Try to get them anyhow .
    hugs

    You do need to get your
    You do need to get your rest, so, you should ask for a sleeping pill from your oncologist. I know several have good luck with Ambien. Good luck!


    Lex♥
  • cindycflynn
    cindycflynn Member Posts: 1,132 Member
    #18
    Options
    Vitamin E
    When chemo put me into menopause, I started having hot flashes pretty frequently. My doctor suggested I try up to 800 IU daily of vitamin E, and it helped tremendously. Of course, you should check with your doctor before you start taking anything.

    Unfortunately, when I started on the Tamoxifen, the hot flashes went to a whole new level and the vitamin E just wasn't doing the trick any more. After much thought, I agreed to try Effexor, and it is now working pretty well for me. I do still get hot flashes, but they aren't nearly as bad. Once they stop altogether I'll start weaning myself away from the Effexor. I also don't like taking medications I don't need, but I've also learned from my psychobiology studies that a lot of what happens in our bodies is due to chemical reactions, and that sometimes our normal chemical balance is thrown off (by something like chemo, or tamoxifen). If taking another medication can help my body to get back in balance, sometimes it's worth a try. I try to think of it as helping my body to be it's normal self instead of thinking of it as adding another chemical.

    Good luck,
    Cindy
  • ms.sunshine
    ms.sunshine Member Posts: 707 Member
    #19
    Options
    cindycflynn said:

    Vitamin E
    When chemo put me into menopause, I started having hot flashes pretty frequently. My doctor suggested I try up to 800 IU daily of vitamin E, and it helped tremendously. Of course, you should check with your doctor before you start taking anything.

    Unfortunately, when I started on the Tamoxifen, the hot flashes went to a whole new level and the vitamin E just wasn't doing the trick any more. After much thought, I agreed to try Effexor, and it is now working pretty well for me. I do still get hot flashes, but they aren't nearly as bad. Once they stop altogether I'll start weaning myself away from the Effexor. I also don't like taking medications I don't need, but I've also learned from my psychobiology studies that a lot of what happens in our bodies is due to chemical reactions, and that sometimes our normal chemical balance is thrown off (by something like chemo, or tamoxifen). If taking another medication can help my body to get back in balance, sometimes it's worth a try. I try to think of it as helping my body to be it's normal self instead of thinking of it as adding another chemical.

    Good luck,
    Cindy

    This is what helped me
    St.Johns Wort helped reduce my hot flashes tremendously. Also avoid caffeine and sugar towards the end of your day.
  • LynnKT
    LynnKT Member Posts: 47
    #20
    Options
    ms.sunshine said:

    This is what helped me
    St.Johns Wort helped reduce my hot flashes tremendously. Also avoid caffeine and sugar towards the end of your day.

    Thanks again!
    I am going to ask my onc. about Effexor. See what she says. I agree, I need uninterrupted sleep! I miss it terribly. Lynn
  • Kat11
    Kat11 Member Posts: 1,931 Member
    #21
    Options
    LynnKT said:

    Thanks again!
    I am going to ask my onc. about Effexor. See what she says. I agree, I need uninterrupted sleep! I miss it terribly. Lynn

    Effexor
    I was already on this drug before my DX. I have hot flashes and I am on this effexor and well I still have the flashes often. So I don't really know if it's working for me.

Discussion Boards