hot flashes?

[Toomnyhats]

My mother has never welcomed questions about "female" topics so I decided to ask you ladies:

Sometimes I wake up in the night hot and/or sweating, pillows/sheets damp. Occasionally - during the day - I will "overheat" out of the blue. Happened at church last week & DH said it was actually cool in there - not by my thermostat!

Since I have heat intolerance this is never fun

Sound like hot flashes? Hormones? MS? A/C needs adjusting?

Last Oct gyno told me I'm nowhere near menopause but DH said that could have changed by now. I'm 42, mom went through it age 50-55ish, Grandma had a hysto at age 55.

Thank you for sharing your life wisdom!

[RoyaleMSer]

I hate to say it but... I'm 20 and wake up with them! I also usually have one (or more in a row) when I have ANY emotion. Happy, sad, angry, whatever else I go through. I'm assuming my hormones are screwed up. When I wake up in the middle of the night, everything is soaked. I'm to the point of sleeping on top of my comforter and sheets and covering up with a light blanket. My ceiling fan stays on high and the a/c is at 67.

I feel you!

[lemstar]

Peri-menopause can start like 10 yrs before menopause, as it did with me....unless that was all my MS acting out before diagnosis.
Now I am 55, reached menopause over 3 yrs ago, and I am still getting awful hot flashes. The past week or so they have been frequent, also whenever I have any emotion, or if I eat, or if I think, or if I breathe.....
Don't know if its hormones, MS, or both, but the studies on Estriol out of UCLA sure interest me, as I think my hormones, and my MS are related.

[MyGirlsMom]

Yes, I have had this too!

In 2007 before I was dxd with MS, I asked my former PCP to test my hormones. I was 47 at that time, and she told me I was way too young for menopause as the average age is 51. She did run the test and it turned out that my FSH was very high and estrogen very low. I started birth control to mask the sxs.

In 2009 I was dxd with MS (which I can trace back from over 10 years). In the beginning of 2010 I stopped taking the pill as I was beginning to feel like my best days were the week off. In 2010 I had two small periods in July and that was it. However, last fall, I would wake up hot and couldn't sleep. It was really affecting my mood. Also, my legs and feet would have the burning pain/numbness from my body heat. It was so painful that I had to put a hot water bottle filled with ice cold water on my legs and feet to relieve the pain.

So, in December I started HRT. I take the lowest dose of Vivelle Dot patch and what a lifesaver!! Even during the 12 days of progesterone, I still don't get a period. (I do the progesterone once every three months...the last 5 days are awful...my body really doesn't like the progresterone, but it is important for prevention of build up in the lining of the uterus.) Thus, I do think that I am in full menopause this year at 50 year old. All I can say is the the HRT has saved me....the sleep and rest without pain made a huge difference in the quality of my life.

[lemstar]

I keep wondering if just plain old HRT might be helpful for my MS. I can live with symptoms, alhtough for the past month, I have hot flashes 20 times a day--really. In the past when I have tried HRT, it gave me heart palpitations, and I have leaky valves, so I have just decided to deal with the symptoms. But if it would help stall (or stop!) the progression of my MS, I would reconsider....just thinking out loud....

[toot2818]

Great book to read

A friend gave me this book by Susun S. Weed, "The New Menopausal Years The Wise Woman Way"

I was just starting to have changes with my period and not sure what was going on. The book is fun to read and it answered lots of my questions. I even gave a copy to my primary doctor--she's younger than me and wasn't sure about everything with menopause.

A quote "Take my hand, dear one. I will soothe your head, calm your heart, stabilize your grounding, and then teach you to fly. Take my hand, now. You are in the midst of Change."

Well, I think I'm flying now, haven't had my period for years and hot flashes have gone away

Guess it's just part of growing "old".

Toot

[Toomnyhats]

Thanks for the book suggestion, I'll have to check it out.

I may not even be peri-menopausal as I am still as regular as clock-work with no changes. Gyno said until there are changes I'm not there yet!

[jazzgirl]

I may not even be peri-menopausal as I am still as regular as clock-work with no changes. Gyno said until there are changes I'm not there yet!

Don't count on that, toomny. I never missed a period, never had a hot flash, just stopped getting my period when I was 48 y.o. I feel really fortunate to have gone through menopause with 'nary a blip!

[Toomnyhats]

Don't count on that, toomny. I never missed a period, never had a hot flash, just stopped getting them when I was 48 y.o. I feel really fortunate to have gone through menopause with 'nary a blip!

I'll pray for this but Grandma had a hysto b/c her sx were so bad (30 yrs ago) and Mom had a hard time too. I figure between family hx & this MonSter it'll not be easy for me!

[sseaste]

Toomnyhats:

I have just started having those "flashes" as well. I'm only 45 and my sister is 55 and actually going through menopause.

I had one this week and woke up with my shirt soaking wet. I have not had any of these prior to my diagnosis (12/09). I tend to wonder if they are MS related, rx related or all the stress of this disease has caused early onset menopause.

Right there with you!!!

[Lisa E Clark]

I've been dissed by neurologist (more on that later)

Hi, I am new and these message boards and this thread struck my eye because it's one more thing that is proving to me that I'm not just imagining that something is going on.

I find heat INTOLERABLE especially when it is humid. In particular what stuck my mind was that someone had mentioned that it was found that MS could initiate menopause early. I am in my 3rd year w/o a period. One doctor I went to did some blood work and said that is was entering phases of menopause. I was 45 and just turned 48

I should note that I have not been diagnosed with MS. I had my first cranial mri last Friday and saw a neurologist yesterday. Don't get me wrong, he was very nice but I left feeling really sad, because I felt like my primary care dr and I were finally getting somewhere with what was going . My MRI impressions were "small, white matter changes. The differential includes vasculitis such as lupus, demyelinating disease and deep white matter ischemic disease." My neurologist disregarded all of this and basically told me I have been having a certain type of constant migraine. Yes, I've been having headaches but they have not been debilitating like my sister's migraines have been. Normally I don't get headaches, seems like for past two weeks I have had one daily, painful yes, debilitating, no. I can go and on but going off-topic which was not my intention. I have another appointment to talk with my primary care dr today at 2 pm --BTW I had a carotid Doppler as well which was clear and some blood work to rule out the possibility of lupus. My EEG the neuro dr did was met with a question about being on an antidepressant which I am and that was that. Sorry for going on and on but I'm frustrated. So many things going on for so long and seeming to find an answer actually had me hopeful to move on with my life.

Take care,
Lisa C