Pros And Cons Of Hot Flashes And Night Sweats

Not all hormone therapies are created equal. At our functional medicine clinic near Milwaukee, we offer high quality bioidentical hormones.

Hot flashes may seem to come out of the nowhere. But often they are triggered by outside stimuli. Anything that raises your temperature may set off a flash. Emotions such as anxiety, nervousness, anger or sexual excitement can do it. So can alcohol, warm drinks, hot weather, being in a crowded room or simply getting under the bedcovers (Wingert 14).

Hot flushes and night sweats are the most common symptoms of menopause. Potential triggers such as caffeine, smoking, alcohol, an overheated room, the wrong clothing and spicy food can all exacerbate these and other menopause symptoms. Keep a diary of where you were and what you were doing and within a

Menopause is caused by a number of things, natural diminishing of reproductive hormones, hysterectomy, chemotherapy/ radiation therapy, primary ovarian insufficiency.

You can also use hormone therapy to help control your ovary hormones if you aren’t planning on getting pregnant. To correct menstrual cycle problems, birth control hormones keep your endometrial lining from building up for too long, this can prevent uterine cancer. Hormone therapy also can help with male-type hair growth and acne. Birth control of all types are prescribed for hormone therapy. Androgen-lowering medicine is often used with combined hormonal birth control. Using this medication helps with hair loss, acne, and male-pattern hair growth on the face and body. You can use other methods to treat acne and remove excess hair. Taking hormones doesn't help with blood pressure and diabetes risks. This is why exercise and a healthy diet are key parts of your treatment. If weight loss and medicine don't restart ovulation, you may want to try other

Hormone replacement therapy is an FDA-approved treatment for menopause that affects most maturing women. The medications given to you during the therapy contain the hormones you need to counter the symptoms you are experiencing. Additionally, the Mayo Clinic estimates that the medications used in replenishing your hormones can also be effective for preventing heart disease.

A patient with low estrogen has difficulty absorbing calcium in the bone. That will cause the bone to be brittle predisposing the women to fracture. Soy and soy products act like estrogen hormone. Monitor the patient for two months, and then six months checking the therapeutic effect of the medication. Check the blood pressure to evaluate cardiovascular disease. Monitor the patient electrolyte, and liver function every three to six months on methyltestosterone. Teach patient self-breast examination. An annual breast examination and mammogram to assess for lumps. Check patient height to screen for development of osteoporosis. The patient should have a bone density test to screen for osteoporosis. If there’s vaginal bleeding beyond one year, evaluate for endometrial biopsy by Pap smear according to the recommend guidelines. Discontinuing of medication should be clarified with the practitioner. Instruct patient to avoid smoking, caffeine, simple carbohydrates, avoid alcoholic beverage, and keep abreast of the menstrual period. “The patient must be provided with detail information on the risks and benefits of therapy and other options available” (Arcangelo & Peterson,

Another treatment is female hormone therapy to cause puberty improvement, but it is based on the time that the patient wants to begin such treatment. This treatment however, does require visits with a gynecologist to examine for any potential risks of "neoplasm such as gonadoblastoma and dysgerminoma"

Some alternatives are antidepressants (SSRI’s and SNRI’s), vitamin B6, vitamin E, black cohosh, ginseng, and soy products. Some of these products, however do not have much supporting data about their safety and effectiveness. Black cohosh has a long history of being used for helping with different ailments. Its been used for musculoskeletal pain, fever, cough, pneumonia, sluggish labor, menstrual irregularities and as a tonic to support women’s reproductive health. Today though, it is mainly used to help with menopausal symptoms. These symptoms include hot flashes, night sweats and vaginal dryness (2017, March 3). According to a Meta-analysis update “black cohosh is one of the most popular and frequently used herbal medicines for treatment of menopausal vasomotor symptoms. As no known side effects are associated with its use, it is highly recommended for all menopausal women, especially those with contradiction in HRT to use black cohosh”

Menopause is normal and natural for every woman, but for some women it is not simple nor easily tolerated. Hot flashes, foggy thinking, mood swings, weight gain, reduced sex drive, and changes in skin and hair are just a few of the negative side effects of menopause. For some women, these side effects are merely nuisances, but for other women they can be extreme and drastically affect their quality of life and that of their families. For these women, there are treatments available that can help

Pharmacological interventions are often considered to help restore menstruation by providing hormonal supplementation (Siatras &

The best way to avoid heat exhaustion and heat stroke is to plan appropriately and know the signs of dehydration and overheating.

Due to an effect of gabapentin at the level of hypothalamus to regulate the temperature, it can also be used as an effective non-hormonal therapy for hot flashes, a bothersome problem of menopause. It is shown to be more efficacy if used in patients with hot flashes that associated with sleep interference [17].

Ginger Essential Oil: Ginger oil improves blood flow and circulation and is one of the most effective home remedies for menstrual pain. It is analgesic in nature and reduces the pain of irregular and painful menstrual discharges, and its anti-inflammatory properties can be attributed to the presence of a substance named Zingibain.

Figure 2: Body temperature during different phases of the menstrual cycle: Menstruation (M), Early Follicular Phase (EFP), Late Follicular Phase (LFP), Ovulation (O) and Luteal Phase (LP) in female not on contraceptive pill (control) compared to females on the contraceptive pill (FCP) is different during different menstrual cycle phases, control is significantly lower at all times. All data is represented as mean ± SEM, ** p< 0.05 & ****p<0.0001; fig 2). Thus, it can be extrapolated that females on the contraceptive pill do have cyclic variation but not as variable as females not on the pill5.