Q. Why do hot flushes come and go - with some years between episodes?

The hot flushes may not be caused by menopause. Other causes need to be excluded.  Consult your GP.

Q. When I have night sweats should I get out of bed and wait for it to finish instead of laying in bed tossing and turning. Last night it lasted for about an hour.

Each person is different. Getting up, cooling off and having some water may reduce the time it takes to cool off.

Q. How do you deal with hot flushes every two hours?
Q. Any easy way to deal with hot flushes/

Drinking cool drinks, using a small fan, dressing in layers and wearing light clothes including bed clothes can help deal with hot flushes.  It may also be advisable to seek treatment from your GP as HRT is a very safe and effective treatment..

Q. I am 53,my last period was at 9th of January (2008), I got first hot flush 14 days later. I had 18 (!) of them yesterday. The worse is at the nights, often 3-4 woke me up and I can't sleep for more then one hour after them. I get up very tired every morning. I can't take hormones. I have all problems which are typical for menopause. How can I help to myself?

Drinking cool drinks, using a small fan, dressing in layers and wearing light clothes including bed clothes can help deal with hot flushes. You could try taking Black Cohosh or other medications available aside from hormones in consultation with a health practitioner. It would be important to determine exactly why you cannot take hormones-in some cases patches are safe when pills are not.

Q. I regularly lose a lot of sleep due to continual night sweats - due to previous breast lumps and DVT my doctor and specialist will not prescribe hormone replacement therapy. I live on a farm 2 hrs from a chemist or health store.

HRT does increase the risk of DVT and therefore careful consideration is needed. Your risk of another DVT will also depend on the reason for your first DVT. The safest sort of hormone treatment available would be a tablet called tibolone. Other options include one of the tablets used to treat depression that can also reduce hot flushes (eg. Venlafaxine, paroxetine) or taking warfarin as well as HRT. This sounds like a major problem for you and you may wish to make an appointment with a specialist haematologist to discuss it further.

Q. I am having night sweats randomly and usually only in my hips and thigh area. What causes this?
Q. I seem to be sweating a lot with the hot flushes, not for long is this also part of menopause?

These sweats are caused by changes in temperature regulatory control due to menopause.

Q. I have been on HRT for 16 years, started when I was 36 years three months ago HRT was stopped. Now during the day I have hot flushes every hour, at night every 1 1/2 hours, lack of sleep is a major problem....PLEASE what can I do for relief??

Having had an early menopause, being on HRT will have been a helpful thing for the health of your bones and heart, as well as your symptoms. It would be perfectly reasonable to continue on HRT till you mid or late 50s to control your symptoms. The main concern will be a small increase in risk of breast cancer, so ensure regular mammograms and breast checks. A lower dose of HRT may be sufficient.

Q. I was wanting to know what is regarded as severe hot flushes, like I feel like if I go another 1/2 a degree I will self ignite and I am stripping to the bare minimum constantly.  Am I a sook or is this how it is for most women.  How long should a 'flush' last and how often do they occur per day on average.

The duration of a hot flush can vary from a few seconds to a feeling of hotness for hours.  Some women get only one or two in a year whilst others may experience a dozen in an hour.

Q. Are there other causes of 'sweaty, drenching, hot flushes' later in life (60-80 years) other than low oestrogen?

Yes there are many causes of hot flushes apart from menopause. Anxiety, stress, untreated high blood pressure, overactive thyroid disease, overactive adrenal gland activity with high cortisone secretion, medications  and some other very rare tumours are all possible causes of hot flushes.

Content Updated May 19, 2008