Hello everyone, I just found this site and joined because I wanted to share my experience with you all.

I'm 52, in December last year I had a total hysterectomy and now I am in menopause! It's nice to not to have to bother with my period anymore as it was at that heavy unpredictable stage, but what I'm finding very hard to cope with are the night sweats and hot flushes during the day! Night sweats wake me several times a night, sometimes 6 or 7, almost on the hour every hour, every single night!

I know every 'body' is different and everyone can suffer in different ways, but has anyone managed to overcome the sweats and flushes yet with some form of medication or other natural remedies?

My gynaecologist after the operation prescribed Fluoxetine (Prozac) for the sweats which I was loathe to try but have had the script filled and started taking them two days ago but still getting the hots.....has anyone had any success with that drug?

I went to my homeopath and I have Folliculunum and Pulsatilla to take and have taken them for a month now with no results, due back to homeopath this week for further consultation, so might get something else to help there.

Also I've been taking Don Quai but that may need longer to kick in.

Next thought I had would be to try soy milk!

What are some of the other remedies you may have tried with some success?

A certain 'mediciation' stopped all the sweats but it's illegal and not always available.....shame!

By the way, I'm in New Zealand, it's summer here so that may aggravate the body heat somewhat.

I will let you know when I strike the right remedy for these sweats and flushes

Welcome to the BWS forum Flossie.
Glad you found us. I've been using a vitamin product called Estroven with a bit of success. I'm in the beginning stages though so don't know if it would work if my symptoms were full blown. Also don't know if it's available in New Zealand.
There are so many Boomer sisters here that have gone through perimenopause and menopause I'm sure someone else can be more helpful.
You need to tell us about New Zealand. I've never been there!

Welcome Flossie...you have come to the right place...all of us here have either been through,are going through or are on the cusp of going through exactly the same thing...if you have some time on your hands you can scroll back through some of the previous topics under this heading or simply check back a few times in the next couple of days...I'm sure many of my Boomer sisters will be happy to advise you....

I am 52 also and stopped having periods about 4 years ago...my Gyn prescribed Premarin for me
at 0.6mg..I had terrible hot flashes during the day but the night sweats were killer...my entire bed and pillow was soaked..I never remember sweating before in my life and all of a sudden I was sweating like an overweight man on a hike....
the Premarin did the trick for me in less than a month...since then my Doc has put me on the lowest dosage (0.3mg) and advised me to stay on it until I am at least 60...which I am planning to do...I am healthy (thank God) and have no family history of cancer...so I was clear to go ahead an use hormones...I go for my annual GYN visit next month...but so far so good...and I really really feel great...my girlfriend is 55
and she can't take HRT because her Mom had breast cancer,,,and she is taking Prozac...she said it has made a big difference...but she still gets night sweats sometimes...though not nearly as often or as profuse as before she started ...I know this has been discussed on here before...so I'll leave it to some of the other Ladies here to tell you about their experiences with other remedies...Good luck...I hope you feel better very soon...

Thanks for the welcome messages and help TVC15 & AvalonBlondi. I will look into the Estroven, although I don't think it's available here in NZ but I'm sure it can be purchased through the internet. Is Black Cohosh the main ingredient? I have been reading that Black Cohosh is helpful for night sweats, has anyone tried that with any success?

AvalonBlondi, if you're talking to your girlfriend on the Prozac ask her how long it took before she noticed a reduction in the night sweats.

With all this sweating I do it's a wonder I don't become dehydrated!!

TVC15 New Zealand's a small narrow country just across from Australia. It's said to be very scenic!

Welcome Flossie. I was having sleepless night a few months ago. The Dr. put me on a pill( I went off it because I am not a pill taker) and decided if I got a job, I would have to be tired enough to go to sleep. That worked.
I have hot flashes and just decided to accept them. They are not life threatening and I don't relly like the cold anyway. The night sweats happen on occassion and are the worst of all of this. Water runs down my sides and if I lie on my stomach it can pool in the small of my back. Yes, it is that bad. I run a fan on those nights.They don't rally bother me because I know what it is. I am more afraid of things I don't have an answer for...
Dehydrate? Good Question?
I haven't gained any weight and I wonder if those of us who have night sweats, don't gain? Just a thought...
The best thing that happened to you is you found us...We'll get through this together. Glad to have you on board.
I will be 52 in July. (Leo) I am Lioness...hear me roar.
chick

Very interesting Chickadee, now my sweating comes from the from the front, my back is just clammy. I sleep on my stomach most of the time so it drips on the sheet. No point in trying to lie on my back, I just can't sleep that way.

Re the weight, since the operation I've lost and continue to do so, which is the only good thing I can say about this rather strange ordeal!! Maybe the night sweats help there!!!

I too find the night sweats the worst of it all, I can deal with the hot flushes/flashes (they call them flushes in this part of the world!) during the day but they can be a pain if I'm out and about and it's a very hot, sweaty, clammy one which sometimes happens.

Yes, it's great that I found you all, it's terrific to share with others all around my age. My 52nd was just last month.

Flossie, I just called my girlfriend on prozac...she said she noticed a difference in the night sweats after about 5 weeks of taking it...she said she went from soaking through her nightie to just a little sweat every once in awhile on the back of her neck...she highly recommends you stay on it...she said the hot flashes took a little longer to stop but that when they did...they were gone for good...I think you are on the right track if you can just be a little patient...keep smiling...that helps also...

Thanks very much for that AvalonBlondi, I will stick with it.

Flossie, welcome to the forums. I take a very lose dose of the birth control pill for perimenopausal symptoms and it really helps!

Also, please visit our home page here at BWS. Look on the right side near the bottom and you will see an ad for a bed fan. It was invented for boomer women who have night sweats.

The Prozac is starting to work as I'm only waking once or twice a night now and not sweating as much. Not much of the hot flushes during the day either, still get them but certainly nowhere near as bad as it had been.

I'm not really a meds taker, preferring the more natural approach, but I must admit I like the nice calm feeling the Prozac gives me. My husband even commented on how much happier I seem these days!! I'm certainly not as despondent as I used to be.

[ March 13, 2006, 10:19 PM: Message edited by: flossie ]