Q: Hello, I went into menopause to browse sites and came across your web site. I didn't see anything in there for heat flashes and posible helpful ways of helping them.
My late husband passed away from a heart attack in 96. For 3 months after his passing I did not have my period, probably do to all the stress and turmoil I had gone through. After that it started up again and that was the start of my menopause of irregular periods. On for 6 months off for 6 months for about 5 years until it totally went away.
I have been suffering with heat flashes all through that time starting at night and then during the day. At one point they were so bad that my doctor put me on birth control pills to help. I took it for a year and hated having my period back again that I stopped. They are spiratic in the intensity and the ocurance during the day and at night. At one time they totally went away and then came back with a vengience. Right now they have come back with full intensity and at night, once again, they are really bad and have trouble sleeping because of nite sweats. Right now I am taking vitamins to try to help but not helping. I am taking one a day vitamin, calcium for my bones, soy pills and cohosh tablets which I heard helps.
I need help. I need to know what foods can help and what foods to stay away from. I refuse to take any hormone replacement pills because of the reports of cancer with them. I had hoped I could help myself until they went away. But it has been 8 years now that I have had them this bad on and off.
Can you give me some suggestions on how I can help, if not take them away, at least improve the intensity of them.
Thank you
A: Hello, thank you for writing. I am glad you found the website. It does have some information that will overall be helpful to you. They are mostly excerpts from Susun Weed's New Menopausal Years the Wise Woman Way. This book does contain information to help those with hot flashes, in varying intensities, and night sweats - 20 pages worth. Menopause is a change, and the ride can be bumpy, but it is a necessary and valuable change for women. The best we can do is find how to ride the bumps as smoothly as possible. One way is deep nourishment. Change stresses some of our organs, as does the shift in hormone production. Our adrenals and livers need extra love. Here is an article from the website with some ideas for general nourishment.
Don't underestimate the value of deep nourishment from food-like herbs and foods. I think you know this though since you requested information on how you can eat best through this :) Eight years does seem long to suffer from the hot flashes, but we are all different, and you were likely spurred by such a trauma, and perpetuated with the use of the birth control pills. In the book Susun writes: "Most women who flash (80 percent) do so for between two months and two years. The other 20 percent have flashes for a decade or more."
If you think of one aspect of hot flashes as being energy travelling the body, you may appreciate this Kundalini Meditation. In addition to working with the energy of a flash, there are some homeopathic suggestions Susun makes, ideas for keeping cool inside and out, biofeedback, and some essential oils to inhale.
Nourishing ideas are infusions as mentioned in the first article link above, especially Red Clover and Oatstraw, regular exercise, and herbs to cool, nourish the liver, and that are rich in phytosterols. She mentions the following as possibly triggering hot flashes: spices, acidic foods, hot drinks, caffeine, alcohol, white sugar, hydrogenated or rancid fats, stress, hot weather, hot tubs and saunas, smoking, intense exercise, and anger, especially if unexpressed.
Witch hazel extract from a drugstore may be a stronger way to cool off more quickly. You can wet a hankie with it and keep in a plastic bag to use as needed. Or you can fill a mister with it and water to mist on as needed.
If you want more of the details from the book - on ideas to keep cool, homeopathics, essential oils, cooling herbs, liver nourishing herbs, and phytosterol rich herbs - and are not able to get a hold of the book, let me know. I will be happy to type them out. I just did not want to type 20 pages of info in this email, not knowing which most appeals. :)
Also, all of the above comes from her section on hot flashes. There are more specific ideas for those dealing with night sweats or earthquake flashes.
We also have a wonderful resource available 24 hours a day. This is our online forum where people from around the world come to share life experiences and questions. You may particularly like the "Menopause Metamorphosis" section.
Please let us know how we can help further.
Blessings,
Karen Joy
wisewoman@herbshealing.com
www.wisewomanweb.com
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