What Causes Hot Flashes?

I have had 2 surgeries that in total equal a supercervical hysterectomy.  Early Stage 1A OvCa in 2000.  

1) What would a "normal" FSH level be for someone that has had a hysterectomy?
2) What actually causes a hot flash, and other then the red face and profuse sweating are there other physical changes  happening to the body during a hot flash?

Thank you for your response.

[Machelle Seibel, MD]

Whether or not a woman has her uterus out, FSH levels should not be affected. However, if you had ovarian cancer and both your ovaries were taken out, even if the uterus was left in, that would cause immediate menopause and if one ovary was taken out and the other left in, it would not cause menopause. There is no FSH value for menopause. Reproductive aged women usually have an FSH that is  40. There is overlap.

A hot flash is caused when temperature control malfunctions. Blood vessels dilate causing the warmth followed by sweating and cooling. The actual mechanism is not known. We only know things that trigger them and things that reduce them.
Machelle M. Seibel, MD