HRT for hot flashes and sweats?

[lynn57]

I recently began HRT for my hot flashes and extreme sweats.  they also affect my sleep.  I have been taking them a week and see no relief.  How long do they take to relieve symptoms??

[lynn57]

OK i have been on the hormones for exactly a month.  I have some relief from the hot flashes but far from what I was told to expect.  If I am going to take on the risk of HRT I want relief from 95% of the hot flashes.  Dr. says I will have 100% relief.  I'm going to see if the dose needs to be changed.  I take 0.5 mg of Estradiol and 2.5 mg of Medroxyprogesterone.  Is that a small dose????

[sasmo]

I am there with you! Hot flushes (as we call them here in the UK!) about 7 to 10 times a day plus several at night. For the first few weeks I thought I couldn't cope and was ready to go to the doc for HRT, but I have been on a herbal supplement regime recommended in the book below, and I am feeling better and coping better. I am like you - I don't go red but just very sweaty. It is hard work, feels like you are a bit ill all the time, and so tiring not getting enough sleep because of the night sweats.

The Change Before the Change : Everything You Need to Know to Stay Healthy in the Decade Before Menopause (Hardcover)
by Laura E. Corio MD

[peggy64]

Maybe the soy lecithin granules will help in one respect. I read that PS is made from this.

[lynn57]

I tried soy and I tried Estroven with black cohosh.  No relief.  My Gyno absolutely swears by hormone therapy.  I was under the impression that there would be a gradual improvement.  I still haven't seen that much relief.  I am tired of having a damp neck.  When the hot flash is over and the cold sweat hits I feel like I just came off a soccer field at half time.  My face doesn't get red so nobody knows that I'm having a flash, I just look like a sweat hog.

[peggy64]

Sick and tired, do you think soy lecithin granules will work, because I detest milk.

hope you are doing better these days.

[sick and tired 47]

Hi Lynn,
This is such a frustrating time for women.I am  there with you sister.
What has helped me and my freind is drinking one glass of soy milk every day. It really improved our hot flashes, especially at night. It did take about a month to work. But recentlly my friend was taking care of her mother in another city for 2 weeks. She did not have her daily soy milk and those bad night sweats came back. After resuming her glass of soy milk daily they subsided in 2 weeks  
   My sister swears black cohosh helps her... but I have not tried it.
Good luck to you.

[PerimenoWorried]

There's been a lot of question as to whether HRT will work for everyone in dealing with hot flushes.  For some women it's a blessing and works like a charm.  For others, it may lessen them but, not get rid of them completely.  

Give it a try for at least a full month.  If nothing has changed for the better at that point, you may want to ask your doctor about changing dosages or adding in a natural supplemental aid or vitamin regime.  

Don't forget to stick by the old standards such as stress reduction, lots of good sleep, exercise, dressing in layers that can be peeled off and put back on again, keeping a fan by your bed at night, cutting cafeine out or at least down to an absolute minimum, stay clear of spicey foods and fatty foods.  And, do a search on hot flushes and natural remedies.  

Just remember that these are temporary symptoms.  They do ease up as time goes on.  Hang in there! :)