Archive for hot flashes
Menopause and HRT – when you cannot take Hormones
Posted by: | CommentsA reader recently posted a question:
What do you do when your health requires you to stop taking your hormone therapy?
Many specialists would simply say, stop your medication and in essence, deal with it. Your gynecologist or family practitioner could no doubt offer more advice than that. My first advice would be to contact your regular provider to ask their advice on controlling symptoms.
The time of menopause is also the time of increase risk of stroke, heart attacks, cancers, and blood clots or DVT ( deep vein thrombophlebitis). Estrogen and progesterone can cause inflammation of blood vessel walls, thus helping to cause stroke, blood clots, and heart attacks. Estrogens can fuel a breast cancer or other cancers of the female organs. Since having one cancer places you at risk for any other cancer, it makes sense to discontinue estrogen for any cancer a woman may experience.
So what do you do when you are told to suddenly stop the therapy which is helping you feel sane and in control?
There are many other therapies which are safe and can help control symptoms, but first you must check with you provider. One thing which will be vital for controlling the symptoms of menopause is a healthy life style. Because of how food is metabolized during this time, it is important to limit foods high in sugar as this can lead to fatigue and sometimes fuel hot flashes. It is also important to limit caffeine and alcohol as these items can trigger hot flashes both daytime and nighttime. Alcohol also causes difficulty with sleep mostly due to the sugar content.
We all know a bad night sleeping can lead to
- fatigue, which leads to
- low energy and avoidance of exercise,
- leads to convenient food choices for comfort and ease of preparation.
- lack of sex drive
- difficulty concentrating
- all of the above leading to low self esteem and possibly depression over lack of control
How do you gain control of all this?
A diet high in antioxidants helps. This means fresh fruits and vegetables, brightly colored or deep leafy green. Consuming less sugar, caffeine, and alcohol. If you are sensitive, a diet low in dairy. If you are not sure how dairy sensitive you are, stop all dairy for 1-2 months and see how you feel. You may have more energy, less respiratory problems and skin problems. Exercise of any kind that gets your heart beating faster and uses your muscles in a way not normally used in your average day.
For medical help when the above measures are not enough, there is clonodine or effexor (low dose) which can help with hot flashes. There are sleep aids which are generally safe for short periods of time. Doing cross word puzzles or other memory type games can help some with “brain fog”, as does some low dose antidepressants if applicable. Herbal products should be used with extreme caution if they contain soy or black cohosh; these products can theoretically be irritating to blood vessel walls as they are estrogen like in their action.
There are measures you can take to control your symptoms, nothing may be as completely relieving as hormone replacement therapy. Talk to your medical provider to get advice targeted to your health situation. Then, write us back and let us know what worked for you! Share your successes with our readers.
Anne V. PAC
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IS IT MENOPAUSE?
Posted by: | CommentsI have come to appreciate a saying I heard often in my younger years but did not fully understand-“Aging is not for sissies”.
Hot Flash Relief
Many bewildering things can begin to occur sometime after 40, and menopause is the most profound for women. Men do have changes they experience, my sense is this change is slightly more gradual. Menopause however, can be swift and sudden. This often leaves many women feeling as if they must be going crazy or they must have some dreaded ailment or disease.
When you are feeling suddenly more fatigued than normal for you, you are noticing more profound mood swings, you have muscle or joint pains that come and go for no explainable reason, your are having unusual problems falling asleep and/or staying asleep-you may very well be experiencing menopause. Your periods may still be very regular, you may notice more severe PMS than what you have felt for decades.
It is important to see your medical provider to find out if what you are experiencing is menopause or an illness with similar symptoms. The following are medical conditions which can have a similar set of symptoms:
- thyroid disease- either hyper or hypothyroidism
- diabetes
- anemia
- other hormonal issues such as adrenal problems or hyperparathyroidism (regulates calcium absorption)
- leukemia and lymphoma
- arthritis and other connective tissue disorders
It is important to discuss your concerns with your provider. To help you organize and focus any specific health concerns, it is helpful to make a list on paper so you do not forget your questions. Most providers will take the time to address specific concerns when a patient has a written list they are referring to. A written list helps to give more weight or power to a patients’ concerns as it keeps both you and your provider focused.
Lab tests are often ordered to help determine the cause of what you are experiencing. The following is a list of some of the lab tests your provider may order depending on your symptoms and situation:
- CBC with differential-relates to immune system and anemia
- glucose, possibly HgbA1c -relates to diabetes
- electrolytes, calcium and magnesium-relates to muscle disorders
- FSH, LH, estradiol and possibly progesterone- relates specifically to menopause
- TSH, free T4, free T3- relates to thyroid illnesses
- Erythrocyte sedimentation rate, maybe ANA and rheumatoid factor- depending on degree of joint problems
Not all of these tests have to be ordered, but this is a general guideline for your provider to get a clear picture on how well different functions within your body are working.
If you do none of this, usually the answer becomes clear with time. If it is menopause, your periods will eventually become quite irregular, hot flashes will begin as well as many of the above symptoms waxing and waning. Even if this is the case, it is probably time anyway to see your provider to ensure your heart is healthy and that there is no breast/cervical/ovarian disorders. And of course there is the dreaded colonoscopy.
Anne V. PAC
Like I stated earlier, Aging Is Not For Sissies! I would like to hear your story on this topic. What have you experienced? What nugget can you pass on to the readers? Perhaps you just have a question. Leave a comment. If you are more shy, sign up to be a free member – then your comments will only be visible to other members and me.
Hot Flashes – They are all in Your Head
Posted by: | CommentsHot Flash Relief
What is a Hot Flash?
The hot flash or hot flush is a temporary problem with temperature regulation in the body of a woman or man who has lost the ability to produce the sex hormone Estradiol (commonly called Estrogen).
Yes, guys who are treated for certain cancers and have their sex hormones blocked, will feel hot flashes like the woman who has had her ovaries surgically removed or who is menopausal. Men produce some estrogen just as women produce some testosterone.
Why don’t little girls and boys have hot flashes prior to puberty?
The reason I say hot flashes are all in your head is because they originate in an organ called the Hypothalamus. One of the jobs of the Hypothalamus is to regulate body temperature.
When a person has had a heat stroke, the Hypothalamus is believed to be permanently damaged and that person is very susceptible to heat injury in the future.
With hot flashes or flushes, the hypothalamus is reacting to the lack of estrogen, or at least lack of Estradiol is now believed to be an indirect cause of hot flashes. It takes years of exposure to Estradiol before the lack of it will trigger the hot flash.
What does Estradiol (estrogen) do for the brain?
The brain’s primary fuel source is glucose – sugar! Since the brain does not produce its own fuel, sugar has to get into the brain from the blood. There is protective mechanism of the brain called the blood brain barrier that prevents what is in the blood from entering the brain directly.
A few things can cross this barrier easily and the result is usually addiction to that substance. Examples that cross quickly are nicotine, cocaine, heroine, i.e. most narcotics. Sugar, the primary fuel source, has to be shuttled from the blood to the brain. This active transport system is greatly influenced by Estrogen.
When Estradiol (estrogen) production stops, the production of new transport molecules is hampered and the brain suffers fuel shortages. When the hypothalamus runs low of glucose, temperature regulation is affected. This problem affects other areas of the brain. Women in menopause often complain of having “Brain Fog”. This is probably a temporary shortage of our primary fuel source for the brain – glucose, in other areas of the brain.
The Brain
What can a peri or post-menopausal woman do about this?
There are several options. One is to take estrogen replacement. There is controversy surrounding this. First there is the possibility of cancer and stroke. These appear to be very small risks if a woman is healthy and under the age of 60. I am not sure that there is anything magical about turning 60, it appears to be a number beyond which statistically significant numbers of women begin to suffer side-effects of hormone therapy.
There is a small amount of evidence that using estrogen to ameliorate these transport problems, even temporarily, leads to better brain function later in life. The estrogen replacement needs to begin during peri-menopause for the protection to be extended later. It is not clear that the estrogens have to be bio-identical
Another option is to provide the brain with its second favorite fuel. This fuel does not need to be actively transported into the brain and is readily used by the brain cell called a neuron. The idea for this type of solution actually came from pediatric neurology. Some children suffer a form of epilepsy caused by a faulty glucose shuttle system (genetic aberration). They can not feed the brain enough glucose and suffer seizures as a result. The treatment protocol for these children is called a keto-genic diet.
Ketones or ketone bodies are the end result of using fat as a fuel. When we starve, are carbohydrate restricted or are unable to use glucose as in diabetes,we burn fat. Fat breaks up into the same size carbon chains as glucose but a chunk on the end is left and that chunk is a Ketone body or just a ketone. I was taught that ketones had no good physiological function but we now know that the brain and heart like them as fuel. To provide the brain with ketones, the best fatty fuel source is something called Medium Chain Triglycerides.
Guess who knew it was a great fuel source for many years now – body builders! The shelves of stores catering to their needs are full of Medium Chain Triglyceride (MCT) Oil. Another source is coconut oil which I buy from my local grocery store. It is a solid at room temperature, is able to withstand high temperatures so is good for cooking and has a pleasant taste. It also meets another criteria for me to use it. Like extra-virgin olive oil, it has not been processed. No other oil can make that claim except those two.
What is a good Brain Diet for Women beginning Menopause or suffering from Hot Flashes?
First of all, don’t over eat. If you have a weight problem or want to avoid the weight gain during menopause, see the free report we give away on the home page of Female Menopause Mentors.
Keep your processed carbohydrate to zero. Get your carbohydrates from sources high in fiber like cruciferous vegetables. Unless you grind the grain yourself, avoid anything made from flour or that has some form of sugar as a major ingredient (glucose, sucrose, fructose).
Add MCT oil – one or two tablespoons a day to your diet or like me eat a couple of tablespoons of coconut oil. (Coconut oil is 66% MCT.) Each tablespoon of oil contains about 90 calories so you have to account for those in your diet. Don’t just add 180 calories a day or you will soon notice it on your waist and this is another health problem you do not need.
I also suggest you consume 500mg of Krill oil a day for the EPA and DHA content which are good for your brain and heart health.
Some researchers think flax seed oil is also good, but I prefer my patients to consume fresh ground flax seed. Ground flax seed contains the oil but also is rich in lignans (anti-cancer compound) and is very high in fiber.
Americans do not get enough fiber and do not drink enough water. One quart of water for every 50 pounds of lean body weight a day is about right and 35-40 grams of fiber per day (15-17 is average in the US). Other supplements to consider are:
Vitamin D3 (without added vitamin A) about 1000 – 2000 IU per day if you are not getting 20 minutes of sun on your skin each day or are over age60.
Vitamin K2 - found in fermented foods like Natto, Cheeses and Sauerkraut, There is a pill form but because there were so many problems with Pills of Vitamin K1, I prefer to eat one ounce (30 grams) of aged cheese daily (that is the size of a pair of dice)
Magnesium as magnesium oxide – this can be a laxative so beware but it relaxes smooth muscle, helps with sleep and catalyzes hundreds of reactions within the body. Serum levels are not always reflective of intra-cellular levels just like potassium and can not be used to gauge need. Begin slow and work your way up to 500-600mg per day. Some experts like Dr. Larry McCleary recommend magnesium chelate (Mag malate or taurinate)
Who are the experts in this area?
Dr. Larry McCleary – he wrote The Brain Trust Program
Dr. Sharon Dormire of the University of Texas School of Nursing – look for her name on studies on this subject
Dr. John Ratey – wrote the book Spark
Dr. Mary Newport – CoconutKetones
Dr. John M. Freeman – The Ketogenic Diet