Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy

I’m having severe hot flashes at night….?

…Had a hysterectomy 21 years ago and no hormone replacement. Any help?
The doctor says they would rather not prescribe hormone because of the cancer risk but to try to live with it. It’s horrible and very unbearable. I sweat many times in the night and sometimes during the day. I hate it!

You don’t say how old you are. Average age of menopause is 52. are the night sweats a new thing or has this been going on awhile? Do you have the daytime hot flashes as well? Let me first say that you could go get a second opinion about this. The practice where I work will prescribe hormones short term if you are so miserable the quality of your life is being effected. In the meantime there are lots of things that help a little. Sleep in cotton. have a fan going, not so much to blow on you but to circulate the air in the room. Certain foods are triggers such as spicy foods, hot coffee, and alcohol.I ended up switching to iced coffee but as far as spicy foods, sometimes i just go for it anyway. Some situations are a recipe for the flashes such as hot rooms and stress. (obviously sometimes unavoidable) At work I always have a fan blowing by my feet. There are medications in other categories that benefit these symptoms such as certain antidepressives, and their are natural hormones that can help. Natural hormones are compounded from plants. They are made only at compounding pharmacies. They are in an emollient base that you rub a small amount each day into the inner thigh area, since this is very sensitive skin. The pharmacist would do an in depth interview with you to find out all your issues. They would make a recommendation. The prescription still has to be okayed by your physician, so they do stay in the loop. Then they touch bases with you after a few weeks, to make adjustments. There are some over the counter products that help roughly 60% of women but bare in mind nothing works overnight. Black cohosh is sold by many names, Remifemin is one brand. Red clover is another sold under the name Estovan. GNC has their own menopause rememdy too. Many foods have estrogenic qualities so adding some to your diet will be helpful. Some of these foods are soy,apples,papaya,barley,dairy,cherries,chick peas,flax seeds,sesame seeds,oats yams,red beans, and peppers to mention a few. Everything will help a little. So hopefully you can make a few changes/additions in your life to be comfortable. Try not to loose sight that this is temporary. It really will end, I so understand when you are in the thick of it that it does not feel that way!!

I am having menopausal symptoms, do I have to take hormone replacement therapy?

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