The Dreaded Menopause Hot Flash

The dreaded menopause hot flash used to be something people joked about. When you mentioned a menopause hot flash, people immediately pictured a bunch of old ladies vigorously waving fans as they sat in church surrounded by younger people that were all wearing sweaters to fight the cold.

Hot flashes were simply something women had to suffer through. Some suffered silently and others let their families know every time they had a dreaded menopause hot flash. A century ago, women simply had to endure the discomfort. They had to make do with flimsy paper fans and perhaps drinks of cold water, because air conditioning wasn’t even an option.

Not too long ago scientists realized that hot flashes occur in menopause due to the hormonal changes the body is going through. As monthly ovulation winds down and eventually ceases, the body stops producing estrogen. It turns out that estrogen does more that aid ovulation. It also helps to regulate that part of the human brain that controls temperature. As a result, for many women menopause can bring:

  • Hot flushes, night sweats
  • Hot flashes, fatigue

As soon as researchers began to understand the science behind hot flashes, they set about looking for a cure. It made sense that if a lack of estrogen caused hot flashes, helping your body to produce or simulate estrogen would stop hot flashes from occurring. At first doctors tried a remedy called hormone replacement therapy. By infusing a woman’s body with synthetic estrogen, they hoped to stop hot flashes. Some women seemed to find relief, but then the bottom fell out of this treatment when serious side effects began to emerge. Many doctors now refuse to prescribe hormone replacement therapy to their patients.

A few years later it was discovered that some drugs which were never intended for menopausal women, actually seemed to cause hot flashes to cease. Certain antidepressants and drugs originally intended to fight seizures showed promise as the newest thing in hot flash relief. Doctors began prescribing Effexor and Neurontin in record numbers. As prescription orders for these drugs increased do did reports of serious side effects. Women began complaining of chest pain, headaches, dizziness, and high blood pressure. A few unlucky women even experienced life threatening seizures.

With so many problems in drug therapy, many women began searching for a natural remedy for hot flashes. Herbal therapies have shown quite a bit of promise because they can naturally simulate the hormone estrogen without filling your body with harmful drugs. It should be noted that not all natural medications are equally good. This is because there is no real way to regulate just how much of an herb goes into a supplement. If you choose to treat your menopause hot flash symptoms with herbal treatments, make sure you choose a reputable product such as Hot Flash Freedom.