Dealing With Hot Flashes Without Going Insane

Most of my blog posts subjects are about things that I have gone through and this is no exception. Hot Flashes. I’ll be 49 this week and have been dealing with perimenopause for the last couple of years with minimal complaints. In the last several weeks that has changed! In reality, I don’t have them as bad as many women.

My hot flashes usually last 1-2 minutes and happen mostly in the middle of the night. I’ve had hot flashes for months now a few times a week in the middle of the night, but lately, it’s been 5-10 times a day and night!

How do you know you are having a hot flash?

Well, this seems like a silly question, doesn’t it?!? But in case you are new to this thing called perimenopause, here are some markers:

A feeling of intense heat coming from the inside, lasting from 1-10 minutes
tingling in your fingers
your heart beating faster than usual
your skin feels warm, suddenly
your face getting red or flushed
sweating, especially in the upper body

I really like this idea from the Healthline website:

You may want to start keeping a journal about your symptoms. Write down what you were doing, eating, drinking, feeling, or wearing when each hot flash began. After several weeks, you may begin to see a pattern that can help you avoid specific triggers.

What Causes Hot Flashes?

What is going on in your body that causes hot flashes in the first place? Said another way in my whiny voice, “WHY ME??”

During this stage of your life, lots of things are happening in your body and hot flashes are just one of the outlets of coping. When your ovaries have completed their purpose of fertility and procreation, they hand the job of making your sex hormones, most notably estrogen and progesterone, to your adrenal glands.

Your adrenal glands are already pretty busy regulating other body functions and making other hormones like adrenaline, cortisol, aldosterone, and DHEA among others. If you tend to be stressed (whether you realize it or not), you are taxing your adrenal glands.

A typical hot flash can be attributed to a rush of adrenaline, compensating for cortisol being out of balance.

Cortisol has gotten a bad rap as it can cause fat storage. We see this with menopause too. Cortisol works with insulin. When you are stressed cortisol triggers a really of glucose in your body to fuel you in times of stress. Cortisol is not all bad though. Cortisol is what wakes you up in the morning. Well-balanced cortisol will start high in the morning and gradually taper off as you get into the evening.

Without nerding out too much more on hormones, it’s all to say that to manage hot flashes, you need to keep in mind what is going on in your body and how to care for and nurture these processes. You can imagine your adrenal glands’ position. Imagine you are at work and you have quite busy on a daily basis. Now your coworker is leaving and the boss isn’t going to hire anyone to replace them. Instead, you will just absorb their workload in addition to your own. THAT is your adrenal glands. So, take care of your adrenals and your menopausal symptoms (including hot flashes) will be much more manageable. Not gone, but manageable.

Now that we have gotten all the backstory out of the way, let’s talk about how to best deal with this nuisance.

How To Manage The Frequency and Intensity Of Hot Flashes

Here are a few tips that will actually help reduce the intensity of most menopausal symptoms.

Eliminate sugar and wheat products. In fact, consider an elimination diet. Food allergies and insensitivities will make your symptoms much, much worse. Other common food culprits: Dairy, Coffee, Cured Meats, Alcohol, and Spicy Foods – I most definitely have more problems with hot flashes when I am eating sugar and/or wheat.

Add stress-reducing activities to every day. Gentle movement, meditation/visualization, hobbies that bring you joy.

Improve sleep habits. Have a nurturing night routine and strive for the holy grail of 8 hours of sleep.

Reducing stress is easier said than done, but it is worth a try. Say “no” more. Don’t work out as intensely as you used to. Relax your attitude. Have faith that everything will be ok.

Get regular check-ups. Chronic diseases like heart problems, diabetes, and thyroid insufficiency can crop up during this time. Your doctor may also recommend HRT (hormone replacement therapy). I don’t have experience with this but I have heard that you want to make sure you have BioIdentical HRT and not synthetic. Synthetic hormones can cause more problems down the line.

Lose weight. Well, that is a struggle right now too. If you are reducing stress, getting enough sleep, and eliminating the foods listed above, you will probably lose weight as a result.

Supplementation: I must caveat this by saying that I have not tried supplementation yet.

Adrenal Support Formula – hot flashes are in part due to estrogen levels being low BUT it’s triggered by our stress level via adrenaline. Addressing your stress level is as important as considering how we can stabilize our estrogen level. So a good adrenal support formula could be the key for you! You can find a lot of these ingredients in one formula. I’m going to break some of the most common out for you below.

Ashwagandha acts on the endocrine system (which produces hormones) by encouraging hormone balance and reducing hot flashes and anxiety.

Black Cohosh is known to help regulate estrogen levels, therefore easing menopause and hormonal symptoms, including hot flashes
Magnesium-Menopause causes a drop in magnesium levels. Since magnesium is needed in over 300 processes in your body, you want to add this back into your diet on a regular basis. It has been shown that supplemental magnesium intake in the range of 310-350 mg daily, greatly reduces hot flashes and night sweats in pre-menopausal and menopausal women.

Maca – The consumption of maca has been shown to balance hormone levels while alleviating symptoms of menopause such as night sweats and hot flashes. This powder can be mixed in with smoothies, oatmeal or taken in capsule form

Vitamin E – Studies have shown statistical decreases in hot flashes when menopausal women were supplementing Vitamin E.

Essential oils: Here are the top 10 essential oils for hot flashes. Diffuse them or apply them to the skin for instant relief!

1. Thyme Essential Oil: thyme has been shown to regulate progesterone levels. Low levels of progesterone are associated with menopause symptoms like hot flashes, mood swings, and insomnia.

2. Clary Sage Essential Oil: Helps Stress reduction, calms the mind, and reduces menopause symptoms.

3. Lavender Essential Oil: Helps anxiety, insomnia, depression, restlessness, and stress.

4. Sandalwood Essential Oil: Sandalwood oil creates a sense of calm and relaxation. This oil also improves mental clarity, regulates sleep, and improves insomnia.

5. Peppermint Essential Oil: Helps stress, uplifting and soothing.

6. Geranium Essential Oil: has also been found to help menopausal women manage hormonal changes. Also has anti-anxiety and anti-depressant effects

7. Basil Essential Oil: known to increase your estrogen levels or to help improve your mood

8. Neroli Essential Oil: enhances estrogen concentrations and blood pressure. also has anti-inflammatory qualities

9. Rose Essential Oil: improves mood and reduces hot flashes by balancing hormones.

10. Roman Chamomile Essential Oil: benefits include reducing anxiety and depression, calming frayed nerves, and promoting relaxation.

Here’s the spray recipe I’m going to make:
Combine the oils in a dark glass spray bottle following the 2:1:2 ratio specified above. (We used 20 drops of clary sage, 10 drops of peppermint, and 20 drops of geranium oil.)
Fill the bottle the rest of the way with witch hazel. (Witch hazel has cooling and astringent properties, which makes it a perfect addition to the essential oils for treating hot flashes.) Replace the cap on the bottle and give it a good shake to mix.

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