ladies question ,chemo and hot flushes

Hello ladies , I have a question I am 54 yr and before cancer came I considered that I was at the tail end of the menopause ,lees frequent periods hardly any hot flushes at all ,and i was feeling quite pleased about this .Now have had lung surgery ,have just completed last session of adjuvent chemo and since session 2 I have had back to back hot flushes as my menuopause symptoms have been reignited .These hot flushes keep me awake most of the night lying down makes them worse ,lack of exercise at this stage probably doesn't help ,just haven't got any energy for it although i do walk daily.Normally I swim 2-3 times a week ,i am drinking soya milk which helps in usual circumstances but not in chemo world .I haven't really had a full nights sleep since my op in March this year ,just has not been possible .What I really want to know from the ladies who must have suffered the same is ,does this pass and how quickly ?its driving me mad I am at the end of my tether what with all the other stuff assosiated with chemo disease and outcome ,this is just another massive thing to cope with a nights undisturbed sleep would be fantastic .Diane .

  • Hello Diane, 

    You might like to post in our Ask the Nurses section or even give them a call to have a chat about your symptoms. They may be able to help answer some of your questions. 

    If you'd like to chat to one of them you can call them free from  a UK landline on 0808 800 4040 Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm. 

    Hoping that you manage to find a way forwards to get some decent rest at night. 

    Best wishes, 
    Jenn
    Cancer Chat moderator

  • Hi Diane,

    Hope you dont mind a man replying but I was on hormone therapy (zoladex) for two years for my prostate cancer. I suffered from hot flushes as a result both during the day but they were even worse at night for the kept waking me up. My dear wife was not very sympathetic as all she would say was "Now you know what we women have to put up with". So I do sympathise with you on this. wishing you well with your treatment, Brian.

  • I had terrible hot flushes, the most uncomfortable nights covers on, covers off etc etc waking dripping wet i would have to put towels underneath me.

    I have finished chemo and i don't really notice them now, im on tamoxifen so still get flushes occasionally but its much much better x

    ps I'm three months post chemo 6 weeks post rads

  • Hi Brian ,sorry to hear that you had hot flushes too ,drug induced ones seem more intense than the usual ones us ladies get .However ,no matter how you get them they are just 100% annoying ,thanks for input Brian I hope they are now passed and you feel better.Diane

  • Thanks for your reply thats exactly what i wanted to hear that they reduce in the end ,strangly i didn't have so many last night ,felt better for getting some sleep ,however my counts must now be dropping as i have been dizzy all day ,just eating lots of red meat at the moment as it makes me feel better at this point .I wanted to go for a walk but i have put that on hold for the moment ,although i might try later if it reduces a little.Exercise however limited has to help the menopause symptoms .Good luck with the rest of your treatment .Diane

  • Thanks for the response ,I may well ring the nurses if they are persistant ,i have my fingers crossed that they will go away or reduce somewhat.I am trying not to drink more than one cup of tea a day at the moment

    as i think that maybe the trigger that sets them off ,it certainly helped improve last nights hot flushes .I only had about four episodes ,so I am hopeful.

  • Hi Brewster, hope you don't mind me butting in! I had exactly the same problem and then had Tamoxifen which unfortunately causes the same symptoms but now I'm treatment free it really has got better. The flushes do calm down over time so hang on in there :)

    Sarah

  • Hi, Brewster, I didnt go through the menopause until I was 58 and didnt really suffer much from hot flushes.  However, now at 71 I am on Letrozole, a hormone therapy, for my cancer and I am making up for lost time.  Never mind, they are helping me a bit so am not complaining!  :-)

    I do hope you get some sleep soon and start to feel better! x

  • Hello ladies

    I'm 47 and have been pushed into early menopause by chemo according to my oncologist. She would not give me any medication but suggested I look for herbal remedies. A friend duly did lots of research for me and came up with sage tea. I seep six leaves in a mug of water for around 5 minutes and then knock it back (it's not awful, but it's not honey either). I've not had any sage leaves for a few weeks now and the hot flushes have got worse so I do think it helps a bit.

    Shel x