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Hot flashes
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WOMEN'S HEALTH |
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Menstruation
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WOMEN'S HEALTH |
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Hair/Nails/Skin
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Hot
flashes, or more correctly called hot flush, is the most
commoncomplaint of menopausal women. Up to 80 percent
of women experience them to some degree, with up to 40
percent suffering enough to seek medical attention.
While some women never have a hot flash, most are
inconvenienced for a year of two. For some women flashes
may persist up to 5, even 10 years.
Hot flashes usually begin when periods are still regular
or are just starting to fluctuate. Hot flashes are often
one of the first indications that
menopause is
approaching. Hot flashes are most uncomfortable in the
first stages of peri-menopause, gradually decreasing in
frequency and intensity as the body adapts to the
hormonal changes.
Duration, frequency, and intensity of hot flashes
differ. Episodes may last for two to three minutes or
they can also linger for up to an hour. They can occur
several times a day or night, or only once or twice a
week.
As harmless as the hot flash is, nevertheless the body’s
temperature control system vacillates between very hot
and cool, other body systems are strained as well. When
flashes occur too often they may be accompanied by
unexpected and even frightening side effects: loss of
sleep, fatigue, weakness,
dizziness, a racing
pulse,
heart palpitations,
headaches, itchy skin, and numbness
in the hands and arms. These symptoms can take you
unaware and cause concern as thoughts of more serious
causes race through your mind.
What Causes Hot Flashes?
The Hot Flash is still not fully understood; researchers
have only recently determined that measured hormonal
changes take place during a flash. Diminished estrogen
levels are somehow responsible, but exactly in what way
remains a bit unclear. Withdrawal of estrogen causes an
increase in the levels of the hormones FSH and LH. The
brain center that secretes these hormones, the
hypothalamus, directs many body functions, including
body temperature, sleep patterns, metabolic rate, mood,
and reaction to stress. The higher the levels of FSH and
LH, the more the blood vessels dilate, or enlarge, this
increases blood flow to the skin, which in turn raises
its temperature.
Other hormones and body chemical levels also seem to
fluctuate in response to altered estrogen levels, and
may participate in triggering a hot flash. Two
neurotransmitters, epinephrine and norepinephrine,
interact with the hypothalamus, thus helping to control
dilation and contraction of blood vessels. The
beta-endorphins which are the brain’s natural mood
controller, drop in response to lowered estrogen and
progesterone levels, and may also be involved. Hormones
do not operate in a vacuum, and a rise or fall in any
one creates a cascading interplay that can affect any
number of bodily functions.
Natural Treatments for Hot Flashes
Fresh vegetables, whole grains, and fruit eaten as
unprocessed as possible and uncontaminated by
insecticides, artificial coloring agents or
preservatives, or other toxic ingredients, means good
nutrition. Considering the present methods of meat
production, it makes sense to minimize consumption of
these. Eggs are fine, as well as modest servings of
ocean fish and fowl (most insecticides are fat soluble
and found primarily in the skin of fowl and fish). While
vegetable and seed oils obtained by high-pressure
squeezing should be avoided because of trans-fatty
acids, olive oil does not require such high-pressure
squeezing and is O.K. Flaxseed oil, walnut oil, Evening
Primrose oil, and pumpkin oil are all especially
nutritious because of their complement of oil essential
fatty acids (i.e.
linoleic acid and a-linolenic acid).
Exercise
Treatments that stabilize the autonomic nervous system
(which controls involuntary responses) may temper hot
flashes. Regular moderate exercise decreases FSH and LH
levels, reducing and possibly eliminating symptoms. The
hypothalamus regulates the menstrual cycle, body
temperature, and the autonomic nervous system. During menopause, it becomes supersensitive to outside signals
exercise can stabilize it and help restore more normal
hormonal levels.
Natural Progesterone
Natural progesterone plays an important role in
restoring balance to the body. One of the safest
hormonal supplements, progesterone is essential in
regulating estrogen, testosterone, aldosterone and
cortisone. This simply means that progesterone is a
precursor hormone that can be converted by the body, as
required into the other essential steroid hormones. If
the body is deprived of its required amount of
progesterone, the production of the other related
hormones can be severely imbalanced. Taking progesterone
will not create an excess of these other hormones, but
rather act as a normalizer by helping to decrease any
excess or correct any deficiency.
Signs and Symptoms of Estrogen Dominance
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Breast swelling, fibrocystic breasts
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Water retention, edema
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Premenstrual mood swings,
depression
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Loss of libido
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Uterine fibroid
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Heavy or irregular menses,
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Craving for sweets
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Weight gain, fat deposition at hips and thighs
Hot
flushes are not a sign of estrogen deficiency, per se,
but are due to heightened hypothalamic activity (vasomotor lability) secondary to low levels of estrogen
and progesterone which, if raised, would produce a
negative feedback effect to the pituitary and
hypothalamus. Estrogen receptors in these areas become
more sensitive, and hot flushes usually subside, once
progesterone levels are raised. Measuring FSH and LH
levels before and after adequate progesterone
supplementation, will validate this mechanism.
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Disclaimer
This information is
provided for general medical education purposes only and
is not meant to substitute for the independent medical
judgment of a physician relative to diagnostic and
treatment options of a specific patient's medical
condition.
In no event will The DrEddyClinic.com be liable for any
decision made or action taken in reliance upon the
information provided through this web site.
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Chiang Mai 50230, Thailand
Phone.
+66-53-436284
Fax. +66-53-436284
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