Hot flashes remedies are not needed for every woman.
This is not only because not all women going through menopause will experience symptoms but also because these symptoms may not be severe enough to warrant specific medical treatment.
In this article, I will present the available treatment for hot flashes, including medical,lifestyle measures and alternative medicine.
Medical Therapy
The most effective hot flashes treatment is estrogen because it simply supplies what is the primary deficient substance responsible for the flashes in the first place. Due to concerns about the risks associated with estrogen therapy especially longterm treatment, not every women will be suitable for this treatment. Other medical therapies which have been shown to offer some benefit for hot flashes include some medications used for treating depression, gabapentine and clonidine. All these are prescription medications that would be provided after your doctor evaluates your suitability.
Hormone Replacement Therapy( HRT)
A
mixture of estrogen and progesterone is usually given in the lowest possible doses when indicated. Progesterone is added because when estrogen is given alone in a woman with a uterus,there a risk of causing uterine cancer. HRT can also help with other symptoms of menopause such as vaginal dryness and bone loss, but they are not given primarily to treat these symptoms.
The problem with HRT is its possible association with heart disease, hypertension, blot clotting,breast cancer, and gallbladder disease This is the reason why your doctor will have to evaluate your health condition before starting HRT. If you are not suitable, the other options listed below will be considered.
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors
These are usually used for treatment of depression. They offer some benefit for hot flashes though not as effective as HRT. They are however good alternative hot flashes remedies when HRT is not suitable. They include Venlafaxine (Effexor,Pristiq), Paroxetine (Paxil, Pexeva) andFluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem). The possible side effects includenausea, dizziness, weight gain or sexual dysfunction.
Gabapentin (Neurontin, Gralise)
This is a drug used for treating seizures and can be helpful in treating nighttime hot flashes and sweats. It may cause headache and drowsiness.
Clonidine (Catapres, Jenloga and others)
This is normally used for treating hypertension. It may cause dry mouth, constipation and drowsiness.
Others such as raloxifene and even birth control pills have been used in some cases.
Lifestyle And Home Treatments
There are lifestyle changes and non-prescription drugs that could be effective home remedies for hot flashes. They do not require a doctor’s prescription and the lifestyle changes will have little side effects!
Alternative therapies
Alternative therapies(natural hot flash relief) are gaining popularity amongst many women as one of the major hot flashes remedies. Perhaps they think these have less side effects which might not be true in many of the cases. A small number also believe alternative therapies are more effective than conventional hot flashes remedies. When it gets to individual level with each woman,I usually realize things get a little complicated, especially when she seems satisfied and relieved with the natural treatment. I often advice women to do just the minimum and let their doctor know what they are taking and learn the possible side effects. Also, standard medical studies evaluating efficacy of some of them is lacking.
All I really want for my patient is that they get well, with no major damage resulting form their treatments! If a natural therapy works for you, you may want to continue it and just discuss it with your doctor. Most women feel discouraged to discuss these issues with their doctors because they think he/she will simply advice them to stop. Not necessarily! If there is no major side effects and it does not interact with your medical treatment for other conditions, your doctor will likely not stop it you if it is working for you.That is what he wants too, like me, to have you well with no major side effects! You may also be asking this question I was asked “are you people fighting over to gain patients to your side as doctors????” Of course not! It is not a “who is winning war” with natural therapists!! The physicians are just being careful to make sure you are not harmed and at the most not taking something not helping you. By the way if there is any complication, it is your physician that would bear the headache. He/she does not want this either!
However, it seems some of these therapies are really helping some women, based on their self-reporting of major relief of their symptoms.For alternative therapies women are using today, you can read the article natural hot flash relief.
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