What triggers hot flushes?

[CurlyPretzel]

I hadn't thought I was having hot flushes, but I have a lot of anxiety at the moment associated with horrendous ectopic heart beat problems. And twice in the last two days I have come over all hot and clammy while worrying about it. Does a stress/anxiety moment typically trigger a hot flush, or do they just happen?

I am trying to work out how to unravel my hellish symptoms from each other and work out which are related to what cause.

[Hidden]

Hi lovely I’ve had these I come over hot , clammy bad palpitations and dizziness looking forward too see what people think x

[Red49]

Hi there when I am anxious or feeling stressed I will have hot flashes. I can get hot flashes when I’m reading, thinking or talking about them 😊

[wobblybee Administrator]

Hot flushes usually affect women who are approaching the menopause and are thought to be caused by changes in your hormone levels affecting your body's temperature control. They can happen without warning throughout the day and night, but can also be triggered by: eating spicy foods. caffeine and alcohol.

nhs.uk › ... › Menopause

Re Hot flushes.

If HRT isn't right for you, other treatments may offer relief. Prescription treatments include:

Low-dose depression drugs like fluoxetine (Prozac, Rapiflux), paroxetine (Paxil, Pexeva), or venlafaxine (Effexor)

Clonidine, a blood pressure medication

Gabapentin, an anti-seizure drug

Brisdelle, a paroxetine formula specifically for hot flashes

Duavee, a conjugated estrogens/bazedoxifene formula designed to treat hot flashes

B complex vitamins, vitamin E, and ibuprofen may help, too.

Copied from medmd.com

[CurlyPretzel in reply to wobblybee]

Thanks yes I am quite well read up. I just wondered whether anyone found anxiety to be a trigger. I've now read hot flushes are a symptom of anxiety not necessarily meno, in my case likely therefore a secondary symptom I think. I think anxiety is increased by hormones but at the moment caused by my heart problems.

[Cosmo501]

Hi CurlyPretzel How are you getting on with unraveling everything? I hope things are calming down for you. I don’t know if it’s similar but I also had unexpected anxiety, heart palpitations and breathlessness that would come and go while I was having hot flushes too. Lasted a few months on and off. It all suddenly stopped for me as quickly as they started! I hope you’re finding some good advice and support to help you through xx

[CurlyPretzel in reply to Cosmo501]

Thanks. I am mostly suffering from an ectopic heartbeat problem that came out of the blue a month ago. I am seeing a cardiologist next Wednesday so hopefully will get some answers around likely cause and be reassured there is nothing serious going on. I definitely need to reduce my stress levels but this can be easier said than done.

Once I have seen the cardiologist I will go back to my GP to talk about peri. I actually also have a mammogram today - GP sending me as a precaution because I said my breasts were on and off sore/achey when we were discussing whether I had chest pain in relation to the ectopic beats... I wasn't remotely fussed about it but of course now the health anxiety is kicking in 😩...

[CurlyPretzel in reply to Cosmo501]

PS I haven't had a hot flush since I posted. I think it was likely triggered by worrying about the heart rhythm problem.

[Cosmo501 in reply to CurlyPretzel]

Hope all went well with your mammogram. -- yes it's not so simple to just reduce stress levels is it!! I was so stressed thinking something was wrong with my heart... and my mum unfortunately made me more worried rather than reassured.. luckily the test were reassuring, and then everything calmed down. So hopefully you will get some reassurance from the cardiologist and be able to make some sense of it all... and in return, reduce those stress levels

[CurlyPretzel in reply to Cosmo501]

Mammogram was excruciating! I was expecting uncomfortable but this was more like painful 🤣. Hopefully was OK. They did ultrasound afterwards and I didn't see anything that didn't look like everything else on the screen....