HRT patches... have any women used HRT patches to control menopausal hot flushes/night sweats... I would very much like to hear about your experiences?

All my college classmates who tried HRT post-menopause stopped because of health issues.

Live with the hot flashes, if you can. (That is what I did.) Carry a small, battery-operated portable fan, lots of kleenex and some hand towels. It will pass.

@gailcalled Great idea but, and it’s a big but, the only part of my body I can move independently is my head, a little hard to cool down, especially at night, hence the need to control the flushes… if you have any other suggestions do not be shy… My mother used HRT patches for 2 years and found them excellent, apart from sore breasts, she is enormously careful about what she takes, does masses of research.

I don’t know about the patch, but I know several women who have a lot of relief from hot flashes with HRT taken in pill form.

What is your reluctance to trying it? You can always remove the patch if you hate it. Are you afraid of related health risks?

I have avoided HRT because of the health related issues and also because of the way it is obtained, I feel sorry for the mares. So I am just dealing with the hot flashes, but I have heard several women say primrose oil worked very well for them. You can buy capsules in the drug store or health food stores. There are many natural remedies.

That said, I have many friends, some nurses, who used the patches as well as injections for years and are still here to tell the tale. I guess you just have to weigh the odds against your need.

I have thought someone should invent a frame on which could be layered top sheet and blankets. It would fit over the top of the bed and operate on a switch. When you hit the button the frame would flip back taking the covers off completely. It would also be connected to an overhead fan which would automatically turn on with the same button. Could be activated when you feel a hot flash coming. When it passed and all was cool, hit the button again, fan would turn off, covers come back down and back to sleep again. (wouldn’t it be fantastic to sleep through one whole night again!)

Today I had a very strong recommendation to try this product , which I am going to do, as of today. A friend was visiting and telling me about these magnets which have simply eliminated her hot flushes altogether, pretty persuasive and definitely worth a try.

@rooeytoo I have also imagined such a device although I did not think of the fan… bravo! wonderful idea, seems so obvious… where is an inventor when you need one!

@JLeslie Yes, you are right, my reluctance is completely related to possible health risks…

I shall report back if/when I have success with the magnet…

@Adagio – that sure sounds great. I am tempted to order one immediately. But if you are, I will wait for your report. Thanks for sharing, I can’t wait to hear.

@rooeytoo I must say I am excited about trying it, just looked further on the website and found this accompanying video . You may be interested in looking at it yourself… because products effects differ from person to person, personally I would rather try it for myself rather than wait for someone else’s report, just my humble opinion*:)*

@Adagio Are you just starting menopause? Maybe try to tough it out if you are. That is my plan when I start, but of course I have no idea how bad or easy it will be. The women I know on HRT suffer as soon as they stop. And the women I know who never took the hormones eventually got better. My girlfriend has a theory that if you don’t let your body go through the natural process you just keep holding off what is inevitable, and so your body is always waiting to finish the process and get past the flashes. Now, I have no idea if that is true. because possibily the women who have taken HRT for years just have bodies that are going to hot flash forever no matter what. Who knows.

I still don’t get why 9 year olds are fine without the hormones that cause our cycle, but 55 year olds suffer. It makes no sense to me. I need to look up the differences in the different hormones at the various ages.

@JLeslie – I have never taken anything and it seems as if these hot flashes have been going on forever. In reality it is probably 6 or 7 years. The idea of a magnet in my underwear quelling these annoyances sounds too good to be true, so it probably is, but it seems worth a try!! Magnets in general seem pretty non invasive, I’ve never heard of them having any serious side effects, have you???

@Adagio – I watched that video and as I said seems too good to be true, but worth a try! Keep us posted and I may just order one too.

@rooeytoo Yeah, that is what I was afraid of. That it is simply that some people have hot flashes for a long time and some don’t. That simple. It would be nice if we could feel like we have some control over it, and by just toughing it out for a year or two it would definitely end. I think the magnets is not going to work, but I doubt it can have any ill affect. So odd. My mom and her mother sailed through, no troubles. My mom was thrilled to go through menopause. My mom’s sister suffers horribly for years with menopause trouble.

@JLeslie I would certainly like to simply tough it out, were that possible… unfortunately to do so means the need to have someone staying with me at night and I am not prepared to lose the measure of independence I have maintained up until now… I have no way of adjusting blankets, I can only move my head and shoulders… I have been using the magnets since yesterday, if I have no relief after a week (?) I will need to resort to radical measures like HRT, not what I would choose but the lesser of two evils… HRT and nighttime independence OR tough it out and lose that independence… there is no argument really, although there are rather a lot of inner struggles around the possibility of HRT, I really hope the magnets work their magic.

@Adagio Well, it seems from what @rooeytoo says there is many times no such thing as toughing it out with an end in sight. If I were you I would try the drugs (if the magnets don’t work) especially in your circumstance. Hope you get some relief.

@Adagio – wow you are fast, I am still considering. But I don’t blame you, if I were in your circumstances I would give it a try asap also. Just last night, I remember kicking the covers off and pulling them back on at least 3 times.

Please keep us posted on what your response is and here’s hoping!!!

I will certainly report back…

@rooeytoo Fast? It helps to have a pharmacy down the road that stocks the magnets and a very encouraging and supportive mother who was staying with me at the time, very keen for me to try the magnets and very kindly willing to fund the exercise…

I have never seen them in drug stores, I see you are in NZ. I will have to look around maybe they are here too (Australia).

@Adagio – is it helping yet???

I am embarrassed to admit that I started using HRT patches about four days into the magnet trial… my situation had become totally unacceptable to me, I wanted some relief NOW, it’s still not sorted properly but I hope it will be in a few days time… the first low dose patch had a considerable and positive impact on the situation but ran out sooner than expected so I have just begun a stronger dose patch, last night was good but early days… the magnet has gone to a new home, a friend who really wanted to try it and is prepared to give it more time than me, perhaps I can report to you on her experience because I well imagine that she will talk to me about. Thanks for your prompting @rooeytoo, I needed that…

@Adagio – no worries and I don’t really blame you under the circumstances. I hope the patches give you quick relief. I know so many of my friends used them and loved the results.

But yes indeed I will be interested to hear of your friend’s reaction to the magnets, so please do keep us posted.

Cheers