OT - Women Wednesday | StepTalk.org

A wave suddenly comes over me. I feel it: a strange sort of tingle start from my core and flow to my arms and legs. I IMMEDIATELY throw off any unnecessary covers/clothing: lap rug, socks, t-shirt to eliminate the slightest possibility that I will set something on fire.

Yep, I’m having a hot flash.

I started having hot flashes last Summer. Mine are seasonal – I don’t have them in the Winter. Too bad, because they’d be so handy for defrosting car windows and melting snow off of the sidewalk! Nope. Lucky me, who already loathes the heat of Summer, only has hot flashes during the hottest time of year. Yippee!! They can also be triggered when I blow-dry my hair. Yeah. That sucks.

DH (who is off work this week) and I were watching a movie last night. He got up to get a drink and stopped to kiss me right in the middle of a hot flash.

“G*ddamn, baby!! It’s like you’re on fire! I could cook a pair of minute steaks on you in under 30 seconds!”

Yeah, thanks, honey. Now hurry up and get your hot hands OFF ME.

So what do you do when you have hot flashes? Some ladies consume more soy and tofu. BUT!!! If you’ve had breast cancer, you should eat in in moderation (2 of my friends will not eat it at all).

Sipping a cold drink could help lower your body’s temperature. At the very least, put that cold glass/can/bottle against your wrists/neck/chest!
Keep a personal fan nearby and crank that sucker up!
Add one tablespoon of organic, unfiltered apple cider vinegar to a glass of water or fruit/veggie juice. Drink 2x a day.
Eat more calcium-rich foods, magnesium-rich foods, and food rich in vitamin E (cold-pressed oils, leafy green veggies, nuts, and almonds, and mineral- and fiber-rich foods like whole grains and fresh veggies.
Eat fish with omega-3 fats: salmon, mackerel, herring, lake trout, sardines, and albacore tuna.

Some prefer to take a natural remedy for hot flashes. If so, please use with caution as you can have adverse effects.

Black Cohosh
Red Clover
Ginseng
Kava
Evening Primrose Oil
Dong Quai

Things that may help reduce hot flashes:

Stop smoking
Lost weight
Avoid caffeinate beverages
Avoid alcohol
Avoid hot and spicy foods

Yes… those last 3 are NOT happening…

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Welcome to the FUNNY-FAN CLUB

I started having mild heat flashes a few months ago. A friend of mine told me that she went out and bought a table fan to sit on her nightstand. She blows it in her face all night long. I bought one too. WORKS like a charm. I use anything I can find within reach. I also have one of those foldng paper fans I picked up from one of my travels. It's stuffed in my pocketbook. Most ladies laugh when I pull it out.

Living in the South, we have our AC on allllll the time so I guess that helps too.

Heat flashes have no warning they just appear out of no where. I just laugh it off. However, I do know some women suffer so many symptoms.

I've been sleeping with a box

I've been sleeping with a box fan for YEARS, but that's because I need the noise.

I swear, I need some air-conditioned skivvies and bras!

I am not looking forward to

I am not looking forward to this....any time now. I do sleep hot now, and I used to be a cold sleeper. I wake up more often sweaty than before. My aunt was very successful in using herbs / non-traditional meds to get her through it so I'm going to pick her brain as well.

The weight gain, the bloating, the insomnia, the hair loss, the indigestion and gassiness, the hot flashes, the night sweats. Fun times!

I already have sucky insomnia

I already have sucky insomnia, dammit!!!