How long do your hot flushes last?

[angel]

I had my first one last year along with night sweats and my period stopping. The hot flush seemed to engulf me and I had to rush into the freezing cold food department in Marks & Spencers until it settled down a bit! I went to my doctor and she confirmed that it was early menopause and said to come back if there was anything that she could do in the future. Then the night sweats stopped and my periods came back and things seemed to back to normal.

Today I had another massive hot flush which lasted 45 minutes like the last one. I was just telling my mum and she couldn't believe it, she said that hot flushes only last seconds and that she'd never heard of anyone having such a long one! I equally couldn't believe that they could be so short! My friends had told me that theirs had been long too. I think that I'll make another appointment to see the doctor. So, one question....

How long do your hot flushes last?

[jac/norm]

I have been having them for approx 18mths now and they can last anything from seconds to what seems like an eternity. I have been seeing a specialist abot mine as I have loads every day/night and he reckons they last up to an hour at a time. Jacqui

[RAMBLER]

My mum got breast cancer 6 years ago and was put on tamoxifan pushing her into the menopause over night. She has been to hell and back over the last few years with "tropical moments" as we call them, she can be left soaking wet, the onlt thing that makes any difference at all is a medication called clonidine, they are an old fashioned medication which only old time dr's prescribe. It has made life bearable and we can certinely tell when she has forgotten to take them. Ask your Dr for them.

[melbury]

I have been having hot flushes and night sweats for the past few months and got so fed up with being awoken every hour or two at night that I have spent ages on the internet looking into natural remedies because I do not want to go on HRT.

Anyway I shortlisted a few things to try, the first of which was Sage capsules, and after taking them for a few days the flushes and sweats have gone away completely. I just couldn't believe it, I really didn't expect Sage to work so well, so I am really pleased.

From what I have read the length of a hot flush is usually anything up to 4 minutes - 45 minutes seem very excessive.

I don't think you can take Sage if you are on Tamoxifen though, so worth checking this out.