Getting hot and sweaty for no apparent reason? Waking in the night covered in sweat and demanding all windows are opened?
If this sounds like you, it’s likely you’re going through perimenopause or menopause.
The menopause is something that all women will experience. It occurs when women’s periods stop due to lower hormone levels; the ovaries will stop producing as much of the oestrogen hormone and no longer release an egg each month.
This usually happens between the ages of 45 and 55; with the average age being 51. Around 1 in 100 women can experience menopause before the age of 40 – either naturally for often unknown reasons, because of medical reasons such as removal of the ovaries or uterus, or as a result of cancer treatments like chemotherapy.
Menopause is deemed to have occurred after 12 consecutive months without a period. It marks the end of a woman’s reproductive years – she can no longer become pregnant; except in rare cases where specialist fertility treatment is given.
The time leading up to this event is known as perimenopause.
Women will experience often challenging symptoms as a result of their hormones fluctuating. Two of the most common are hot flashes and night sweats.
These occur because a decline in oestrogen means your body is more sensitive to slight changes in temperature. If your body thinks it’s getting too hot, then it will make you sweat excessively to cool you down and vice versa.
There are things you can do to make your hot flushes and night sweats more manageable. These include:
If you’ve tried these and you’re still suffering, medication may be your next step. Get in touch with your GP to discuss taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT), which helps regulate your hormones and reduce hot flushes and night sweats.
As always, if you have any questions you can use our Menopause Q&A where you can ask for more advice.
We have lots of Menopause FAQs, Menopause videos, Menopause reviews, and Menopause before and after images for you to do more research.
If you want to look for your nearest verified Menopause clinic, your local menopause clinics are listed below.