Monday, May 21, 2018

Hot Flashes are the PITS

Every night at 10pm, I take Arimidex, a tiny pill that’s supposed to block estrogen so my breast cancer won’t come back. And every night around 10:30pm, I sweat like a cold glass of water in a warm room.

Hot flashes are the pits!

It’s gotten so that I have the a/c programmed to drop at 10:30 in the hopes our room is nice and cool by bedtime.

I mean, would you want to go to bed if you’re hot and sweaty?

I’m starting to think I should take that pill an hour earlier (and drop the temp earlier, too). And maybe I will. Staying up past 11pm is okay sometimes, but not all the time.

I’m thankful that’s about the only side affect I have with this pill. Well… that I know about so far (it’s possible I’m sleeping through the other affects!). But who knows what will happen as I continue to take it. And I’m supposed to take it for 5 years.

FIVE. YEARS. Ugh. I sure hope the estrogen is out of my system soon and the hot flashes go away. They really are annoying.

On Wednesday Hubby and I will get our tour of the new home. I can’t wait!! Hope to have lots of pictures to share on Friday.

So… How do you remember to take medication? I set the alarm on my iPhone. If not for that, I probably would forget most of the time. Or end up taking it just before bed and that wouldn’t work out so well. Sweating in bed is worse!

Happy Monday!

Stacy

7 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I'd definitely take it early and crank the AC sooner. Keep ice packs handy.
Touring your new home - you'll be in it soon!

JeffO said...

My wife has been dealing with hot flashes for the last year or so, though not as a result of medication. It hasn't been at all fun for her, so I can certainly sympathize. Hopefully, your body will adjust to the medication and it won't happen (or it will just be less severe); in the meantime, changing the time you take it might be the way to go.

Enjoy your tour!

Stacy McKitrick said...

Alex - Close next week, move in the week after that. Won't be long now!

Jeff - You know, it wasn't until I wrote this post that I had even CONSIDERED taking them earlier. I'm such a dunce! :)

Maria Zannini said...

After my hysterectomy, I had hot flashes for exactly 3 weeks, and they weren't even that bad. I don't know how I managed to suffer so little compared to my friends and family, but I'm grateful.

Definitely crank the ac sooner. If they're really bad, take a hot shower before bed. The combination will make you cool fast. You could also buy a pedestal fan for your side of the bed.

I hope you won't have to suffer too long.

Stacy McKitrick said...

Maria - I sweat more after a shower! I do have the overhead fan on, which helps. What really seems unfair is that I had finally gotten OVER the worst of the hot flashes from menopause for this to start up. Just something I have to get used to, I guess. Certainly better than the alternative!

Jennette Marie Powell said...

UGH, hot flashes - and everything else that comes with them - are definitely the pits! I take tons of supplements for that and my adrenal fatigue. I either have to take them when I first get up, with a meal, or right before bed to remember. For one I need in the middle of the day, I have to set a phone alarm, and sometimes still forget it if the alarm goes off when I'm in the middle of something.

Looking forward to seeing more pics of the new house!

Stacy McKitrick said...

Jennette - It also isn't helping that our A/C isn't working. Aaack!! Not only is the house getting hotter, we now face an expense we were hoping to avoid by selling this house.