I happened to come into contact with poison ivy this summer (first time ever) and had a very severe reaction. The doctor prescribed steroids to help, and I also switched from Claritin (for my allergies) to Benadryl (to help the itching). Four weeks later, when I was finished with my poison ivy, I realized that while I was suffering with the rash, I didn't have any hot flashes. I went back to my routine with Claritin and noticed the hot flashes were back. The next day, I switched back to the Benadryl and the hot flashes were only a few a day, and they weren't as “hot” as before. Twice I have switched back to Claritin to see if it was the Benedryl that was really helping, and it seemed it did.

I haven't found any kind of alternative treatment that works yet for my hot flashes. I've tried progesterone cream, black cohosh, dong quai, red clover, and combinations of licorice and burdock. I've been fighting this for four years. (I'm 52). I don't want to do hormone therapy because I've got a family history of strokes. At times, I've had a hot flash every one to two hours. Sometimes they are short, just a couple of minutes (never so short as less than a minute) and sometimes they last for 30 to 45 minutes, generally at night. Sometimes they will quit for several months and then start up again.

I am 56, and I had a hysterectomy 25 years ago. I did HRT for several years, but after suffering blood clots twice in my legs (deep vein thrombosis), I am no longer a candidate for HRT. My problem now is a hot flash with a different life of its own. I can tell when they are coming. First, my legs start tingling. Then my stomach starts burning. I get very nauseated, have shortness of breath, and then the heat starts in my breast area and works up to my face. I am disoriented, frustrated, and want to run and scream. It lasts two to five minutes. This happens about every 30 minutes to an hour.

I use gabapentin prescribed for another medical issue, and it is great for my recent surgically-induced menopause symptoms.

I have had extreme hot flashes (every 45 minutes around the clock with extreme heat and perspiration) since 2001. After trying all of the "natural" over-the-counter remedies with no success, I started a course of HRT and found relief for six years. In 2008, I was diagnosed with breast cancer (very early, very small) and was told that I can never take hormones again. I have tried Effexor and Paxil ER and get very little relief from them. I haven't slept through the night since July 2008.

I was able to have my compounding pharmacy make a version of bellergal-s, and that has helped my menopause symptoms.

While suffering the hot flashes you describe, I was visiting at the time with my sister-in-law from Germany. She advised me to drink soy milk daily. I began the test to see if soy milk would help with hot flashes and finally was able to bring it down to 2 regular sized glasses of soy milk everyday would reduce quite significantly the extent and experiences of hot flashes.