Yesterday I had my appointment with the Hot Flash Clinic. For those of you who haven’t experienced the joys of hot flashes, here’s why doctors believe hot flashes occur. Hot flashes are likely caused by a decrease in estrogen which can occur with many cancer treatments. The decrease in estrogen affects the hypothalamus, which is the part of the brain that controls body temperature. When there is a decrease in estrogen, the brain thinks the body is too hot. The brain then produces a chemical to help cool the body which results in an increased heart rate, enlarged blood vessels in the skin to let heat escape and sweat to cool the skin. So, when the hot flash is done, you get the chills because you’ve been sweating. Hot flashed induced by chemotherapy are often more intense than if you had hot flashes with regular old menopause.
In clinical trials, doctors have found that the frequency of hot flashes can be reduced up to 80% with low dose anti-depressants. I’m not really excited about taking anti-depressants but at this point I’m so tired from not sleeping at night that I’m willing to try anything. The dose of Effexor I will be taking is 37.5 mg and the dose to treat actual depression is around 200 – 300mg. I’ll be keeping a ‘hot flash log’ for the next two days to get a baseline then I’ll start taking Effexor on Friday. It will likely take 2 or 3 weeks to kick in. I hope it works!
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