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Deb Haggerty's
Positive Hope Blog |
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For women with breast cancer and their loved ones.
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Welcome to the Best Time of Your Life - AND Hot Flashes This entry was posted on 7/6/2007 11:16 AM and is filed under uncategorized. When I found out that I had breast cancer and would be having chemo, I tried to look on the bright side - well, chemo can cause menopause - that would be a blessing. Then a month later I found out I would also have to have a complete oophorectomy (uterus and ovaries removed) - that cinched the menopause.
However, along with the obvious joy of menopause came the curse - hot flashes! And were they hot! And drenching! And at inopportune times! How to solve the dilemma? I did a lot of research and came up with the formula that works best for me. As a breast cancer survivor, I can't take hormone replacement therapy. The best solution I've found after almost eight years of living with this is Evening Primrose Oil and Effexor. I take one 1000 unit capsule of EPO four times a day. The Effexor is an anti-depressant, so a doctor's prescription is needed. I take 75mg each morning. The nice thing about the Effexor is it not only reduces hot flashes, but evens out your moods as well.
It really does work - I'd gone up on the Effexor to max dosage during a particularly stressful time (with the concurrence of my doc) and later told myself that was ridiculous, so I gradually weaned myself off it entirely - forgetting why I started taking it in the first place. Boy, when the hot flashes hit with a vengeance, I quickly remembered! Let me know what works for you! |
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