Coping with Hot Flashes After Your Hysterectomy

Whether you decided to undergo a hysterectomy because of uterine fibroids, endometriosis, or another health concern, you may be wondering how your health will be affected post-procedure. While hysterectomy does not cause menopause or hot flashes, the act of removing the ovaries and uterus can cause symptoms normally associated with menopause, including the dreaded hot flashes.

However your body responds, you deserve all the facts. The following information can help you identify and minimize hot flashes, should they occur after your hysterectomy.

In a Flash

Hot flashes are sensations of extreme heat in the upper body, often accompanied by a rapid heartbeat and redness in your neck, face, and chest. Heavy sweating may also occur. Duration varies from woman to woman, but generally each hot flash can last between thirty seconds and up to five minutes.

Hot flashes experienced after a hysterectomy vary in intensity and can be classified as:

• Mild: Quick and often unnoticed, this type rarely interferes with your daily functioning.
• Moderate: These hot flashes are warmer than the mild type and feel more intense. They usually result in obvious perspiration.
• Severe: Intense and hot, this type usually force you to stop what you’re doing to find relief.

What Causes Post-Op Hot Flashes?

While experts do not know the exact cause of hot flashes following hysterectomy, a principal cause may lie in the hypothalamus, the area of the brain that controls body temperature. Triggered by decreased estrogen levels associated with hysterectomy, the hypothalamus detects an increased body temperature and releases chemicals that dilate blood vessels in the skin to release excess heat, which causes a hot flash to occur.

Treating and Managing Your Hot Flashes

Post-hysterectomy hot flashes are not a life sentence. Rather, these physical symptoms are linked to reduced estrogen levels in your body, a state which can be remedied with highly effective treatments, including bio-identical hormone therapy, which replaces your depleted stores with naturally-synthesized hormones and balances your system.

Other methods of coping include:

• Proper nutrition
• Regular exercise
• Regular sleep
• Meditation, Yoga, Thai Chi, or Qi Gong, all of which soothe the system and encourage the body’s energies to operate in a healthy and balanced manner.

Here at Water’s Edge Natural Medicine, we encourage a mix of techniques for coping with hot flashes, including the above lifestyle changes and bio-identical hormone therapy to soothe and stabilize your system. Contact us today to meet with one of our skilled naturopaths, who can help you come up with a plan that empowers your body to recover from hot flashes in its own way.