Finding Peace with Menopause Part 2: Hot Flashes
- Nebulla Stephen
- Jul 1
- 3 min read
I was trying to think of where to start with a follow up post about this new best friend of mine. Ultimately, I think I’m going to start with hot flashes. Only way I can describe it is in how this lovely friend shows up in my everyday life. Let’s say I just finished re-reading a patient’s chart before I go into the clinic room. My patient is sitting there smiling sweetly at me as I introduce myself to get started for our clinic visit. I’m sitting at the computer taking in what the patient is saying, when I suddenly start to feel like a radiant heater is turning on directly to my cheeks, chest wall, and neck. It becomes harder to concentrate on the person in front of me as my glasses start fogging up, and beads of sweat start accumulating along my face, under my arm pits, and my stomach. Suddenly, I need to excuse myself and grab a piece of paper starting to fan myself to calm down this nuclear reactor going off inside me. My patients always give me grace, and nod their heads in a knowing way, ‘Yes girl, been there a billion times.’ I offer this moment in time as my starting place as I have been trying to make sense of my body and new best friend menopause.
I was lucky to find an acupuncturist before I was induced into medical menopause. We discussed as part of a care plan to address my hot flashes to help re-align my chi, or energy as described in Chinese Medicine. My acupuncturist is knowledgeable and affordable, which is often hard to find because most insurance does not cover the costs. After the session focusing on the hot flashes the next few days felt like a reset for my body. I did not have the profuse night sweats, and the strength of the hot flashes became gentle. It started to resemble briefly walking into a room with a warmer but comfortable heat on for the briefest of moments. So I started to think about what else could help me in the process.
I was lucky to be a co-facilitator for a group of women breast cancer survivors through a curriculum called “PAVING a Path To Wellness.” If anyone is interested in learning more about it, I have included some information below. The founders of the program also wrote a book called , “Paving: A woman’s path through menopause and beyond.” This was set up just like the original program in a workbook style brining a comprehensive guide to framing menopause through the 6 pillars of Lifestyle Medicine. I would love to go in more depth in another post about lifestyle medicine and what it can offer. For now the focus areas are nutrition, physical activity, restorative sleep, stress management, social connections, and avoidance of risky substances.
It was through this program and book I found myself thinking about how nutrition can be helpful when trying to wrap my head around about hot flashes. I started tracking how certain foods improved or made the hot flashes worse. No surprise really, but foods with added refined sugar, caffeine, processed fatty foods, meats like bacon and hamburgers always had the effect of undoing any relief I received from acupuncture. I can’t say that I have eliminated everything, but in taking an active role in deciding how I want to feel has been helping me eat better. Something surprising that became core to managing my hot flashes was yoga and meditation. These two practices combined seemed to turn the thermostat way down as I felt like I was discharging a lot of heat in the yoga movements, and cooling my mind in meditation. One day I was in the supermarket and could not believe my eyes when I saw a whole issue of the Very Well magazine had a special edition called Understanding Menopause. There was even a section in the magazine dedicated the differences in Black Woman’s experience of menopause. I think as I start to think more holistically about menopause the changes are starting to feel permanent. As I consider adapting my whole lifestyle, I do feel excited that there is a way to find peace and relief in menopause. Stay tuned for Part 3!
Just some helpful tools I’ve found:
Brookline Community Acupuncture
Paving: A Women’s Path Through Menopause and Beyond by Michelle Tollefson MD, Beth Frates MD, Amy Commander MD
Paving a path to wellness
Very Well: Understanding Menopause
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