Not all women who go through menopause experience hot flashes—a lucky 25 percent are spared.
And of the remaining 75 percent of us, about 20 percent will experience hot flashes that are sufficiently severe and frequent to make a serious dent in our quality of life.
If you’re not among that 20 percent, it may be hard to understand just how bothersome and disruptive these innocuous sounding events can be.
However, the doesn’t mean you have to resign yourself to suffering.
First of all, it’s worth talking to your doctor about ruling out other conditions that can cause similar symptoms, such as an overactive thyroid gland.
You can learn more about some of the other things that can exacerbate hot flashes, as well as treatments that can help in my Reader’s Question column that was published in Good Times’ December 2021 issue: ‘Living With Hot Flashes’.
A big thank-you to Dr. Wendy Wolfman, the director of the Menopause Clinic at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, for so generously sharing her time and expertise.
Resources
- menopauseandu.ca (Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada)
- menopause.org (North American Menopause Society)
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