Hot flashes after surgery!

I am one year post op and my hot flashes have gotten worse. I was already in menopause before surgery but my hot flashes weren't that bad. Now I can not sleep through the night. I wake up several times every night even if I take a sleeping pill!

I am going to the doctor to see if I should get on HRT. It's not that good for me because I have a family history of breast cancer. But they say bioidentical hormones are safer. We'll see.

Did your menopause symptoms increase after surgery?

Did anyone here do HRT and have their hot flashes improved?

I am very tired of how bad I sleep because of this. It's been going on since after surgery!

I don't know if the hot flashes are related to surgery but thought to check with others to see if anyone has had any experience with this?

Thank you

I'm not in menopause but I did notice my hormones were incredibly wacky following surgery. I had my period for five weeks!

I called my gynecologist and she said it was "normal". Not sure how she determined that.

If you are not able to sleep, I'd definitely look into HRT. Not sleeping disrupts so many of your bodily functions not to mention how miserable you must feel.

The history of breast cancer is concerning. It's so tough to know what to do with hormone therapies and medication in general because of potential side effects. On one hand you are healing one thing but creating a problem with another. Frustrating to say the least.

Hoping you can figure out a solution.

Most people experience a "hormone dump" in the first six months or so after surgery. Estrogen is stored in fat cells, so as you lose weight, all of those hormones go out into your body. As I understand it, though, that tends to stop as your loss slows down and you get closer to goal; I don't know that it would still be happening at the one-year mark.

Not everything that happens to our bodies after WLS is related to the surgery! If you were already in menopause, the timing here could be complete coincidence. :)

I just saw my doctor and she gave me a new medication that acts like HRT, but it isn't. It's called Duavee and brand new. Unless she gives me samples, I wouldn't be able to afford the co-pay! We'll see if it works.

Right after WLS, my hot flashes abated (during that I'm always freezing period). By a year post-WLS they had returned, but I don't think they are any worse than previously (or better).

Fat cells can and often do produce hormons. Once you list the fat - no longer able to maintain the same level.