Hot Flashes

[wowzer]

I've been gluten free since January 1, 2007. I'm sure the night sweats I had for years were probably from gluten. I do take synthroid for thyroid. I quit taking estrogen about a year ago. I ended up stopping cold turkey and didn't notice any difference at the time. I really wonder if I was even absorbing the stuff. I am 53 and I have notice more hot flashes lately, so it could be menopause. I sure hope that I'm not getting glutend this often. Can you tell the difference between the two?

Wendy

[blueeyedmanda]

I am only 25, and I used to be cold all the time, I sweat more now gluten free than I ever did. I used to wear sweaters but not I have dwindled my collection and everything. I even get very toasty at night sometimes, they aren't night sweats nor do I get soaking wet, but sometimes I put shorts on or take all the covers off which is unusual to me.

[ravenwoodglass]

If you go to your OB-GYN they have a blood test that will tell you where your hormone levels are. That will tell you if you are experiencing hormone related hot flashes. Celiac took away my periods at around 40 before I went gluten-free, I was having almost constant hot flashes then. They continued for a long time but after I went gluten-free they decreased to once a night at about 2 am. Why always the same time I have no idea. I do know that when glutened they do seem to occur during the day also but that only lasts a day or two.

[Lisa]

Raven had the answer to knowing if you are in menopause, get your hormone levels checked. And perimenopause can last up to ten years before the full onset of the big "M". I started at 35 and not sure it was related to Celiac or not.

Oh, forgot to add, that after I was diagnosed I would often break out into a sweat during a meal or snack. I finally figured out that I was reacting to dairy in any form. It stopped after about two years gluten free. I did not eliminate dairy, just dairy light for a short period of time.

[Gemini]

I've been gluten free since January 1, 2007. I'm sure the night sweats I had for years were probably from gluten. I do take synthroid for thyroid. I quit taking estrogen about a year ago. I ended up stopping cold turkey and didn't notice any difference at the time. I really wonder if I was even absorbing the stuff. I am 53 and I have notice more hot flashes lately, so it could be menopause. I sure hope that I'm not getting glutend this often. Can you tell the difference between the two?

Wendy

If you are in your 50's and having hot flashes, then it's menopause. Hot flashes can start years before you actually go into full blown menopause and last for a long, long time. They can also start and stop without warning. That is very common.

As for testing, forget blood draws for hormone levels....very unreliable. Saliva testing is the way to go but you may need to see a less mainstream physician for that. Blood levels tend to be what's stored in your cells and may not be what's floating around for use by your body. That's why many women go and have their blood tested and are told their hormone levels are fine...when they have flaming symptoms of menopause.

I never had any gluten related hot flashes and am not convinced they are from gluten anyway.

It may be that before diagnosis of celiac disease, a person is very run down, adrenally, and this could cause temperature shifting. Hot flashes are generally a hormone mediated response and can occur for years around menopause. If your hormone levels are in flux, for whatever reason, you'll have a hot flash.

It may be a better idea to use bio-identical hormones, in cream form, for any hormone replacement. They are prescribed by a physician and obtained through a compounding pharmacy. As they absorb through the skin, there is no worry of mal-absorption problems. They are safer to use than mainstream pill hormones too.

Look on the bright side.....your heating bills should go down once the hot flashes gear up!

[jerseyangel]

As for testing, forget blood draws for hormone levels....very unreliable.

I agree with this--during perimenopause, especially, hormone levels can change daily.

[wowzer]

I do know that I need to get my hormone levels checked. It is a little harder for me to figure out, since I was born without a uterus, I've never had periods. My one lonely ovary does still ovulate, but I think that is happening less now.

[nmw]

It does sound like meno. I get hot flashes when glutened as well as with hormonal shifts. To answer your question, for me the hormonal ones pass quickly with little, if any residual effects, and the glutened ones are more like a toxin reaction and are accompanied by all my other gluten symptoms.