When Periods Cease - Part 3: Hot Flashes!

I've had hot flashes before. They were tolerable. No big deal. For some reason, I think again I'll blame it on the rollar coaster hormone fluctuations, a hot flash is a whole different thing lately. My body is definitely in conflict these last few months.... "Let's see... should we have a period this month? Yeah, sure.... no, maybe not for a few months.... well, how about we skip 4 months and then have 2 of 'em back to back???"  hmmmmm..... it doesn't surprise me that I'm having a hot flash or two and they are of the serious, never before experienced, variety. Kinda like "Oh my gosh!! I'm about to burst into flames!!!" Not only that but I also get waves of nausea and my heart races and I feel weak and lightheaded. Are we having fun yet?????

Now, I have noticed the usual things they tell you to stay away from does make a difference. So, things like caffeine, chocolate, alcohol, sugar  -  all on my "Do not touch" list. BUT one thing that I didn't expect would make a big difference is carbs. I guess it makes sense because it's sugar but here's how I found out. I normally eat whole grains and I eat gluten free but I got into a habit of buying these really yummy rice crackers (made from white rice) and tuna salad. Well, it's not so bad if I just eat a few crackers and a lot of tuna salad because the protein in the tuna is good for blood sugar but I was eating the whole box of crackers at one time! One day, when I suspected there might be some connection between my hot flashes and the crackers, I looked at the amount of carbs and it said there were 26 grams in only 3 crackers!! Cripes!! No wonder!! So I began to stick to only brown rice (and other whole grain) products and I'm more vigilant about counting carbs and eating more protein to keep my blood sugar at a good level which has also kept my hot flashes down to (knock on wood) much fewer.