Hot flushes & How They Made Me Feel
When I look back on my experience of late-stage perimenopause, one symptom stands out above the rest: hot flushes.
I did know about them before I experienced them. Like many people, I had an idea of what they might be like. But nothing really prepares you for the reality.
Hot flushes were, without doubt, my most distressing symptom.
They weren’t just uncomfortable — they were overwhelming. The intensity of them is something that’s hard to describe unless you’ve experienced it yourself. It’s not simply a feeling of being hot. It’s an all-consuming sensation that can come on suddenly and take over completely.
Alongside the heat, there’s often a racing heart, a sense of being unwell, and a kind of brain fog that makes it difficult to think clearly. At times, it felt incredibly disorientating. Almost like my body wasn’t functioning properly — like it was glitching.
It’s this combination of physical and mental symptoms that makes hot flushes so difficult to manage. For me, they didn’t just affect my body — they had a real impact on how I felt day to day. They could stop me in my tracks and leave me feeling rattled and unsettled.
And perhaps what surprised me most was how intense and unpleasant they were. I don’t think people who haven’t experienced hot flushes truly realise just how overwhelming they can be.
At times, they felt almost alarming — as though something was wrong. That sense of unpredictability and intensity can make them feel quite frightening, especially when you’re going through it for the first time.
If you’re dealing with hot flushes, you might find it helpful to explore the related articles below to learn more about what causes hot flushes and ways to help ease them.
Other related articles that you may find helpful:
Can hot flushes come and go during perimenopause and menopause?
Hot flushes? Science-backed herbs that can help
Anxiety and menopausal hot flushes: How they impact each other
