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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Frequently asked questions

Still have questions about menopause, hot flushes or night sweats? Please see the FAQs below and speak with your doctor.

VMS is the medical name for the hot flushes and night sweats due to menopause. Watch the video to see what causes these common symptoms that up to 80% of women will experience during menopause.1

Yes. They’re all the same thing — sudden and intense sensations of heat in your face, neck and chest, which may be accompanied by sweating, reddening of the skin, chills, and rapid heartbeat. Night sweats are hot flushes that occur during sleep. They can last between 1 and 5 minutes.1,3

Science isn’t sure what causes hot flushes and night sweats during menopause — also known as VMS (Vasomotor Symptoms) due to menopause. But it is known that VMS originates in a part of your brain called the hypothalamus, which regulates your body's temperature. It's here that specific neurons called KNDy neurons play an important role in temperature control. To keep your internal thermostat in check, your body relies on having a balance between oestrogen and a brain chemical called NKB.1,4,5

 

During menopause, levels of oestrogen and NKB become unbalanced. This causes the KNDy neurons in your hypothalamus to tell your body you're hot when you're not. To cool down, your hypothalamus triggers hot flushes and night sweats. Want to see the science for yourself? Check out this video.6,7

Yes, there are prescription treatments for VMS due to menopause. Discuss your treatment options with your doctor.

Yes, they can. 94% of women say VMS (Vasomotor Symptoms) due to menopause affects their sleep, 69% say it affects their focus, and 69% say it affects their work.9

Up to 80% of women will experience VMS (Vasomotor Symptoms) due to menopause, making it the most common symptom of menopause.1,10

Everyone is different, but for most people, VMS (Vasomotor Symptoms) due to menopause lasts for almost 7.5 years. In some cases, though, VMS may last longer than 10 years.11

While it varies from person to person, hot flushes and night sweats, also known as VMS (Vasomotor Symptoms) due to menopause, can start before the age of 40, or up to 10 years before menopause.2,11

Yes, and there’s an actual medical name for them: VMS (Vasomotor Symptoms) due to menopause.1

A hot flush can be accompanied by a rapid heartbeat, sweating, reddening of the skin, and chills. In fact, VMS (Vasomotor Symptoms) due to menopause may increase your heart rate by 7 to 15 beats per minute.1,3,8

Recent studies have reported that the frequency and severity of VMS (Vasomotor Symptoms) due to menopause can be used to predict future chronic health problems such as impaired memory, cardiovascular disease, and poor bone health, including osteoporosis.12

If you feel like VMS is impacting your overall health, talk to your doctor.

Recent studies have reported that drinking alcohol and diets high in sugar and fat may increase the risk of VMS (Vasomotor Symptoms) due to menopause. Remember, always talk to your doctor before making any changes to your diet or exercise routine.1

Dressing in layers and natural fibres, having a portable fan ready and sticking with cool non-alcoholic drinks may help.8

Always talk to your doctor for recommendations on how to deal with hot flushes and night sweats.

They all represent different stages. Perimenopause is the time around menopause when you first start experiencing menopause symptoms, such as menstrual cycle irregularities. Natural menopause is the point in time when you’ve gone 12 consecutive months without a period. And postmenopause is the time of life after menopause.2

The average age of menopause is 51 years. Natural menopause is confirmed after you’ve gone 12 consecutive months without a period.2,13

Once referred to as premature menopause, primary ovarian insufficiency (POI) is the term for experiencing menopause before the age of 40. About 1% will experience primary ovarian insufficiency. Primary ovarian insufficiency can happen for a number of reasons, including genetic, metabolic, infectious, and autoimmune issues.2

Early menopause is the term for menopause that happens between the ages of 40 and 45. It occurs naturally in up to 5% of women, but the most common cause is medical.2


Surgery (where ovaries are removed), medications such as cancer treatments or pelvic radiation, or other medical interventions that can affect the production of oestrogen in the ovaries can all lead to early menopause.2

Menopause symptoms can start up to 10 years before your final menstrual period. This time is called perimenopause.14

While the length of time is different for everyone, most experience menopause between the ages of 40 and 58. VMS (Vasomotor Symptoms) due to menopause has been shown to peak right before menopause (when changes in menstrual cycle regularity and skipping periods begin to happen more frequently) and for the first few years afterwards.1,2

While VMS (Vasomotor Symptoms) due to menopause is one of the most common and bothersome symptom, other menopausal symptoms can include vaginal dryness, joint pain, weight gain, thinning hair, and dry skin, to name a few.10

While meditation has not been proven to help manage symptoms like VMS (Vasomotor Symptoms) due to menopause, it can help with the feelings of anxiety, stress, and irritability that can happen because of your hot flushes and night sweats. Yoga, on the other hand, has been shown to significantly improve menopause symptoms.1,8,15

It’s been shown that VMS (Vasomotor Symptoms) due to menopause is more frequent and severe for those who've had surgically induced menopause (i.e., both ovaries removed) than those who experience menopause naturally.1

The short answer: Yes.


The slightly more detailed answer is that clinical studies have shown that women with higher BMI and/or those who smoke are more likely to experience VMS (Vasomotor Symptoms) due to menopause.1

No. Everyone's experience is different; however, more Black and Hispanic women experience VMS (Vasomotor Symptoms) due to menopause than White women. They also experience it for a longer period of time (by 2 to 4 years) than White women.11,16

Yes, hot flushes are classified by severity1,17:

  • Mild – Sensation of heat without sweating.
  • Moderate – Sensation of heat with sweating, able to continue activity.
  • Severe – Sensation of heat with sweating, causing cessation of activity.

Everyone is different, but on average most women will experience about 33 hot flushes and night sweats per week.18

References:

  1. Thurston RC. Vasomotor symptoms. In: Crandall CJ, Bachman GA, Faubion SS, et al., eds. Menopause Practice: A Clinician's Guide. 6th ed. Pepper Pike, OH: North American Menopause Society, 2019;43-55.
  2. Thurston RC. Menopause. In: Crandall CJ, Bachman GA, Faubion SS, et al., eds. Menopause Practice: A Clinician's Guide. 6th ed. Pepper Pike, OH: North American Menopause Society, 2019;1-21.
  3. Kronenberg F. Hot flashes: epidemiology and physiology. Ann NY Acad Sci 1990;592:52-86.
  4. Wakabayashi Y, Nakada T, Murata K, et al. Neurokinin B and dynorphin A in kisspeptin neurons of the arcuate nucleus participate in generation of periodic oscillation of neural activity driving pulsatile [...]. J Neurosci 2010;30(8):3124-3132.
  5. Padilla SL, Johnson CW, Barker FD, Patterson MA, Palmiter RD. A neural circuit underlying the generation of hot flushes. Cell Rep 2018;24(2):271-277.
  6. Krajewski-Hall SJ, Blackmore EM, McMinn JR, Rance NE. Estradiol alters body temperature regulation in the female mouse. Temperature 2017;5(1):56-69.
  7. Krajewski-Hall SJ, Miranda Dos Santos F, McMullen NTm Blackmore EM, Rance NE. Glutamatergic neurokinin 3 receptor neurons in the median preoptic nucleus modulate heat-defense pathways in female mice. Endocrinology 2019;160(4):803-816.
  8. Kaunitz AM, Manson JE. Management of menopausal symptoms. Obstet Gynecol 2015;126(4):859-876.
  9. English M, Stoykova B, Slota C, Doward L, Siddiqui E, Crawford R, DiBenedetti D. Correction to: Qualitative study: burden of menopause-associated vasomotor symptoms (VMS) and validation of PROMIS sleep disturbance and sleep-related impairment measures for assessment of VMS impact on sleep. J Patient Rep Outcomes 2021;5(1):42.
  10. Monteleone P, Mascagni G, Giannini A, Genazzani AR, Simoncini T. Symptoms of menopause - global prevalence, physiology and implications. Nat Rev Endocrinol 2018;14(4):199-215.
  11. Avis NE, Crawford SL, Greendale G, et al. Duration of menopausal vasomotor symptoms over the menopause transition. JAMA Intern Med 2015;175(4):531-539.
  12. Biglia N, Cagnacci A, Gambacciani M, Lello S, Maffei S, Nappi RE. Vasomotor symptoms in menopause: a biomarker of cardiovascular disease risk and other chronic diseases? Climacteric 2017;20(4):306-312.
  13. What is menopause? The Menopause Charity. https://www.themenopausecharity.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/What-is-menopause_.pdf Accessed July 07, 2023.
  14. Jones RE, Lopez KH. Reproductive aging. In: Human Reproduction Biology. 4th ed. London, UK: Academic Press, 2013;119-131.
  15. Joshi S, Khandwe R, Bapat D, Deshmukh U. Effect of yoga on menopausal symptoms. Menopause Int 2011;17(3):78-81.
  16. Utian WH. Psychosocial and socioeconomic burden of vasomotor symptoms in menopause: a comprehensive review. Health Qual Life Outcomes 2005;3:47.
  17. Guideline on clinical investigation of medicinal products for hormone replacement therapy of oestrogen deficiency symptoms in postmenopausal women. EMA. https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/clinical-investigation-medicinal-products-hormone-replacement-therapy-oestrogen-deficiency-symptoms. Accessed July 07, 2023.
  18. Hunter MS, Gentry-Maharaj A, Ryan A, et al. Prevalence, frequency and problem rating of hot flushes persist in older postmenopausal women: impact of age, body mass index, hysterectomy, hormone therapy use, lifestyle and mood in a cross-sectional cohort study of 10,418 British women aged 54-65. BJOG 2012;119(1):40-50.