Had to share with all of you who will chuckle along with me.
I am just starting into menopause in the last year and a half. About 2 months ago, I began having some hot flashes. Wouldn't you know, about a month ago we had to move mother-in-law into our house for a few months. She's always cold, so the furnace has been turned on earlier in the year than usual and it's set higher than usual. Oh man, what a bummer combination for me LOL.
Anyone else battling thermostat wars with menopause?
It's still a problem when I go to her house to do chores for her, because they're all done in the kitchen or her bedroom or bathroom. Forget cooking there. Even changing her sheets has me sweating. I hate to be hot. I hate to sweat. You have my utmost sympathy. Seriously.
And oh how the house would have that strange odor because rarely was there any fresh air coming in. I would leave the door open while bringing in groceries and in a flash Mom had that door closed.... [sigh] Sadly Mom is now living in long term care and it is toasty warm in her room.
That reminds me, I need to call the heating & A/C techs to come out to put a regular, non-programmable thermostat on the wall.... the Caregivers are complaining about the heat and it is just Dad living there now, but he can't remember how to reprogram that thermostat and neither can any of us !! Oh, and the house smells so much better as Dad can finally open the screen on the storm door to let in some fresh air :)
We have a small oil type heater in her room and an electric blanket on her bed, but still the thermostat is up higher than we are used to and I seem to be feeling the effects most (the kids are thrilled that their penny-pinching mom and dad have been overridden at the thermostat!)
I've been drinking a sage tea and using an essential oil blend for the hot flashes. They were doing great at first, but once the furnace came on and windows got sealed up, I did notice the hot flashes were noticeable again. I like your idea of a spray bottle or putting water on the back of my neck -- I'll try that tonight. They are certainly not as bad as I've heard some ladies have them, but it just seemed like crummy timing, all you can do is laugh and wipe your brow (and fan your shirt, and . . . LOL)
I wear short sleeves or even shorts inside all year if I need to.... For hot flashes, I used Holy Basil herb capsules to calm my system down, and St. John's Wort which pretty much eliminated them for me. (The St. John's Wort can take a few months to kick in, but then they never came back.) Continual spraying with a spray bottle or sloshing from the faucet with cold water (or ice if you like it) on back of neck and wrists also helps a lot while it's happening.