Guys do get hot flashes! The hot flashes males get could be due to drop in testosterone levels. However, these symptoms are less likely to be hormonal based, than in women. But: just as likely to be life disruptive!
Management of hot flashes includes both prevention and treatment. Nonmedication-based techniques are usually tried first.
First. document the number, intensity and duration of hot flashes/ This identifies triggers to avoid. Taking a hot bath or eating spicy food may spark a hot flash, for example.
Lifestyle Adaptations May Be all that Is Required
Avoid excessive caffeine and alcohol, and quitting smoking. A cool environment during the day and while sleeping, with cotton clothing and sheets and cool showers, can help. Relaxation activities such as yoga, meditation and breathing exercises may help as well.
Dr. Charles Loprinzi of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, who has researched cancer symptoms for more than 25 years, told Reuters Health by phone, “One patient told me that in the winter, she’d get in her car, put on her seat belt and then put her coat on backwards so she could easily pull the coat off if she had a hot flash while driving.”
In gold-standard trials, Loprinzi’s team has found that for both men and women, hot flashes for those who want to avoid hormone use can be managed with low doses of other medications antidepressants, such as venlafaxine, citalopram, clonidine, gabapentin and oxybutynin if hormones are not able to be checked. The newest regimens are with NK3 inhibitors, currently the only available is Veozah.
Herbals, weight management, and hormone therapies could be tried, but getting a check on your hormones is probably the first best thing. Hot flashes in men can be treated by a variety of hormone compounds such as testosterone, GLP-1s, semerorelin, or other strategies. Call us at Women’s Health Practice.