Early Menopause.org

Some women find hot flushes/flashes no big deal. Others find the hot flashes, but maybe also those flash-free women annoying. It's no fun to suddenly turn red in the face, break into a sweat and possibly feel palpitations during an important meeting. Disrupted sleep from night sweats can hurt your mood, concentration and energy.

For Karen Drexel, the waves of sudden, burning heat began a few years ago, at age 45. "It starts sort of low and works its way up," says Drexel of Greece, N.Y., now 48. "Your whole body starts perspiring. By the time it reaches your upper body, you're like this," she says, fanning her face with her hand to illustrate. If home when a hot flash hit, she'd press an ice pack to the back of her neck for some relief - or stand in front of an open refrigerator.

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