Assisted Stretching Case of Hot Flashes Yet to Be Resolved Despite Therapy

By Dr. Keith Roach

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am 78; I had a hysterectomy in 1976 due to excessive vaginal bleeding, but I still have my ovaries. I have had hot ashes since undergoing menopause -- they usually last three to ve minutes, and I have them about every two hours around the clock (which obviously interferes with my sleep).

Over the last 28 years, I have tried Premarin (which gave me bad headaches), gabapentin, venlafaxine, Bellergal, melatonin, black cohosh, clonidine, DHEA, Pro-Gest cream (chamomile, hops and valerian root), progesterone and estrogen (together), avoiding ca eine, and eliminating dairy products. TITLE: None of these has helped.

I would appreciate it if you could o er any suggestions. -- L.E.

restore the balance in their body, such as eating probiotics or yogurt? Or is that all nonsense? -- N.W.

ANSWER: e idea makes perfect sense: Antibiotics not only kill the bad bacteria that is infecting us, they also kill many of the healthy bacteria that help us with digestion and other functions. ( e whole suite of healthy bacteria living in our gut is termed the “microbiome.”) Why not help the gut return to normal by giving it some healthy bacteria, such as those found in yogurt with live cultures, or speci c probiotics, which are just the healthy bacteria?

e answer is that it has been very hard to prove that there is any bene t in doing so. In people with no symptoms after nishing an antibiotic course, there probably aren’t any bene ts.

e bene ts of assisted stretching are endless. Research has shown that assisted stretching is the best type of stretching for an increased range of motion, which in turn helps you during your exercise and reduces sti ness throughout the body. Assisted Stretching post-exercise has the ability to improve day-to-day performance as well as improve your energy levels when exercising or while engaging in a sport such as golf or pickleball. It is also an e cient way to implement a proper recovery process in order to decrease recovery time and help reduce the risk of injury. How? An assisted stretch helps prevent injuries by stretching out the tension throughout the muscles and decreasing strain through the body by loosening and lengthening your muscles. You become more exible allowing your body to perform with ease. Regular stretching has proven to reduce stress levels and joint aches and pains by helping you to relax with enhanced circulation that helps your body as a whole. Overall an assisted stretch is all about your body’s health and well-being. Whether it be sports performance, recovery or the everyday need to move and feel better with less aches and pains the bene ts of assisted stretching can be felt after just one stretching session! ere are two additional ones you might want to consider: Megesterol is a hormonal therapy that is helpful for some women, but the fact that you haven’t responded to estrogens and progestins is not promising. e other is called a stellate ganglion block. You can ask your physician about it.

ANSWER: I’m sorry to hear of your di culties. You have certainly tried about all the available therapies.

DEAR DR. ROACH: After a patient has had megadoses of IV and oral antibiotics, is there anything they should do to

At least one study showed what researchers called a “very severe disturbance” in the person’s microbiome and actually slowed the return to a person’s normal microbiome, which they had prior to antibiotics. Worse still, very rarely, infections have been transmitted through probiotics.

Symptoms after antibiotic therapy, especially diarrhea and fever, could indicate a very severe infection called Clostridioides di cile (“C. di ”), which does not respond to probiotics and usually needs powerful antibiotics to treat. Probiotics have not been found to prevent C. di .