Speaking of Vit D -- I wanted to post on this here since it might be useful to other women.

It's currently still a work in progress but I think I've hit on something promising.

For the last three years now, I've had bouts of hot flashes. The first two lasted several months, then went away.

I should mention by way of background: my cycles are irregular as well -- this started probably a year or so before my first bout of hot flashes. I started iodine this past spring and this fall after several months of no period, it's come back. Heavy tho. Waiting to see if it evens out.

Then maybe a month ago I started having hot flashes again. Disappointed me at first -- was hoping the iodine might have helped my endocrine system balance to the point where they wouldn't recur.

The flashes most annoy me at night because they wake me. It's weird. I always wake up before one starts. I've gotten so that I know, when I wake, that one is about to come on. So I just lie there and wait, then toss off the covers (or get up and drink some water) until it passes, then go back to sleep. (I also often feel intense energy involvement during the night flashes, usually in my third chakra, but that's a whole 'nother story. Or maybe not?)

Anyway, when they came back again this time, it occurred to me: ooh, is this a pattern. They have come on, every time, in late fall/early winter -- then gone away in the spring.

I remembered that powerpoint V linked to that shows that we folks above the 35th parallel make NO vit D in the winter.

I generally take some D3 in the winter but only 1000 IUs.

So for the last 10 days or so, I've been dosing myself with 5-10,000 IUs of D3 per day.

And you know what, the flashes seems to be lessening. Last night I had only one all night long. I don't get any during the day, or if I do, they're not intense enough for me to have noticed them.

I'll post an update at some point to let you know if this gets rid of them completely or not.