Hot
Flush Medication, ND Patterns & The Strange Truth My Watch
Revealed
(I'm not medical, not trained. This is all my own ND truth NOT AN EXPERT)
Medication is VEOZA - Fezolinetant
I’m now on my second month of this hot flush medication. Before this, I was offered an antidepressant — because yes, they can sometimes help with temperature regulation — but when theirs an actual "wonder drug" why push the AD (cheaper) - but I’ve been overheating for about ten years. If I’m honest, I’ve overheated most of my life.
But in menopause to the extreme.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had hot food or a hot drink. Just looking at a cup of coffee would set me off. My whole system would go into meltdown.
This new medication is a serious one — lots of monitoring, lots of side effects to watch for — but it worked instantly. It somehow interrupts the brain pathway that triggers the overheating response. The thing that used to fire the moment I saw steam rising from a mug… stopped. (on the external) But don't be fooled by the internal goings on.
And that’s where the ND pattern comes in.
The Watch That Told Me a Story My Body Already Knew
I’ve always worn a Fitbit — steps, sleep, the basics. But I switched to a Garmin recently, and suddenly every night around 7–7:15pm it kept telling me:
“You’re stressed.”
But I wasn’t. Not mentally. Not emotionally. Not in any way that matched the alert.
My resting heart rate is usually around 49. But at that time of night it would jump to around 79. Every single evening.
And then it clicked.
For years, I’ve eaten little and often because a full meal would overheat me. Too much food = too much internal heat = too much discomfort = fight or flight.
Now, with the medication stopping the external hot flushes, I can eat a normal dinner again. But my body still has to break down the food — and digestion naturally raises heart rate and internal temperature.
So the watch reads it as stress, even when I’m calm.
It’s not emotional stress. It’s physiological load.
And for someone ND — someone whose interception, sensory system, and stress pathways are already wired differently — that internal shift feels bigger, louder, more dramatic.
It’s a pattern. A real one.
Co-pilot check my facts/ words/ feelings-
So What Does This Mean?
This medication is stopping the flushes, but it doesn’t change the fact that menopause affects the whole body — heart, temperature, digestion, nervous system, everything.
And ND women often feel those internal changes more intensely.
Many women in menopause experience symptoms that mimic heart attack or panic attack. Many get sent home from A&E with “it’s just anxiety” when it’s actually hormonal chaos.
So yes — what you’re noticing is valid. It’s interesting. It’s logical. And it’s worth keeping an eye on with your healthcare team, especially because this medication requires monitoring.
But the pattern itself? It makes complete sense.
Your body is finally allowed to eat a full meal again — and your ND brain is simply reporting the internal shift louder than most.
Footnote
My ND brain can see it clearly: this medication masks the external heat, but inside the process is still happening. The stress on the major organs is real. It isn’t a wonder drug — it’s smoke and mirrors. And no one told me that.
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