Everyone Warned Me About Hot Flashes… So Why Am I FREEZING? | Perimenopause Cold Flashes

I spent years watching my mother suffer through brutal hot flashes, so I thought I knew exactly what was coming for me during menopause. Apparently my body didn’t get the memo. I don’t get hot flashes. I’m freaking freezing. You’ll find me sitting outside in the sunshine wearing a sweater, sleeping under piles of blankets, covered in goosebumps, and taking showers hot enough to concern reasonable people. And for the longest time, I kept wondering: Am I doing menopause wrong? 😂 In Episode 3 of Menopause, But Make It Weird, I’m talking about one of the strangest symptoms of my own perimenopause experience: cold flashes, chills, and feeling absolutely freezing when menopause is supposedly the era of being too damn hot. We’ll get into what I learned about the brain’s temperature-control system, why changing estrogen can mess with that internal thermostat, why chills actually can be part of vasomotor symptoms, and why my experience still isn’t as simple as calling this a “reverse hot flash.” Because that’s really the theme of this channel: My story isn’t necessarily your story—but maybe you’ll hear a little of yourself in mine. I’m Jessica: retired nurse, author, almost 50, and currently documenting all the weird shit happening to my body in midlife—and the medical rabbit holes it sends me down. I’m not here to diagnose anybody or pretend every strange thing that happens after 40 is menopause. I’m just trying to figure out what the hell is happening to me. And maybe we can feel a little less crazy together. ⚠️ Quick disclaimer: I’m a retired nurse, but I’m not your nurse. This video is my personal experience and what I learned while researching it. Persistent or severe cold intolerance can have causes completely unrelated to menopause, so please talk with your own healthcare provider about symptoms that are new, concerning, or interfering with your life. 👍 If this sounds familiar, hit like so I know I’m not the only woman sitting under three blankets waiting for the famous hot flash to show up. 💬 Tell me in the comments: Are you hot, cold, both—or has menopause invented some completely different temperature setting for you? 🔔 Subscribe for more Menopause, But Make It Weird, where we talk about the symptoms that didn’t make it onto the menopause brochure. 🌐 More from me: JessicaWhiteBooks.com 📚 My author YouTube channel: @jessicawhitebooks Hot flashes are only the tip of the iceberg. Research & further reading The Menopause Society. Menopause Topics: Symptoms / Perimenopause. The Menopause Society notes that vasomotor symptoms can include chills and shivering as well as the more familiar sensations of heat. Zhang, et al. (2021). Estrogen modulation of thermoregulation through hypothalamic pathways. Endocrinology. Sforza, G., et al. (2025). Effects of menopause on temperature regulation. This review examines how reproductive hormonal changes interact with the thermoregulatory system, including estrogen-sensitive hypothalamic pathways. Deecher, D. C., & Dorries, K. (2007). Understanding the pathophysiology of vasomotor symptoms (hot flushes and night sweats) that occur in perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause life stages. Archives of Women’s Mental Health, 10(6), 247–257. PMID: 18074100. Freedman, R. R. (2014). Menopausal hot flashes: mechanisms, endocrinology, treatment. The Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 142, 115–120. PMID: 24012626. Freedman describes the narrowed thermoneutral zone involved in menopausal hot flashes and the thresholds for sweating and shivering. #Menopause #Perimenopause #ColdFlashes #MenopauseSymptoms #WomensHealth #MidlifeHealth #HotFlashes #MenopauseButMakeItWeird