Men's hot flashes: Hypnotic relaxation may ease the discomfort men don't talk about

Men who experience hot flashes are unlikely to talk much about it, but they may find relief from their silent suffering if they are willing to try an unusual treatment, according to findings from a Baylor University case study.

After seven weeks of hypnotic relaxation therapy, a 69-year-old man who had uncontrolled hot flashes following prostate cancer surgery showed a drastic decrease not only in hot flashes but also an impressive improvement in sleep quality, according to the study.

The Baylor study - funded by the National Institutes of Health - is published in the International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis.

"Men are more reluctant to report hot flashes, and it's not as prevalent. There are fewer ways to deal with it," said study author Gary Elkins, Ph.D., director of Baylor's Mind-Body Medicine Research Laboratory and a professor of psychology and neuroscience in Baylor's College of Arts & Sciences. "If a guy has hot flashes, you can't say, 'Well, why don't we put you on estrogen?' But it's a pressing problem."

Men's hot flashes are, of course, not related to estrogen, the primary female sex hormone, Elkins said. They occur in men with a history of prostate cancer - the second most common malignancy in men - or another disorder causing a testosterone deficiency.

Up to 80 percent of prostate survivors experience hot flashes, and about 50 percent of those experience them as severe and needing treatment. What's more, hot flashes due to prostate cancer tend to be more frequent, more severe and more prolonged than those women experience. Elkins has done extensive research showing that hypnotic relaxation therapy greatly benefits postmenopausal women and breast cancer survivors who suffer from hot flashes.

Current treatments for men are varied, ranging from hormone therapy to acupuncture, but outcomes have been mixed - and safety of some treatments remains in question, Elkins said.

The man in the Baylor study - referred to as "Mr. W" - was a married African African-American who suffered nightly hot flashes in 1999 because of androgen deficiency. He found some relief through testosterone injections - but in 2010, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer and forced to discontinue hormone therapy. Shortly after his prostate was surgically removed, he again began suffering hot flashes.

He underwent seven weeks of drug-free, hypnotic relaxation therapy involving clinically trained therapists and introducing self-hypnosis, with results measured in self-reporting and physiological testing done through wearing skin monitors with electrodes, Elkins said. By treatment's end, he experienced a 94 percent reduction in hot flashes. His sleep quality improved by 87 percent, measured by a standardized test, and although the sleep quality had dropped at a 12-week follow-up, it remained in the "good quality of sleep" range, according to the study.