Can Medicine Trigger Hot Flashes?

Q. I read that women who have bad hot flashes may be less likely to get breast cancer. That’s ridiculous.
I cannot imagine how hot flashes could be good for you. I experienced such debilitating hot flashes that I was barely able to function. I got no sleep and dreaded feeling as if I were about to burst into flames. I also had major brain fog and depression.
It turns out that my hot flashes were not simply due to menopause but were being aggravated by one of my hypertension drugs, timed-release diltiazem. Has anyone else experienced this?
A. A few other readers have reported severe hot flashes on timed-release diltiazem. We don’t know how common this reaction might be, but it is easy to see how it could be confused with hot flashes from menopause.
The research showing a reduced risk of breast cancer among women with horrible hot flashes was published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention (Feb., 2011). It is not clear why there seems to be a connection.
Women suffering from hot flashes during menopause may be given hormone replacement therapy to ease this symptom. Unfortunately, that treatment may increase the chance of developing breast cancer. We have summarized the data on this and offered recommendations for coping with hot flashes in our Guide to Menopause.