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Get expert insights from Dr. Jen Ashton and watch three women tell their real VEOZAH stories.
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Get expert insights from Dr. Jen Ashton and watch three women tell their real VEOZAH stories.
Dr. Jen Ashton answers women’s questions around hot topics, including menopause, hot flashes and night sweats, and VEOZAH.
Dr. Jen Ashton has been compensated by Astellas.
Hi, I’m Dr. Jen Ashton and I’m partnering with Astellas Pharma to answer some questions about menopause. Specifically, about moderate to severe hot flashes and night sweats.
Feeling good and being healthy definitely starts with a good knowledge base, and so I’m passionate about ensuring that women feel educated, empowered, as well as confident to talk about this phase in life and advocate for themselves so that their symptoms can be addressed. It’s time for us all to advocate for our own health, and it’s important we have the tools to do just that. So here are some of your anonymous questions.
I am going through menopause and feel uninformed. Do you have any tips on how I can best address this with my doctor?
Yes, I do have some tips. First of all, realize you’re not alone and you should absolutely advocate for yourself with your healthcare provider, as well as talk to other women in your community for support. All women, all women, who reach midlife will experience menopause, and nearly half of women going through menopause may experience moderate to severe Vasomotor Symptoms (VMS), also known as hot flashes and night sweats, which are the most common symptoms of menopause for which women seek treatment. VMS absolutely can be bothersome and impactful, and for some women, hot flashes and night sweats can be incredibly disruptive to their daily life, with effects on sleep, mood, concentration, work productivity, and relationships among other things.
Hi Dr. Ashton. I’m currently going through menopause, so I’m curious, how did you talk to women, about this stage in their life?
Well, it is truly my passion to encourage women to celebrate all stages in their life. Because with more time and experience, this particular stage can really show us how much life has to offer. I’m very excited to be part of Cooler Moments, this video series that empowers and celebrates women in midlife and inspires conversation around hot flashes and night sweats. We should absolutely be encouraging one another to share our experiences. And I want to encourage women to recognize that you’re not alone. It’s very important that we advocate for ourselves by talking to friends and family, and to speak to your doctor.
Hi Dr. Ashton. What do you say when you talk to women about menopause and hot flashes?
First thing I say is that menopause, like puberty, is a natural occurrence in a woman’s life, and that every woman who reaches midlife will go through menopause. But nearly half of women going through menopause will experience moderate to severe hot flashes and night sweats.
VMS, which is our abbreviation for Vasomotor Symptoms—this is the medical name for hot flashes and night sweats—are intense sensations of upper body warmth, sometimes accompanied by flushing or skin redness, sweating, chills, or shivering.
I like to also talk to women about treatment options that they can consider, and this would include hormonal and non-hormonal, or hormone-free options. For women who can’t or choose not to take hormones, VEOZAH may be an option.
VEOZAH is 100% hormone-free, and it’s the first treatment of its kind that directly blocks a source of hot flashes. It works in the hypothalamus, which is an area of your brain that controls body temperature. VEOZAH is designed specifically to block neurokinin B, a chemical that binds to a receptor—kind of like a docking port in your brain—and then causes hot flashes and night sweats.
VEOZAH can cause serious side effects, including liver problems. Your doctor will do blood tests before and during treatment.
Stop VEOZAH and call your doctor if you have symptoms of liver problems, such as feeling more tired than usual, decreased appetite, nausea, vomiting, itching, yellowing of the eyes or skin, pale stool, dark urine, or stomach pain.
Don’t use VEOZAH if you have cirrhosis, severe kidney problems, kidney failure, or take CYP1A2 inhibitors.
Remember also, managing menopause and hot flashes is definitely not a one-size-fits-all approach. So, there are many factors that go into deciding which treatment is best for you. And this could include personal and family medical history, as well as personal choice.
Hi Dr. Jen. I’m curious about VEOZAH, and I’m planning to talk to my doctor about it. If my doctor and I decide it’s the right treatment for me, I’m nervous I might not be able to afford it. How do I know if my insurance covers it affordably? And what advice do you have for women who are struggling to get VEOZAH due to insurance challenges?
Well, first of all, advocating for yourself about your health, and taking the first step towards hopefully finding a treatment that’s right for you is important and commendable. Finding out if your insurance covers VEOZAH is a good place to begin, and you can start by looking at your policy. Your insurance company’s prescription drug list often lists the medications that are covered.
You can also call the customer service line on the back of your insurance card, and they’ll tell you if VEOZAH is covered and if there are any costs like copays or deductibles that you would need to pay.
The cost of VEOZAH is dependent on an individual’s insurance coverage, but most commercial insurance providers—which means the insurance provided through your job, let’s say, covers VEOZAH. Astellas also offers options to help make VEOZAH accessible and affordable for women who need it.
Now, some insurance companies will require that a woman try a different medication first, which is called step therapy, or that their healthcare provider provides additional documentation, called prior authorization, before the insurance company agrees to cover the cost.
Patients can also visit VEOZAH Support Solutions at VEOZAHSupportSolutions.com to get more information on financial assistance options and to speak with a dedicated access specialist.
Watch more
Experiencing hot flashes and night sweats due to menopause and thinking of starting VEOZAH? Three women get in The VEOZAH Hot Seat to tell their VEOZAH stories.
“I would encourage any woman who’s going through this —speak to your doctor, advocate for yourself, don’t be afraid.”
Hi, I’m Erica, and welcome to The VEOZAH Hot Seat.
I’m partnering with Astellas to share my journey about moderate to severe hot flashes and night sweats due to menopause.
I’d say about 5 years ago I started noticing the hot flashes. People always said, “you’re too young.” Yes, okay, but you know I have my own “private summers,” as I call it, and everybody’s looking at you because you’re fanning, and trying to figure out what’s going on, but nobody understands it unless they walk the walk.
It starts, literally, I can describe it as at the top of your head, and it works all the way down, through your body, through your toes, and you’re burning. You’re burning up. My hair was soaking wet. I think it even changed the texture of my hair. I would wake up in the middle of the night, sweat dripping down my neck, all over.
I have the one pair of glasses that I pretty much quit wearing—they were some red glasses—because I would be out in public and they would fog up. And it’s embarrassing! Then, once I started taking VEOZAH, I brought them back into my life. Now I’m able to go back to wearing my red glasses, and I enjoy my red glasses. This has been my experience with VEOZAH, but everyone's experience is different.
Before I was prescribed VEOZAH, I got a liver blood test. My doctor monitored my liver with monthly blood tests for the first 3 months, then again at 6 and 9 months after starting VEOZAH. You just don’t understand it until you actually get into it. Once you walk into those shoes, then you have a definite better understanding of it. But I would encourage any woman whose going through this, speak to your doctor, advocate for yourself, um, don’t be afraid.
Knowing that Black and Hispanic women experience VMS symptoms longer, I would have absolutely seeked this out earlier. You know, of course, it’s important, I don’t want the hormones, and that’s when my doctor said, “Why don’t we try VEOZAH?”
VEOZAH reduced my hot flashes within a few weeks, and I have continued to experience fewer hot flashes and night sweats due to menopause.
I’ve been taking VEOZAH for almost a year now. I like that VEOZAH is 100% hormone free. It’s just a wonderful thing not to be soaking wet.
I’ve been a flight attendant for 22 years, now retired, and when I had to put on the flight attendant uniform, the scarf was my nemesis, definitely. They wanted it around your neck, and I would kind of bend the rules a little bit. I learned to maneuver or manipulate it into a pretty necklace. So, that way it came on and off very easily.
Because I had commercial insurance, I was eligible for the VEOZAH Savings Card, and it was helpful.
My advice for any woman that is seeking treatment for VMS is do not be afraid to ask questions. I think it’s very important for us to know there are other options and you have a right to make a choice and can make a choice, absolutely. Visit VEOZAH.com to learn more.
VEOZAH can cause serious side effects, including liver problems. Your doctor will do blood tests before and during treatment. Stop VEOZAH and call your doctor if you have symptoms of liver problems, such as feeling more tired than usual, decreased appetite, nausea, vomiting, itching, yellowing of the eyes or skin, pale stool, dark urine, or stomach pain.
Don’t use VEOZAH if you have cirrhosis, severe kidney problems, kidney failure, or take CYP1A2 inhibitors.
“After I had been experiencing the hot flashes for about 3 or 4 weeks, I decided that it was time to advocate for myself—that my journey was going to be different than my mother’s.”
I’m Kirstie and this is The VEOZAH Hot Seat.
Today I’m partnering with Astellas to share my story about moderate to severe hot flashes and night sweats due to menopause. It was a few years ago that I realized I was actually having hot flashes and night sweats.
It always starts in my chest and it’s sort of like that feeling when you drink something warm and you get that loom in your chest, that’s where it starts, and it goes from that to unbearable within seconds.
The cooling cap was always in the freezer. The minute I could feel that heat start to spread, I had to go and get it out of the freezer. Pulling that over my head was like pulling the North Pole onto my head, and the steam would just come off of me. It was alarming.
After I had been experiencing the hot flashes for about 3 or 4 weeks, I decided that it was time to advocate for myself, that my journey was gonna be different than my mother’s.
Once I started taking VEOZAH, in about a week, I noticed a big reduction in my symptoms. This has been my experience with VEOZAH, but everyone’s experience is different.
The frequency of the hot flashes decreased, and when I did have them, the intensity was dialed back a lot. I was able to sleep in pajamas, wear a robe, do all those things again. For 2 years, I couldn’t wear one.
I got a liver blood test before I was prescribed VEOZAH. My doctor monitored my liver with monthly blood tests for the first 3 months, then again at 6 and 9 months after starting VEOZAH.
This is a revolutionary time to be a woman of a certain age. We have many more options than we ever had before. I would love to share that with other women and make menopause normal to talk about.
VEOZAH can cause serious side effects, including liver problems. Your doctor will do blood tests before and during treatment. Stop VEOZAH and call your doctor if you have symptoms of liver problems, such as feeling more tired than usual, decreased appetite, nausea, vomiting, itching, yellowing of the eyes or skin, pale stool, dark urine, or stomach pain.
Don’t use VEOZAH if you have cirrhosis, severe kidney problems, kidney failure, or take CYP1A2 inhibitors.
"I would recommend for people with hot flashes and night sweats, that you talk to your doctor, and I'm telling my story because VEOZAH has been helpful for me, and I hope that it can help other people as well."
I’m Tamar and welcome to the VEOZAH Hot Seat.
Today I’m partnering with Astellas to share my story about moderate to severe hot flashes and night sweats due to menopause.
It feels like somebody’s turned a heater on inside my chest. It just kind of creeps up and gets to my scalp. Then it gets kind of prickly.
Then, I will start to sweat. And I started waking up in the night, and I did figure out that if I took all my covers off as soon as I got hot, then I could kind of cool off before I got the night sweats, but that meant I spent a lot of the night taking my covers off, putting my covers back on, taking my covers off, waking up.
I would go to a racquet club I belonged to, to go to the pool to swim. I would bring a bottle of water to drink, and a bottle of ice, and I would wear two caps, because they seemed to last longer. I had one cap on, and then put a bunch of ice, and then another cap over that, and it would keep me cool for longer.
Before VEOZAH, I was getting hot flashes up to, probably, 5 an hour sometimes.
I used to do mosaics sitting in the corner of my house, because I worked with really small pieces of glass, and I needed to be able to see really clearly, and it was best if I did that in the sun. But when I started getting hot flashes, it was uncomfortable sitting in the sun. I’d be afraid that I was gonna overheat, and eventually I just avoided it all together.
I wish that I knew that VEOZAH was available sooner.
I’ve been on VEOZAH for 9 months now.
When I first started taking VEOZAH, it was in about a week that my symptoms decreased.
I got a liver blood test before I was prescribed VEOZAH.
My doctor monitored my liver with monthly blood tests for the first 3 months, then again at 6 and 9 months after starting VEOZAH.
I had no idea that there was anything else that I could do, and it had been such a relief for me to not have hot flashes all the time.
This has been my experience with VEOZAH, but everyone’s experience is different.
I wish that every woman experiencing night sweats and hot flashes knew that there were other options available.
I would recommend for people with hot flashes and night sweats, that you talk to your doctor, and I’m telling my story because VEOZAH has been helpful for me, and I hope it can help other people as well.
VEOZAH can cause serious side effects, including liver problems. Your doctor will do blood tests before and during treatment. Stop VEOZAH and call your doctor if you have symptoms of liver problems, such as feeling more tired than usual, decreased appetite, nausea, vomiting, itching, yellowing of the eyes or skin, pale stool, dark urine, or stomach pain.
Don’t use VEOZAH if you have cirrhosis, severe kidney problems, kidney failure, or take CYP1A2 inhibitors.
*Erica, Kirstie, and Tamar are real VEOZAH patients that have been compensated by Astellas. Individual results may vary. Talk to your healthcare provider about what this may mean for you.
