A sudden wave of heat can stop you in the middle of a conversation, wake you from sleep, and leave you wondering whether you’re dealing with menopause or something else. Hot flashes are common during menopause, but menopause isn’t the only possible cause.

Keep reading to discover other reasons hot flashes can happen, including medication side effects, thyroid problems, diabetes, and, rarely, cancer or cancer treatment. You’ll also learn when hot flashes are common, when they’re less common, and what may help based on the cause.

What Else Could Be Causing My Hot Flashes?

Even though menopause is the most common cause of hot flashes, it’s not the only one. Other causes may be related to medication or health conditions such as thyroid disease, diabetes, or cancer.

Could Medications Cause Hot Flashes?

Medication side effects are a fairly common nonmenopausal reason for extra sweating. Some medications don’t cause a classic hot flash, but they can cause sweating, flushing, or night sweats that feel similar.

For example, some antidepressants, including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and other types, can cause sweating. About 10 percent of people taking SSRIs report excessive sweating as a side effect. However, certain antidepressants, including some SSRIs, are also used to help treat hot flashes and night sweats.

Other medications that can cause excessive sweating include:

• Migraine medications — Triptans can cause warmth, flushing, and sweating after just one dose.
• NSAID pain relievers — Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen, can cause sweating, especially when NSAIDs are taken to lower a fever.
• Prescription pain medications — Opioids, like morphine, oxycodone, and tramadol, commonly cause sweating through a histamine response, which increases warmth. Sweating can also occur as a withdrawal reaction if opioids are stopped abruptly.
• Diabetes medications — Taking insulin or sulfonylurea medications can cause hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), which can lead to sweating, a racing heart, and dizziness.
• Steroids — Corticosteroids, such as prednisone, can increase body heat and sweating.
• Asthma medications — Some inhaled asthma medications, including albuterol and combination inhalers, may cause sweating in some people.
• Other medications — Proton pump inhibitors for reducing stomach acid, certain antibiotics, and some hormone therapies for treating breast cancer can less commonly lead to sweating.

Medication-related sweating may be more likely if symptoms began soon after you:

• Started a new medication
• Increased the dose
• Changed when you take a medication
• Stopped a medication suddenly
• Added an over-the-counter product or supplement

Check with your healthcare provider if you notice increased sweating after making any of these changes.

Can Thyroid Problems Feel Like Hot Flashes?

Yes. Thyroid problems can cause heat intolerance and sweating that may feel like hot flashes. This is more common with hyperthyroidism, also called an overactive thyroid.

The thyroid is a small gland in the neck that helps control metabolism, which is how your body uses energy. When the thyroid makes too much thyroid hormone, body processes may speed up.

Other signs of an overactive thyroid may include:

• A racing or irregular heartbeat
• Unexplained weight loss
• Tremors or shaky hands
• Trouble sleeping
• More frequent bowel movements
• Feeling anxious or restless
• Lighter or irregular periods

Thyroid-related sweating may feel less like a sudden wave and more like feeling overheated often. Because hyperthyroidism is more common in women over 60, symptoms can overlap with menopause, which can make thyroid issues easy to miss.

Additionally, if people with an underactive thyroid, called hypothyroidism, are taking too much thyroid replacement hormone, they can also experience hot flashes and increased sweating. Hypothyroidism also becomes more common as women age.

Can Diabetes Cause Hot Flashes?

Diabetes can interfere with how the body controls temperature. Diabetes doesn’t usually cause hot flashes in the same way perimenopause does. However, blood sugar changes (especially hypoglycemia) can cause sweating, warmth, shakiness, or nighttime sweats that may feel similar. This can result from not eating enough carbohydrates or taking too much insulin.

Because sleep causes us to go without food for long periods of time, some people with diabetes may wake up sweaty if their blood sugar drops overnight.

Hypoglycemia may be a more likely cause if sweating happens:

• After skipping a meal
• After exercise
• After drinking alcohol
• Overnight
• After taking insulin or diabetes medication
• Along with shakiness, hunger, dizziness, or confusion

Are Your Hot Flashes a Sign of Cancer?

Hot flashes alone are rarely a sign of cancer. For women in the menopausal transition, hormone changes are much more likely. Still, cancer can sometimes cause hot flashes or night sweats.

Some tumors can release substances that affect flushing or sweating. Hot flashes may occur in some people with cancers such as medullary thyroid cancer, pancreatic cancer, or renal cell carcinoma (kidney cancer).

Night sweats linked with cancer are often described as drenching and may happen with other symptoms such as fever or unexplained weight loss. Night sweats can happen with blood cancers such as lymphoma or leukemia, though many other conditions can cause night sweats, too.

Contact a healthcare provider if night sweats are new, frequent, soaking, or happen with:

• Fever that doesn’t have a clear cause
• Unexplained weight loss
• Swollen lymph nodes
• Ongoing fatigue that feels unusual for you
• New pain or other symptoms that don’t improve

These symptoms don’t mean you have cancer. They do mean it’s worth getting checked so your provider can look for treatable causes.

How Can You Tell What’s Causing Your Hot Flashes?

No single symptom can always tell you the cause. Timing and patterns are often the biggest clues.

Perimenopause may be more likely if you’re in your 40s or 50s and also have menstrual cycle changes, sleep problems, mood changes, vaginal dryness, or more premenstrual symptoms than usual.

A medication side effect may be more likely if symptoms started after a new prescription, dose change, or new supplement. Thyroid issues may be more likely if you also have weight loss, tremors, a racing heartbeat, or frequent overheating, or if you had a recent change in the dose of your thyroid medication. Blood sugar changes may be more likely if sweating comes with shakiness, hunger, dizziness, or symptoms that improve after eating.

That’s why it helps to look at the whole picture and discuss your hot flashes with a doctor. When trying to determine the cause of your hot flashes, they may ask about:

• Your age and menstrual cycle changes
• When the hot flashes started
• How often they happen
• Whether they happen during the day, night, or both
• New medications or dose changes
• Other symptoms, such as weight changes, fever, tremors, racing heartbeat, or changes in blood sugar

Keeping a simple symptom log for two weeks can make this conversation easier. Write down the time of day, what you were doing, what you ate or drank, your stress level, and any medications you took.

A healthcare provider may recommend blood tests, such as thyroid or blood sugar tests, based on your symptoms. They may also review your medications and ask whether your periods have changed.