Hello LilacDragon-
I too feel your pain. The hot flashes all day long. Actually, I prefer to refer to them as "My personal summers" or "My intimate heatwaves". It's just not humane! For me my flow is really really heavy the first few days. Then it begins to wane to just heavy, for a few more days. Then I can look forward to a few medium to light flow days before it's all over. I have to use both tampons and pads. It's like pregnancy, menopause is different for everyone. I posted a thread "Tampon Blues" over in the sex forum. I received some great feedback. Do you have BIG clots with your cycle? If so, you may want to explore the cause with your physician.