Trouble staying asleep during menapause

[Newliferva]

Hi Buddies,
Help! I have been having trouble staying asleep for several years. I found out that I am post menapausal, according to my blood work. I spoke to my gyno. and she prescribed ambien. That did not work after a week, although instead of waking up two hours later, I woke up three hours later. Now she has me on Trazadone, an anti depressant with a side effect of sleepiness. This is worse, I take longer to fall asleep and toss and turn most of the night. Plus I wake up "blurry".
Any suggestions??

Katie:help:

[JalepenoAnn]

Oh boy, welcome to the club. I started having sleeping problems in my 40's. I am now 51 and although it's better, I still occasionally experience the sleeplessness. Have you tried any of the herbal remedies? I've used valerian with a fair bit of success as well as melatonin occasionally. I don't know how they'd react with what you take now, so I wouldn't take them at the same time.

I used to obsess about not sleeping which made the problem worse. I cut out all caffeine after about 2 p.m. which also seems to help. Exercise helps you sleep better, but don't do it right before bedtime or you'll be bouncing off the walls half the night.

If all else fails and I REALLY need to get at least one good night of sleep, I take a couple of benadryl. They do the trick for me all the time. Just don't rely on them....they're just a once in awhile thing.

Good luck.

Ann

[stillB1]

The only things I could add would be to try turning off the t.v. 30 min. before bedtime and if you gut up in the night, don't turn it on. Apparently the flickering of the image does something to the brain to keep it aleart. Try reading a book instead.

A warm bath before bedtime may help. The natural cooling down of the body helps mimic the sleep cycle and ease you into sleep.

Try the warm milk trick... old wives tales aren't always tales...

Try to go to bed and get up at the same times. Even on weekends. This helps you get into a more natrual rythym of sleep.

Don't nap. Or if you feel you have to - no more than 20 min. Longer naps can interfere with sleep.

No heavy meals with in four hours of bed time. Try a light snack to see if that helps before you go to bed.

Hope one of these things help you. It's no fun not getting your rest.

[Newliferva]

Wow,
Thanks!

Ann- I have not tried any herbal remedies except estrovan, it worked for the night sweats for awhile and then lost its effectiveness. Valerian I will try.
Benadryl, what a great idea! My neighbor is a gynocologist and he said that his wife goes to bed at 7:30pm and complains when she wakes up at 4 am. Maybe, he suggests that I should go to bed later in the night. Trouble with that is that I am dead tired at 8:30- 9 pm. As you age, yepee!!:rage: you need less sleep.

StillB1-Thanks for all the good ideas, baths and light meals before bed, turning off the tv and reading to fall asleep. I will try.

I guess the bottom line is if this is all I am having during menapause, I should be lucky. I can't help but remember the "All in the Family" epsiode where poor Edith went "Nuts". I am not having any of those symptoms.

I am JOINING THE CLUB!!
Katie

[JalepenoAnn]

Katie, I'd say your neighbour's wife is getting lots of sleep.....over 8 hours. I found that as long as I felt ok during the day, I must be getting enough sleep. I go to bed at 8:30 or 9 p.m. too, but I am up before 5a.m. most mornings. I just make good use of my time in the early mornings and have started to love that time of day.

I didn't use any HRT for my hot flashes or other symptoms. I used evening primrose oil, black cohosh and vitex. I stayed almost totally symptom free with that combinaton. Now, I using another supplement.....it's called maca root. It was recommended to me by a woman at the health food store. I've found it's really helped with my periods of fatigue and I've also discontinued the black cohosh.

Try not to rely too much on the benadryl. I only used it once in awhile.....and never took it if I woke in the middle of the night because I would've been a zombie for half the next day. :lol:

Ann

[cgwoolf]

A word of caution about all these herbal remedies. Many of them really do help menopausal symptoms but they also raise your blood pressure.

[Newliferva]

Raise BP? What a drag!!:ugh:

[JalepenoAnn]

I guess everything can have potential problems. I've never had a blood pressure problem from taking the stuff..... Anything can have side effects. I still think that it's a lot better than some of the problems that HRT can cause. But with anything, you need to do your research and use what's acceptable and works for you.

Ann

[Lori B]

I recently started my own business as an independent consultant for a health and wellness company. While doing research for the natural (progesterone) balancing cream that the company carries I found this website. I think you will find it very interesting!

http://www.natural-progesterone-advisory-network.com/can-progesterone-help-me.php

If you have any questions you can email me!!
Lori

[ashlee]

I took a herbal product during the worst of the "M". It worked wonders. I'm not taking anything now.

I've started to put flax seeds on my cereal in the morning and I do take Vit. B 6 sometimes, or a multi vit.

I never get a full nights sleep and haven't for years, but there is less stress in my life now so I'm not as tired. Depends too, if I'm stressed about something when I go to bed.

I'm not in favour of taking a lot of drugs so never got into any of the sleep drug aids.

Ashlee

[Sandy P. 53]

My oh my, when I started reading this thread I felt as if I could have written it. This change of life truly bites the big one doesn't it? It wasn't bad enough that when I had them, my periods were so heavy that I had to wear a super plus tampon and 2 ultra super pads, then change them hourly so as not to have an embarrassing moment. Usually I had to stay at home for the first 2 days of my cycle and my period lasted for a full 7 days. I had terrible pre-menstrual symptoms with cramping, mood swings, weight gain, bloating, etc.I started having periods at the age of 12 and continued to have them until the age of 49. Then came the 1st month when no period showed up, yipeee, I said. Then 2 months, then 3, then more. Boy, I was so silly not to enjoy the very beginning of menopause, cause now it is the hot flashes, the night sweats, the vaginal dryness, and the pain and itching that comes from it,the lack of sleep at night, the restless leg syndrome, the gas, constipation, bloating and utterly ugly mood swings and(my DH wants to add the total lack of sexual drive). YOUCHHHHH!!! Someone recommneded Estroven(over the counter herbal supplement) and it does work for the hot flashes and night sweats (sorta) but I still don't sleep at night and my weight can fluctuate 3-7 pounds in a week due to the above mentioned symptoms. My Dr. put me on trazodone for sleeping and at first, it put me out for 8 hours with no grogginess in the morning, but it has long since lost it's effectiveness. When I went back to him about my lack of sleeping and being so tired all day long. he sent me to have a sleep study done. Now, is that foolish or what? I already don't sleep and they are going to wire me up and watch me stay awake half the night. Does that make any sense? Anyway.. thanks for starting this thread cause I really needed to vent about this.:embarrass

[Newliferva]

Hey Sandy,

You mean it gets worse?? I have been having weirdness with my periods for about 2 years, just beginning to have hot flashes, night sweats have been around for a while, I was on zoloft several years ago and my doc. said zoloft causes night sweats.

Katie

[Denise51]

I have been struggling with lack of sleep since my hysterectomy in January. It seems like my sleep switch is turned off. Medications that would knock me out before do not work. Trazadone, Benadryl, Ativan, Ambien, Tyneol PM all made me tired but I would not fall asleep for hours.
Finally, I found something that seems to work. I take one trazadone two hours before I want to fall asleep. When I get into bed, I listen to a meditation tape-I bought one at Barnes and Noble that is specific to sleep. The first night I need to listen to it twice, but since than one time is enough.
I didn't feel tense when I was lying in bed awake, but the tapes work!
Good luck. going with out sleep stinks.
D

[mccloud]

I've been an insomniac my entire life---I always had troubles getting to sleep. Once I was asleep, I was fine.

Until a couple of years ago . Nowwww, I cannot get to sleep; and I cannot stay asleep. :ugh: I went to a sleep disorder clinic and the advice they gave:

Try to maintain a sleep routine (go to bed at about the same time; don't sleep a lot on the weekends trying to "catch up").
Don't lay in bed unable to sleep for longer than 30 minutes; after 30 minutes get up and do something quiet (read, knit, etc). The moment you start to feel sleepy, go back to bed; repeat as necessary. The idea is you want to equate your bed with sleep (not anxiety about [i]not sleeping).
Do not get up and fall asleep elsewhere--for example, your sofa in front of the tv. Eventually you will equate your bed with an inability to sleep; and equate your sofa with sleep.
Do not do other activities in bed---for example, do not take work to bed with you; or balance your checkbook; or other tasks. Bed should be for sleep; maybe reading. That's it.
Get outdoors in the natural light for a LEAST 20 minutes a day; preferably in the morning.
I feel for ya! The insomniacs club is not a fun one to belong to.

[Harborside]

Good advice mccloud. Reliance on sleeping medication is not a good habit to get into. Handing out prescription sleeping meds is sometimes too easy for physicans to do.

[lyfer98]

Wow, I wish we could all get together for one heck of an evening out! I had no idea that the sleeping issue was so huge. I'm 44 and have had trouble sleeping for years already! I consider my week a huge success if I get 2 or 3 nights of sleep without waking. I also take ambien if I have had a run of several nights with no sleep, but it doesn't always do the trick. I too go to bed between 8-9 and I wish I could stay up longer but I just can't. Therefore, I wake anywhere between 1:30-3:30 and many times, can't get back to sleep.

I definitely think that stressing out about not sleeping is a big part of the problem. I know that as we age, our bodies do need less sleep but there is all kinds of conflicting information about that topic as well. I do try to accept the fact that my body is changing and really work hard on not letting the insomnia affect my mood and attitude on a day-to-day basis.

What I love about these Boards, is the absolutely phenomenal amount of information that is provided by everyone. I am truly amazed at the educated members here and I thank everyone for taking the time to share your wealth of information with us. I am constantly hungry to learn more about certain issues because of what I read here.

[Newliferva]

Hey Bonnie,

I agree with you, we do have an awful lot of knowledge here, but it is also very comforting to know that the issues I have are "normal" in that others have experienced the same thing. :bcbsalute What a club we have, eh Ann?

[JalepenoAnn]

I have found something that seems to really help with my sleepless nights as well as other menopausal symptoms. I was at the natural food store a few weeks ago and the person working there recommended something called maca root to me. It's a root vegetable that's grown high in the Andes Mts. in Peru and has been used there as a food source for hundreds of years. It doesn't act as a hormone but is an adaptogen and supports all your systems. I am fairly skeptical about a lot of these claims and usually if it sounds too good to be true, it is. But, what the heck? I bought a bottle to try. Within a very short time, I started feeling more energetic. In fact, I couldn't believe how good I was feeling. Sleep was ok, hot flashes almost gone. I was able to discontinue the black cohosh. I figured that I was just having a good week, but this has continued and it's been 3 months now since I've been using this stuff. I no longer get the highs and lows in my energy levels. It stays nice and even all day so I am able to focus on everything that needs to be done and feel GOOD. I've told a few other people about this and they've tried it and have noticed a difference too. The best thing about this stuff is there are no side effects. If you want to check it out, a good website for info is www.therootofthematter.ca (http://www.therootofthematter.ca) I have also been buying it online from him too, since it can be a bit pricey in the stores. If you google it, there is lots of information too. Don't let the nickname of Peruvian viagra (also Peruvian ginseng) put you off. That's only a small part of all the good things from this stuff.

Ann

[QueenFlea]

Thanks so much for the information about the maca-root. Can you buy it at regular vitamin shops? Do you take the capsules? It's so surprising how little I know about menopause. I know I am starting it now (I'm 50). I have little trouble falling asleep but my eyes fly open around 3 or 4 some nights and I can't go back to sleep. I work two jobs so the only time I get to have a good nights sleep is on the weekends - it's not like I am going to bed too early or anything. Hot flashes are not a problem (yet!) but I have had night sweats - some nights it feels like there is a switch on my body that is being turned up to 200 degrees! My periods come every 19 days sometimes and I feel as if I have permanent PMS.

[JalepenoAnn]

It sounds like this might be worth a try for you. I bought it the first time in a place that sells supplements. It came in capsules or powder. I started with the capsules and took 2 x 750mg. twice a day. After a couple weeks, I cut back to once a day. I now buy the powered form online as it is MUCH cheaper. I don't mind the taste of it and just mix it with my oatmeal or cereal in the mornings. Sometimes, I make a hot drink out of it. Even if it did nothing for my hot flashes, I would use it just because of the increased energy and how good I feel. When I researched the stuff, I found that a lot of people were getting good results for PMS and mood swings too. Good luck.

Ann

[MarlaB]

I have read this post with great interest since I suffered from insomnia for ten years. It led to a weight gain. Now I am reading that lack of sleep DOES cause one to gain weight.

Almost a year ago I started on bioidentical hormone replacement therapy. It's not easy to find an OB-GYN who will prescribe it and then you need a compounding pharmacy that will make it up just for you. I slept through the night almost immediately. This is not to be confused with the pharmaceutical hormones that have so many side effects. I have experienced NO side effects!

It really took from two to six months to see an enormous difference, but now I cannot imagine life without these hormones.

Love,
Marla