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[lesley998]

 

Have posted before on the subject, and tried a few suggestions from you lovely ladies on this  forum.  Bought  some melatonin (which was not cheap) but sadly had a strange reaction (rapid heartbeats) so that's twenty quid up the swanney.  Tried nytol, but get awful restless legs and am unable to settle on that. 

Used to be able to sleep on a razor edge...full eight to ten hours uninterrupted, woke refreshed and never thought about it.  last year has been hell.  Just dont feel tired at night.  Go to bed about 11pm, but lying awake until 3-am, then sleeping fitfully for a couple of hours...waking in full on sweat every half an hour and usually get up at 7am. 

Been coping with it but now I am at my wits end.  Had a whole bottle of wine last night out of desperation, and pattern did not change.  Don't want to go down that route anyway.

Any more suggestions?  GP will not give me anything, I have tried zolpidem and zopiclone in the past.

Thanks x

[Joyce]

My GP won't give me anything either. Got zopiclone  for a week, but habit wasn't broken. Have tried nytol, kalms & various others from health shop. Been waste of money. I get up following day, shower & I'm knackered!
GP gave me amyiriptyline once. Gave me such a dry mouth during the night.
My meno consultant suggested going back to GP, but am quite reluctant. Was once told to try antihistamines. But most are non-drowsy these days.

[lesley998]

I know what you mean about the shower and then knackered.  I feel all scratchy eyed and bleary in the mornings, like I could happily collapse in bed at about 9am, fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow and snore for hours.  Why do I feel like that at 9 am and not 11pm? It's like my brain is all mixed up, and I guess it is. Meno is after all about crazy hormones, and hormones are what govern our sleep patterns.  Then the tiredness wears off, and I get through the day, only to be sitting here again, tapping away on the ipad, wide awake listening to my hubby snoring. 

[Firewalker50]

Hi Sweet Pea

You might like to have a look at the Fushi site.  Organic tinctures.  They have some articles on insomnia.  They also sell Passionflower, Valerian and neroli tinctures among other items.   

Passionflower (passiflora) is also helpful for stress and anxiety if that is a problem with you too.

I have not put the link because it takes you to a site where you can buy items.

Even if you do not buy, you may like to read about the benefits of those remedies either on the site or further on the web.

I went through a stage of sweats and waking every hour and was exhausted.  It eventually contributed to fibromyalgia.

I don't know if you set an alarm clock?  I stopped setting my clock and told myself I would wake in the right time.  it was amazing.  Instead of waking in case I had missed the alarm or slept in.  I always wakened on time and felt really refreshed.

Anyway, I wish you luck finding a solution.  it is horrid when it happens.   I see you tried Melatonin.    That is popular in States and Canada, and it is used in sleep trials here.  It is a shame it did not help you.

Fx

[lesley998]

Thank you so much fire walker.  I am off to look at the site. X

[Rowan]

sweat pea have you got a spare room? you said "listening to hubby snoring" this is one of the main reasons that women find it hard to sleep or

have disturbed sleep  http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4341199.stm

If not have you tried a sound machine which will block out any noise and lull you to sleep, that and Firewalkers suggestions might do the trick.

[Taz2]

Is it the sweats waking you up Sweetpea.

I also had the "lying awake from 11" scenario but I started going to bed later and eventually settled on a pattern of going to bed around half twelve to one and I found I could then get to sleep quickly and sleep for around five hours. Off HRT night sweats wake me up but while I am taking HRT (such as at present) then I only wake a couple of times for a few minutes during the five hours. I find this seems to be what my body needs. Mind you I can't imagine being asleep for eight to ten hours.

Daytime napping is a no-no if you are trying to establish a good sleep pattern apparently - not that I've ever done that. The other thing is to get up at exactly the same time everyday - even at the weekend.

Sometimes the fact that we are fighting what the body is saying is so exhausting. Have you tried HRT for the sweats or is that something you can't tolerate? Sorry I've forgotten!

Taz x

[CLKD]

Tosh!  If one needs to sleep in the day, sleep.  I find it makes not a jot of difference.  If my brain needs to catch up on zzzzz then a nap in the afternoon is what is required.  I still sleep at night.  If I am not going to sleep, it's becuase my brain is whirring  <sigh>.  Or there's the dropping off to sleep for 40 mins then awake until 4.30 a.m.  .......... sleep heals.  Babies sleep when they require sleep.  But as we grow being socialbe means that we have to forgo sleep in order to conform 

I usually read, do NintendoDS, listen to the birds .......... make a cuppa, take it back to bed, DH snores on and on and ........

[Taz2]

Don't think my boss would like that CLKD 

It's more a need to survive than being sociable I think. If we all slept whenever we wanted our society would grind to a halt and even in the olden days we had to have some people awake to guard our castles or caves.  Babies sleep but only because they have someone watching over them a lot of the time to guard them from nasty happenings.

In elderly people an afternoon nap is allowed apparently although some people do say that as long as the nap is no longer than 30 minutes it is beneficial and shouldn't affect the sleeping pattern.  It's always puzzled me that as we get older and closer to death the more we sleep - the same with animals - but surely we should be buzzing around making the most of what life we still have? My mum was always energetic but my dad would quite like to study the inside of his eyelids after lunch (once he retired). My mum always said "Well you can sleep if you want to but remember we're a long time dead" 

Taz x

[Joyce]

Siesta time maybe.  I've tried hard not to have 40 winks, but some days I feel so exhausted that I have to give in. It's a vicious circle. I'm really tired again today, but forced myself to go for swim. That was a struggle in itself, felt like I was swimming through treacle.

[CLKD]

This thread has reminded me: as a child we would group with all the family at the paternal Grandparents' house - all the men would have 40 winks after C.mas Lunch  when we were itching to open the family presents to each other.  We had already opened our sacks from Santa but being kids    ........ my Uncle could sleep 40 mins. dead on! then he would stretch, wake up and ask 'who's for presents then' ........ I sometimes fell asleep at work after lunch, particularly at certain times of the month, I would just 'go' 

[Clovie]

sweet Pea, sorry to hear Melatonin didn't suit you, it works a treat for me although it does give me very vivid dreams.

As for insomnia, I've pretty much been there bought the t-shirt blah blah blah. I suffer badly with insomnia always have done.
Im constantly searching for something that will stop my mind racing and allow me to sleep., and stay asleep! 

If you find something that works, be sure to post it on here!! 

I too find alcohol unhelpful, although I go to sleep quicker after a tipple I wake up and stay awake at silly-o'clock every single time I dabble!
I also find alcohol a definite downer for me these days, always doom and gloom the next morning, so tend to avoid drinking as much as I used to.
(not a raging alcoholic by the way, just drank socially  )

[daisie]

hi sweet pea.i had the same problem with sleep,after suffering anxiety,my doctor put me on amitriptyline,they help well with sleeping,but you do feel drowsy in the morning.but it wears off through the day,i suppose its better than not having any sleep,might be worth trying a small dose and see how you get on x daisie

[Hurdity]

Hi sweet pea  - sorry to hear you are not sleeping buit if it's the sweats keeping you awake then only HRT will really deal with this if you don't want to go down the sleeping pills route. I had terrible nights before I started and when I had to come off HRT for a while the bad nights were coming back.... I never considered any artificial aids like pills or supplements.

I remember you stopped HRT but I don't think you have restarted again? - but sounds like your body is crying out for it. Sorry I can't remember if there was a medical reason why you couldn't have it - if so apologies! Otherwise - probably no amount of other stuff will really work in the long term - ie don't deal with the underlying cause of not sleeping.

Definitley the full bottle of wine is probably the worst thing to do - I'm like clovie - it's lovely in helping get to sleep but always wake thirsty, need to drink and pee and restless for the rest of the night. Alway wake tired after alcohol later in the evening rather than refreshed and at worst, wine gives me a 3 day migraine....

I wonder why you don't feel tired at night? Have you tried taking more physical exercise - that is a sure way for me to sleep soundly? Nothing like physical exhaustion to give you a good healthy sleep. Art Glastonbury despite the narrow bed in the camper I slept like a log and rarely even got up in the night because we had walked miles every day and I could barely drag my feet the last mile or so back each evening! Ideally apparently not too much vigorous exercise just before you turn in as it stimulates the body too much too late.

Hope this helps

Hurdity  x

[CLKD]

It really varies for me.  For years++ I worried that if I didn't get enough sleep I would not be able to function in the day.  One night I thought 'oh not sleeping again, so what' and dropped striaght off!  Since DH retired I have slept the best ever: not having to worry about msising the alarms and not having to get up until my brain has woken properly.  It has made a *huge* difference.

I had a sleep yesterday afternoon in the camper.  Warm sunshine.  Breeze drifting through.  I was tired enough to sleep from mid-night and was woken at 4.30 a.m. by Jackdaws: again: but went back until 8.05 ......... if my mind is racing I can't sleep at all: I can drop off OK then wake 20 mins later