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[Holsy]

Hi

I just thought I'd share the following:

I have been trying A.Vogel Dormeasan for sleep for the last 3 days. It knocks me out fairly quickly...I still wake at 4am, but then I take a little bit more and I get back to sleep again for another couple of hours. I'm going to bed at 10pm. I am hoping that I will stop waking at 4am the more that I use this. Although I am also waiting for some melatonin to arrive.

I have also tried AvenaCalm today for the anxiety, which has taken the edge off. I have bought Menoforce sage tablets and waiting for some menopause support tablets too, due to the success of the other products.

A.Vogel website is very informative about why I'm waking early and it has lots of blogs and very useful information on there. The online chat ladies are also extremely helpful.

I tried a reflexology treatment on Saturday as a friend swears by it for her sleep, anxiety and hormone balancing, it was very relaxing, early days yet, but I am also hoping that this will help too.

Hope this helps someone.....especially if you're like me and are desperate for something to work.
I have the mirena coil and patches. Although I did try the gel for 4 days last week and wasn't keen on it.

Thanks
Ally

[Ladybt28]

Hey Ally19 
I can only use melatonin or Valarian (any valerian tablets or the Dormeasan liquid).  Anything else like Nytol or the other over the counter stuff makes me feel hungover.  They both work a treat for me.  You may find the melatonin works for longer than the Dormeasan. I get 1mg tablets of Melatonin and I can vary the dose although I have never needed more than 5mg.  I think they come in 1,3,5 and 10mg.  Good to know what's working for you...gives others hope and we need bucket loads of that most of the time! Nice to hear positive stories.

Don't know how long you have been on hrt but the sleeping may settle, its taken nearly 9 months for me to get stuff like that under control.

[Holsy]

Hi Ladybt28

Thanks for your reply. I am really hoping that the melatonin works for me, as I slept until 3am last night and had to take more dormeasan. I think some of it is down to what and when I eat each night too. Trying to keep a diary. The melatonin arrives today and it's 3mg, a doctor friend suggested starting on 5mg but I didn't want to start off too high too soon. 1mg is low...but that's great if that is all you need.

I have been on the patches for 10 weeks now...half a patch, but every time I try to increase the dose my symptoms get worse. But because I'm still not sleeping, am anxious & still having hot flushes and period pains, I'm not sure that the patches are the best. So just waiting for another 2 weeks for the 3 month mark & then may need to go onto tablets. What hrt is working for you if you don't mind me asking? Presuming you're on hrt.

9 months is a long time.....what did you take for anxiety, presuming you suffered with it.... So pleased that you have found things that are working for you. It is hard to stay positive, but I totally agree we need lots of positive stories, so that everyone can see that there is light at the end of the tunnel. xx

[Holsy]

Ladybt28 - how long did it take for the melatonin to work? Did you take it with the dormeasan too? Thanks x

[Ladybt28]

No I take, one or the other, now Ally. I don't want to get reliant on just one.  The melatonin works for me straight away and my dose varies, depends how agitated I am.  Sometimes you go to bed and just know you wont fall asleep and others you go to sleep and wake and cant get back off again and other times you are just so wired you don't want to go to bed. On cant get off again days it would be 2 mg and on know you cant sleep days 4 or 5mg.
At one point when I was really bad and hardly sleeping at all I did take 2 together the dose of dormeasan and 2mg melatonin but haven't had to do that for since last August.

I didn't take anything for anxiety and yes boy did I have it.  Mine has been a long and tortuous story Ally.  4 years ago I was on AD's, pain meds, blood pressure meds all sorts and I had been for years but the side effects just got too much and "by an accident of circumstance...long story" I went cold turkey and gave them all up and was beyond reluctant to go back on any of them so after that all the symptoms and I mean all the symptoms of meno came to the fore.

I am on 4 pumps of oestrogel and 10 days of 200mg of utrogestan taken vaginally on a cycle even though I am post meno and GP's prefer continuous for post meno women.  I tried 5 types of hrt in about 8 years before I got the right one for me and it took 5 months to settle and over the last 4 I have seen the benefit.  Yes it is a long time and some women give up way before then but I was so bad giving up wasn't an option - I wouldn't be here now if I hadn't persevered and not kept trying to sort it out.

[Holsy]

Thanks Ladybt28

I'm so sorry to hear what you have been through, but I'm so pleased for you that you are now out the other end. What a long journey.

Not surprised you went cold turkey....the ADs do mask a lot of the meno symptoms don't they?

Did you find that every time you upped your dose of hrt that you felt worse? As I was of the understanding that you should feel better.

You are obviously a very strong, determined lady and an inspiration to us all to keep going. I take my hat off to you - bless you..... Thank you so much for sharing Ladybt28 xx

[Ladybt28]

It was hard to tell, I felt so bad, when I upped my dose,there was not immediate change.  I set myself a goal, up the dose, wait 2 weeks, up again, wait 2 weeks.... as I said I did not react that quickly and I have put in other posts that the changes "crept up on me", they were almost imperceptable until one day I woke up and thought "hey I haven't had a panic attack, nor do I feel sick" on waking and then maybe I would get anxiety a bit during that day but the next day and the next it just got a bit better until they were/are nearly all gone except the depression, but it took a straight 5 months to get there.  I had to succumb to Setraline 4 weeks ago though because the depression was getting out of hand although I have never had that particular AD before and it appears to be actually working, but I have said before I think this is because the meno symptoms are now under control it can do the job an AD is supposed to instead of having to contend with all the other symptoms.

Thanks for the kind words, stubborn my husband calls it!! I had to keep going there really was no other option for me and I'm not going to let anyone take my hrt off me either.  If you come across any of my other posts my journey has lasted 40 years, turns out hormonal problems were underlying postnatal depression, PMT, premature births and a whole host of other stuff but no picked it up until I got to meno and then that too has been a pain but at least I know what it has all been about...better late than never huh

[Holsy]

Thanks for the update Ladybt28

I don't know how you kept going with all of that, especially as ADs make you feel worse for the first few weeks. Or do you not suffer with that? Is Setraline a good one, whereas you don't feel worse first. I have tried citalopram in the past and that is dreadful for the first 6 weeks, hence trying to cope without them at the moment. I think if I can sleep I will start to feel a bit more human.....

40 yrs is a very long time....my postnatal wasn't picked up for ages either....so very impressed with your perseverence.....especially trying to look after kids and work too.

I tried melatonin last night, 3mg but I did feel a little groggy this morning but I think it was because I felt very tired still too...I slept an hour longer on it though, so I'm hoping that the more I use it the longer the sleep will be. 

[Holsy]

Where do you buy your melatonin from? I got mine from Biovea but it took a while to arrive.

I got MELATONIN 3mg Fast Dissolve (Strawberry Flavoured) 50 Vegetarian Tablets - is this what you use?

Thanks Ladybt28

[Ladybt28]

VitaminGrocer.com - e.vitmins.com and Biovia.  Obviously they come from America which is why they take a while.  No flavoured stuff for me  I don't like flavoured tablets, just bog standard that you swallow!

[Holsy]

Thank you - always good to have a recommendation, as you don't know what's in them sometimes.....

[Holsy]

Sorry one last question.....what brand do you use? x

[Ladybt28]

I just buy - what is on an offer, sometimes 2 pots for the price of 1 -  the last lot I got the brand was called Now and were from eVitamins and the one before that were Natrol from VitiminGrocer.  I've  had the Natrol a couple of times now.  I just check out the 3 sites to see if there is a deal.

[Holsy]

Thanks Ladybt28 xx