It's Getting Real, This Menopause Business...

[SiouzQ.]

After dancing around various symptoms for over two years, it seems this month I have finally gone full-blown into it. I am here to report that after a month of weirdness involving horrible insomnia, night sweats, night shivers, hot flashes and general discomfort just being in my body, I'm thinking it just might be possible to be driven insane by it all. Last night was particularly bad - I went a bonfire party and played a little music, had some wine, got home later than I usually do and went to bed around midnight. I didn't want to take a sleep aid (which I feel I rely on too much anyway, but that is another threads-worth right there) because of the wine, so I woke up at 2am after about two hours of sleep and have been up since then. At first I'm comfortable right when I get into bed, then right as I drift off I'm WAY TOO HOT so I throw back the covers and in 20 seconds I'm cold so I put the covers back on and then it is unbearable, stifling, chilly and sweaty at the same time, and on and on....

I finally fell asleep for about 35 minutes toward 6:15am and had the MOST horrible nightmare in which this one tabby cat I used to have a long time ago was crying and meowing at me in some random apartment I was living in. When I went to pet her to see what was wrong I noticed her collar was too tight and when I went to loosen it, her head fell off and rolled all over the floor. In my dream I was in shock at first, then I was screaming and crying. When I woke up my heart was pounding horribly and it still won't stop even though I've been doing breathing exercises. Ugh...everything is so wonky feeling.

I am supposed to spend the day with my boyfriend but right now I don't even want to see him or be with him, or be with me or anyone. I need to have a woman-cave to go to ride this thing out but I have no where to go really to be alone since the gallery is open today (my part-timer is holding down the fort) and even though I have the new shutters installed I still have no real privacy between my living quarters and the shop. Even if I stayed at home to work in the studio I would still be able to hear all the tourists coming in and I simply cannot deal with that today.

It's gonna be one long, tiring day, I'm afraid...

[nswef]

Oh SouizQ...maybe you can go for a hike and find a spot to put a blanket, chair and just sit!

[Sad Eyed Lady]

Try Black Cohosh before you try anything heavy duty. That is what I took during my transition. It is not an overnight miracle, and it says it can take up to 6 weeks to get into the system but does help. I didn't experience anything as strong as you are going through, but it helped with the symptoms I was having. I hope all this levels out for you soon, a bad night makes for a very miserable day.

[Simplemind]

Even though it is a natural part of life it is frustrating on a good day and downright distressing on a bad one. Hot flashes were horrible for me. I have rosacea so there was no way of hiding a heatwave because my face would get beet red. People would comment on my redness which would only make me more uncomfortable and flash even harder. Once I made my husband leave Home Depot, go through the drive thru across the street and get a large glass of ice water. I took a couple of swigs and then poured the rest over my head. I felt like my brains were boiling. More than once got up in the middle of the night and put a bag of frozen peas on the back of my neck. I don't miss those days.

[pinkytoe]

My recollection is that alcohol really magnified some of the symptoms. It's so nice when it's all over though.

[razz]

Like all the other aggravations that visit your life, keep reminding yourself that 'this too will pass'. With some aggravations, that is about all one can do.

[Yppej]

I found that inflammatory foods made the hot flashes worse, and also that they were cyclical, being worse at certain times of the month. They have gotten better over time. I am a few months past the 1-year official menopause mark, but had perimenopause symptoms for 12 years! The post side is turning out to be easier than the pre side, and I hope that turns out to be true for you also.

[rosarugosa]

I think I was lucky because all I got were the hot flashes and night sweats. They were uncomfortable, but in the big scheme of things, not unendurable. They kind of tapered off into a cyclical kind of thing, although I could never really chart the cycle, but here for a few months, gone for a few months, and after a couple of years, apparently gone for good.
I never modified my alcohol or caffeine consumption. I would say my body temperature runs a little bit higher than it used to, but that might be more an effect of smoking cessation because I seem to have much better circulation now.

[razz]

Just a little chuckle to share. Actually my change was over fairly quickly but DH had the hardest time in our bed at night. I would overheat, throw off the covers, the pull them back again while he could not believe how warm I could get and then the bed would get cold suddenly disrupting his sleep. He was so relieved the duration of acute flashes was so short.

[Tenngal]

Hint for hot flashes at night. Just sleep with a small throw, easy to use or get rid of........