Is menopause making anyone else crazy?

1. 61

   your cybersisterposted 12 years ago

   Is menopause making anyone else crazy?
   
   I am so tired of the sweating!  Hot flashes and night sweats are no fun.  How does one get a good night's sleep when they have to change pajamas or bedding or both in the middle of the night?  Sleeping nude is worse - sweat trickles and tickles and wakes you up!   Then you get up, shower, and start to dress, and the sweating starts again.   All  of your clothes stick to you!  I am SO over it!

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2. 69

   lotuslove19posted 12 years ago

   yes ,I am passing through the same problem but have taken control over it with flax seed oil and homeopathic medicine .

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3. 81

   Seeker7posted 12 years ago

   Hi cybersister,
   
   Sorry that you are going through 'the crap' right now - it's bloody awful. I'm out of  hot flash cycles at the moment, and I don't know if it has anything to do with some supplements I took a few weeks ago. But who cares I'm in reprieve for a while and enjoying it.
   
   I also looked up some menopause support web sites and found them to be a great source for tips and advice as well as general support. If you put the phrase 'menopause support' into a search engine then you will get websites for your area. My site is only UK based so wouldn't be much use to you in Florida. But hopefully you will find something to help.

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4. 0

   marellenposted 12 years ago

   cybersister...I know what you're going through and it hits me mostly in the summer months. I know they have some natural over the counter pills you can take but  I would ask your doctor what they suggest for help. Hang in there....

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5. 70

   Angie Jardineposted 12 years ago

   Hi cybersister - so sorry it's this tough for you ... I am just about surfacing from the other side of it. I have written about a few of my coping strategies - that I still use - in my hub
   
   http://hubpages.com/hub/Happy-Menopause
   
   I hope this helps you ... it certainly sorted my night sweats ...
   
   Good luck!

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   THAT Mary Annposted 12 years ago

   Hi again cybersister...I was one of the lucky ones who had an uneventful end to the curse, so I can't say I know how you feel..But I DO know hundreds of women over the years have told me menopause is terrible, and, yes, some of them acted REALLY crazy at times...Drink wine!

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7. 61

   penladyposted 12 years ago

   Yes!  I know exactly what you're going through.  When the hot flash hits you, it feels like you'll go out of your mind.  You try to be still so the flash won't worsen.  That doesn't help though. 
   
   The other week, I woke up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat.  I had to change my linen and gown! 
   
   I'm now on Estroven Maximum strength.  Before that I was taking regular Estroven and Estroven PM.

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8. 53

   mdcgardnerposted 12 years ago

   Being one who is going through a surgically induced menopause, I can completely understand your frustration. Flax seed oil, ginseng, and gingo can help lessen the severity. What's makes it worse is when the spouse just looks at you like you're crazy.

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   MazioCreateposted 12 years ago

   My God!  I'm surprised you are not inundated with answers to this question.  I have to say I'm not experiencing anything like you.  Every now and again I get a clammy feeling, but it's the lack of sleep that truly drives me crazy. 
   
   I'm usually an eight hour a night sleeper and bounce out of bed to ride 40 - 50 km, six days a week.  Now it's, I've only slept 3-4 hours or I've slept longer but it has been an interrupted sleep, waking every couple of hours.  I'm just wondering why there aren't more women of menopausal age in prison for justifiable homicide etc.  This has affected my exercise regime and I'm wondering if this is a vicious circle, where you need the exercise to sleep and need the sleep to exercise.  I still try to get 30 minutes to an hour of cycling or walking into each day to help with the 'tiredness' factor.
   
   I don't do HRT, but am relying on the gene pool and a nightly cup of camimille tea.  (I think gene pool more of an impact.)  Neither my Mother or two older sisters had any major symptoms and (knock on wood) this seems to be the same for me.  I do however sleep with my feet out from under the bed clothes.  They are my regulators!  If I do start to feel clammy and my feet are under the bed clothes I move them to the cooler air and it seems to stop the clammy feeling.  Problem here though is it has woken me, and the sleep patterns are interrupted.
   
   Here's hoping we both get through this time with our sanity intact.  Sleep well and get a rubber mattress protector!

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10. 60

    sunbeamsposted 12 years ago

    I don't have these problems but am losing a lot of hair.I even count them - at least 50 a day and I can see visible thinning.I assume it must be the symptoms of peri-menopause.So I have started taking some vitamins , zinc , flaxseed capsules...have not seen any change as yet.

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    SheliaKayposted 12 years ago

    Oh yes, I know just how you feel. The night sweats and insomnia have been horrible for me as well. I got so desperate I begged my doctor to put me on HRT, but that turned me into a raving lunatic so I stopped. I have been taking black cohosh on and off for several years now and I have noticed when I do take it every day the way I am suppose to, I do feel better. I have just started researching other options in alternative medicines, and aromatherapy.  I made my first batch of lavender water today by using 20 drops of lavender essential oil, 1/3 cup of vodka and 2 cups of distilled water then I put it into a spray bottle. It smells wonderful and very refreshing when you spritz yourself with it. I also heard spaying it on your bedding will help you relax and sleep better at night. Good luck, and I do hope you start to feel better soon.

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    Margaret Andersonposted 12 years ago

    Try black cohesh. I wonderful all natural vitamin. You take ths capsule with food. I have been taking this for six months now, and no more hot flashes, night sweats, and most of all the mood swings are down 100%.

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13. 0

    askahealerposted 12 years ago

    There have been times, during the peri-menopause to menopause time of my life, where I have definitely felt I would go crazy.  Hot flashes every half hour are enough to make a woman feel insane.  Imagine feeling you are on fire from the inside, literally.  I took a product called i-cool (which is just a synthetic soy so I don't recommend it long term whatsoever, and especially not with anyone at risk for estrogen-dominant cancer) for a very brief period and then continued with my natural progresterone cream.  That combo seems to have reset my clock somehow so, knocking on wood, but hot flashes and horrible night sweats not happening now.  Wishing you luck!!!

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    regina sposted 12 years ago

    i hear you cybersister!  i am not yet experiencing menopause...but i am experiencing some signs that i may be going through peri-menopause...and i have been getting mild hot flashes that are horrible...and i know that what i am feeling is very mild compared to what i am in for!  i feel for you and hope you can find some relief!  i keep a spray bottle by my bed and occasionally spray the back of my neck and top of my head when i'm really hot and that seems to soothe me a little...good luck!!!

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15. 63

    Jen Pearsonposted 12 years ago

    NOT going through menopause is making me crazy. I've got a large uterine fibroid and have very heavy bleeding in addition to some mild menopause onset symptoms. The fibroid is supposed to shrink (and of course the bleeding to stop) with menopause. I may be exchanging one annoyance for another, but I'm ready for a change. I'm still looking into alternatives for reducing the effect of the fibroid (and this question has prompted me to write a hub about it, so thanks).
    
    I'm experiencing some depression that I'm associating with menopausal hormone imbalance. So it looks like it will be a rough period for me. I'm just hoping it settles in soon and is over within two years. I've heard rumors of something called post-menopause vigor. I'm hoping that's in my future. :-)

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    Blond Logicposted 12 years ago

    I have similar problems but I feel mine are  finally beginning to tail off. One of the other answers suggests Black Cohosh. This helped me.
    
    I had gone on HRT and felt fantastic until I developed cancerous cells in my breast. The doctors  took me off HRT straight away.
    My friend also went on HRT in October, developed a brain tumor and died the following January.
    
    My advice, is only use homeopathic remedies, and stay away from caffeine . It will get better.

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17. 91

    Faceless39posted 12 years ago

    Well I survived my Mom's and OMFG it was (is) the worst thing ever, other than say schizophrenia or something.  I recommend trying Melatonin:  http://faceless39.hubpages.com/hub/Mela … onder-Drug

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    JenJen0703posted 12 years ago

    Wow...I can relate to that well, hot flashes and night sweats.  I went through surgical menopause, and they had to take everything.  I woke up from surgery in a hot flash.  They were horrible for the first couple of months, and many times I would get sick from them.  It has been 6 years since my surgery, and I am not on any type of hormone therapy.  I take a multi-vitamin each day, drink plenty of water (dehydration makes hot flashes worse), and try to eat healthy.  I have night sweats worse when I am cold than when I am hot.  No sleeping naked, I at least wear a t-shirt.  Cotton is best.
    As far as crazy goes, I cannot answer that.  I was crazy before the surgery, but I am more outspoken since my surgery.

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    artist101posted 12 years ago

    I too suffered from the same symptoms as you.For the insomnia i recommend melatonin, 5-10mg two hours before bedtime. You can take up to 20mg safely. For faster relief I chew mine and in about a half hour i'm sleepy. They also make a chewable tablet, a lot of them contain aspartame and may pose a problem, if you are allergic. For the sweats, i purchased a small fan, set it by my bedside, and in the middle of the night, id lift the cover, and cool off. If you get up in the middle of the night, don"t turn on any lights, this triggers your brain to quit producing melatonin, which makes the insomnia worse. I purchased a night light for our bathroom, which serves this purpose.For the night sweats and hot flashes, i recommend progesterone cream, depending on how severe they are you may need soy and wild yam along with it. I wrote an article on this subject, for more information.

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