insomnia and perimenopause
#140009 - 01/19/05 01:10 PM
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marytodd1
Reged: 07/03/03
Posts: 14
Loc: Kansas
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I'm 40 and, given my symptoms of irregular periods, hot flashes and now persistant insomnia, it would appear my body is putting my eggs in the quick sale bin. Does anybody have anything herbal (preferably) or nonherbal that I could take to get a good night's sleep that won't affect my IBS. I've taken valarian root, but I woke up in the middle of the night again anyway, relaxed but very awake.
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I heard black cohash was good for menopause. I think specifically though its more for the hot flashes! I too suffer with sleep difficulties so can't help much there! 
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Taking it one day at a time.....
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Quote:
my body is putting my eggs in the quick sale bin
I just have to start by saying this gave me a wonderful laugh.
Honey, I'm the expert on perimenopause & insomnia. I'm 46 now and I think they're on the "everything must go, positively last chance" rack cause I'm getting periods twice a month at this point. (Still getting them though  )
As to sleep issues, here are some suggestions.
The thing with valerian is, about 20% of people have what's called a "paradoxical reaction" to it, meaning they react in just the opposite way. This may be what you're experiencing, in which case, it's gonna be just plain useless to you.
Foods with tryptophan- turkey is the best-known food like this; here is a link with lots of others. I do find having a little turkey snack before bed to be helpful in getting to sleep.
Other herbs with relaxing (if not actually soporific) qualities are lavender and chamomile- there are lots of good teas out there containing these.
Also, be very careful about cutting off caffeine & sugar intake after noon or so (yes, that means chocolate too). I have observed that this makes a BIG difference.
If you're like me, a significant portion of sleep difficulty has to do with "shutting the brain off"- I find guided relaxation recordings to be useful in this regard. I also play little brain games like reciting song lyrics in my head, or the ever-popular ABC game: pick a topic like movies, book titles, countries, fruits & vegs, etc; go through the alphabet and name one beginning with each letter. Sounds kooky, but it does serve the purpose of preventing "thinking"...just the same as counting sheep. This in particular heads off the cycle of thinking and worrying that starts up when you wake up at 3 am. I'm sure you've been there, done that.
Ancient lore says that women are awakened by their bodies more frequently as they age out of child-bearing years so that they may have time to contemplate and acquire the wisdom they will need to function as the wise elders that they are becoming. Me, I'd rather get the sleep.
Hope this is helpful.
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Wow, thanks for the helpful advice! Many things to try. I'm still sleepy, but getting some sleep. Last night I resorted to a Tylenol PM but still woke up at 4:00, groggy, leaden, but awake nonetheless. As for song lyric recitation, I tried that with "Counting Your Blessings," that old favorite from White Christmas, you know the old "when you're worried and you can't sleep, just count your blessings instead of sheep." I got as far as the line "I think about a nursery and I picture curly heads . . . " Then I couldn't go any farther. Then I started obsessing. "What is the next ****ing line." I even considered going downstairs to the video shelf, pulling it out, disturbing my partner to pop it in the VCR and find out.
Anyway, I'm grateful for your advice and will try some of the techniques myself.
With gratitude,
Kelly
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Thanks Michele for the reponse anyway. It helps just a little bit knowing someone else is out there tossing and turning.
Kelly
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Ok, you girls are cracking me up with your menopause jokes!!  I don't have any more advice, I just got a prescription for ambien today so I can let you know how that works for me if you like!
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Taking it one day at a time.....
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Ooh, be really careful with Ambien.
For one thing, don't take it unless you are sure to be able to sleep for at least 8 hours- if it happens you get less, you're gonna wake up feeling pretty much like death on a soda cracker.
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OK, maybe the song lyric idea isn't so hot.
Another thinking-diverting tactic I kinda like is "10 things..."
Like, 10 things I like about myself.
10 things I like about my spouse.
10 movies I love.
10 songs I love.
10 things I like about my cat.
You get the idea.
Make 'em 10 positive things though...
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thanks the dr warned me about that! I've been having to take 2-3 Xanax a night though to sleep.  I have had a lot of bad things happen just recently which is making my sleep troubles that much worse! If I don't get some "good" sleep soon, I'm going to go insane!!
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Taking it one day at a time.....
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Kelly,
I laughed out loud about obsessing about the next line!! That kinda defeats the purpose, I agree.
Well, ditto to everything Paula said and here's a few more thoughts. I have a sleep disorder related to my fibromyalgia. The things that my doctors have suggested that really help me are:
2 Benadryl antihistimine tablets at bed time (my psychiatrist and her husband and my mother all swear by it, for what ever that's worth!)
2-3 Elavil at bedtime. It's a prescription antidepressant but is also prescribed for sleep disorders because of its sedative effect and because it seems to help achieve the stage four deep sleep that our bodies need to heal and grow.
2 Xanax at bedtime. It's a prescription anti-anxiety med also used for sleep disorders.
Ambien and Sonata of course are prescription sleep aids in the hypnotics family of medications.
Obviously all meds listed should be taken as directed and not abused, and all have side effects of one sort or another.
Second category of suggestions: Do you practice good sleep hygiene? That means going to bed at the same time every night, not watching scary or funny shows on TV right before bed, not exercising too late in the day, etc. Just do a google on sleep disorder and you'll find a bunch of websites that list all the recommendations.
Two more ideas. Are night sweats waking you up with shivers and chills? I was having an AWFUL problem with that. I started sleeping with a towel! Then I figured out that if I wore some kind of moisture wicking long underwear as pajamas, they soaked up the sweat and I stopped waking up shivering. I'm sleeping MUCH better now.
Finally, waking up at 4 in the morning persistently is one physical symptom of clinical depression. It's my early warning sign that I'm getting depressed again. Has that been considered in your situation.
I'm really glad you brought this up because it DOES relate to IBS. I'm convinced that if everyone on this board started really getting enough good quality sleep, the severity of their symptoms would be dramatically lessened.
My husband and I have a saying, "Sleep helps!" :-)
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Laura
Keep it simple!
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