Insomnia

Hi, sorry to hear you’re struggling.  Apologies if you’ve already tried this but for me a game changer was buying inexpensive earbuds and having something to listen to when I was trying to sleep.  

At first I used Insight Timer and other free apps with sleep meditation or music or bedtime stories.  Then I found lots of podcasts on subjects I was interested in (gardening and history for me).  I also listened to audiobooks of books I had already read.  All these took my mind off worrying and I found I drifted off quite quickly.  On the rare occasions I didn’t, at least I learned something!  I made sure I bought earbuds which worked singly (ie. I could just use one) so I could comfortably sleep on my other side.  Best of luck x

Hey Jomor 

Thanks for your reply..

i have found that unless i take a nightoyl tablet or melatonin then i can’t sleep more than 2 hours ….

i do have insight timer on my phone .. the audiobook sounds like a good idea and the podcast too…

I have changed my duvet to a summer one tonight as I wake with the hot flashes and maybe this will help … 

im trying everything 

thanks for your reply

Hiya, I too have difficulty getting to sleep and staying asleep during hot flashes, night sweats and bone & joint pain due to the hormone suppressor.

As I have sleep apnea and use a CPAP machine I am not allowed any sleep medication so that sucks!

I have found having a pet cooling gel pad in my pillowcase and under my bottom sheet works quite well, kind of wicks the heat away.  There is special pj's made of a special fabric which apparently helps with menopausal night sweats but I think they are expensive and wouldn't have my size anyway so haven't researched it further.

Other than that I recommend an afternoon snooze and not to get too concerned if you have a disturbed night as there is nothing worse than laying there worrying about trying to get to sleep and getting wound up.

Sorry can't help on the meds front, just stay hydrated!

Hugs

BexF

Thanks I will I look into the  pyjamas

Hi

so sorry you’re experiencing these symptoms. Been there! 

Venlaflaxine helped for me though took about 8 weeks to kick in. Hopefully you’ll get there with it. A cooling pad in my pillow case helped a lot in the early stages. You can buy them cheaply off Amazon. Going for a low tog duvet also helped. I’m sleeping in a 4.5 tog at the minute. I also bought comfortably cool bedding from M&S which also really helped.

Hopefully things will improve

best wishes

Awww ok did the sleep get better once the venaflaxine kicked in .. I have my summer duvet on which is a lot cooler 

thank you 

It will get better honestly. Was an absolute nightmare for me at the beginning too. Cold turkey from HRT is the pits.

Forgot to mention that I found some nightwear that really helped. It was expensive but I was honestly so sleep deprived i would have tried anything. Got it from Become Clothing. Not cheap but it did help.

Good Luck. It will get better