The "FLAME DOLLS" (Menopause Support Group)

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  • Debinapril
    Debinapril Posts: 53 Member
    Another thing to avoid before bedtime is exercise. You would have thought that working out in the evening like so many of us have to do, would tire you out so that you sleep better. No so! I find that after a hard workout I'm literally buzzing - must be those endorphins we hear so much about :wink: that I find sleep almost impossible until I've calmed down/cooled down. Exercise at night can be counter-productive!
  • skinnyb450
    skinnyb450 Posts: 288
    :flowerforyou: Hi - My name is Cathy - I am 48 and had a hysterectomy at 32 - I was left with one ovary and then that one got a cyst - so had to have the cyst taken off which left me half - I guess by now that has schrivelled up (lol)

    I gave up smoking on the 12th May 2010 and have put on around 30kgs - I think 15 of it was from rewarding myself with food (after 32 years of smoking I told myself I deserved that cream filled kitchener bun!!!! (I'm talking EVERY day that was my TREAT?????) Even writing that it sounds INSANE!!!! And I think the other 15kg was just from menopause - especially around the tummy area

    I have always been small, petite, thin, never had a weight problem but being only 5ft 1 and half inches tall it doesn't take much to look overweight !!!!!

    I am so glad to find MFP and now this suppport group - Thank you for starting it - I need the support - still have 19kgs to go not even half way there yet but I feel very determined to get to my goal weight and stay there for LIFE - please feel free to ADD me as a friend and I will be only too happy to support you too - Good luck - believe in yourself - :)
  • DeeDeeLHF
    DeeDeeLHF Posts: 2,301 Member
    This is awesome! I am bumping to come back to this a bit later. Today is simply too busy but tomorrow I will read through the rest of the thread!

    Thanks for posting this and , I too, LOVE the name!

    Donna
  • lobster888
    lobster888 Posts: 861 Member
    Bump - This is great - Will be back later!!
  • Enigmatica
    Enigmatica Posts: 879 Member
    Another thing to avoid before bedtime is exercise. You would have thought that working out in the evening like so many of us have to do, would tire you out so that you sleep better. No so! I find that after a hard workout I'm literally buzzing - must be those endorphins we hear so much about :wink: that I find sleep almost impossible until I've calmed down/cooled down. Exercise at night can be counter-productive!

    I wondered if this might be part of my problem so I tried cutting out my evening walk. Doesn't seem to matter with me. So far the only thing that's helped me sleep is Tylenol PM... not a viable long term option, obviously.
  • Enigmatica
    Enigmatica Posts: 879 Member
    I'm sitting on an ice pack at work because of a hot flash, my boss walks up to hand me a paper, sees the ice pack, and just grins.
  • RMinVA
    RMinVA Posts: 1,085 Member
    Another thing to avoid before bedtime is exercise. You would have thought that working out in the evening like so many of us have to do, would tire you out so that you sleep better. No so! I find that after a hard workout I'm literally buzzing - must be those endorphins we hear so much about :wink: that I find sleep almost impossible until I've calmed down/cooled down. Exercise at night can be counter-productive!

    I actually don't have any problem sleeping after exercise. In fact some of my best night's sleep have come after 5+ mile runs in the evening. Guess I'm a bit weird that way. But I still have 2-3 hours before bed time and usually take a nice warm shower right before bed...which supposedly helps w/sleep.

    I think I have a bigger issue w/eating big meals late at night. Since we go to the gym in the evening, it's usually about 830 before we eat. I try to keep it light during the week: maybe a piece of chickn or fish and a veggie. In the winter it's soup or chili.
  • merriedawn
    merriedawn Posts: 33
    I am right there with you all. I am 51 and had a hysterectomy at 30. I had my uterus and one ovary removed. Now I am in menopause. I have not slept well for years now tossing and turning and waking up all night. If I get 4-5 hours sleep a night that is a good night and I think my body is paying the price! I also have the mood swings, hot flashes and everything else that goes with menopause. The most annoying part is the weight gain. I never had a problem with it before but that has all changed. I just recently went to the doctor who prescribed hrt. I haven't started them yet ( I am not real big fan of medicine to fix things ) but I am seriously considering taking them. I am very frustrated right now. I am loving all the stories and support of this site! Keep up all the great work ladies.........and FLAME ON!!!!!
  • juliapurpletoes
    juliapurpletoes Posts: 951 Member
    A warm thank you to all the Dolls who have shared their stories, offered kind advice and supported. :heart:


    Always room for more!!!

    Share what you'd like to accomplish now that you are in your flaming years! :love:
  • DeeDeeLHF
    DeeDeeLHF Posts: 2,301 Member
    Hi, I thought I would chime in as I have a bit of time right now.

    I am 46, almost 47 and an early starter for peri-menopause. It all started around age 44. At first I thought I was having panic attacks. Even my MD said I was too young to be going through "the change" but I am now convinced that this is what it is! If I am mensturating I feel a bit more normal but if I go two or three months or more (I have gone as long as 9 months) then the hot-flashes and night sweats begin. Recently, a new symptom has appeared...crying! :cry: YUCK!! I am Austrian by heritage and we are NOT cry-ers!!! :grumble: My family just knows now that my clothes seem to go on then go off then go on. That one minute I can be beet red and sweating and then the next be freezing. They just smile!:wink:

    There are some things that if I am taking them regularly do seem to help me a bit.

    At night I take Melatonin. I have a dual release on so that not only does it help me fall asleep but it kicks in again after about 3 hours when I would tend to wake up and lets me get a good 7 hours, sometimes I can sleep even longer! I can't take that every night as I don't always have time to sleep that long.

    I do take Sleep Essentials from Swanson. That does seem to help me sleep better but without the extreme of the melatonin.

    A have also tried the black cohosh for hot flashes and it really does seem to decrease the number and severity. The one I am using right now is by Planetary Herbals and is their Wild Yam - Black Cohosh Complex.

    I just got Suzanne Summer's book from the library and she is really big on the Bio-identical hrt. If I were to do HRT it would ONLY be bio-identical but like @merriedawn, I am not sure I want to go there.

    My goal is to move into this new phase as gracefully as possible but the truth is instead of embracing it I am fighting it everystep of the way! :laugh:


    I am very happy to add this thread to my daily check ins. I really need this type of support right now.

    D
  • juliapurpletoes
    juliapurpletoes Posts: 951 Member
    :flowerforyou:
  • pixie17857
    pixie17857 Posts: 7
    Well, here goes. I'm 51 and this winter really did me in. I had a partial hysterectomy in 1993 after having toxic shock. Weight has never been a issue. I am 4'8" so any weight looks chubby, but I was within a pound or two all the time.

    My husband battled cancer the winter of 2009 and I quit work to take care of him and drive to all the doctor appointments. Once he won the battle (just had his one year anniversary of being in remission...Thank The Lord) I took over caring for my two grandchildren full time. Yes, I'm one of those who takes care of everyone else.....not myself.

    The hot flashes started last summer, those I can handle. But the night sweats are terrible. If I get to sleep 3 hours straight without one....well, that's considered a good night. I can't tell you the last time I slept a whole night. So over the winter I slept less, felt down about not returning to work, even if my daughter does NEED me to babysit (and she pays a little each week) and stayed in more with the cold Pennsylvania weather. Is there such a thing as the stay at home Grammy blues??? Once in a while I get a mood swing that leads to tears, but not that often. If only I could sleep!! LOL

    My youngest, of four, is graduating from high school in June and I want the weight off. There will be all kinds of family get togethers as neices and nephews also graduate. I got out my summer shorts Thursday when I was putting some sweaters away(none of which I wore this winter with always being warm)....I got in them, but just barely. I refuse to buy new clothes, I know I can get the weight off.

    I've only just started, but already made a friend. She has already started to encourage me. The great thing about this site is nobody judges, we're all a work in progress. Thank You!!
  • juliapurpletoes
    juliapurpletoes Posts: 951 Member
    :flowerforyou:

    Hi Pixie - I can really relate to your night sweats and lack fo sleep.....yuck. They really will pass eventually.

    Very good news about your hubby - I wish him and you continued health :smile:

    I'm on the same page too with last summers clothes.....I don't want to buy or sew new wardrobe now either, unless of course the size goes DOWN!!

    :heart: Thank you Flame Doll pixie!!!!
  • mmtiernan
    mmtiernan Posts: 702 Member
    My night sweats aren't so bad any more - could they *finally* be winding down? One can only hope! Although lately I have been waking up several times per night for no good reason that I can find - what is up with that? I need my sleep!!

    I found this online and thought about getting one: http://bedfan.com/ Just thought I'd pass it along in case anyone else might be interested. Heck, if it makes you sleep better, I'm all for it! :D
  • juliapurpletoes
    juliapurpletoes Posts: 951 Member
    Just checked out the bedfan - that is very interesting.......:smile:
  • mmtiernan
    mmtiernan Posts: 702 Member
    Just checked out the bedfan - that is very interesting.......:smile:

    I thought it looked interesting, too - considered it seriously, but I'm just not so sure that I'd like a constant breeze blowing up my skirt all night, ya know?? :P
  • juliapurpletoes
    juliapurpletoes Posts: 951 Member

    I thought it looked interesting, too - considered it seriously, but I'm just not so sure that I'd like a constant breeze blowing up my skirt all night, ya know?? :P

    yeah - I thought about that too....vaginal dryness.....no thanks!
  • jolande1
    jolande1 Posts: 4
    Julia,

    Thank you for adding me as a friend, and for starting this post. It most certainly is appropriate for me, I think. It is great to know, I am not the only one who is crying @ the drop of a hat, stupid commercials, walking across the room, 4 inches of snow in the midwest last night, after 2 days of 85 degree weather!!

    Today more fun, though, staying inside and using the video game system for exercise. Playing against my hubby, it's great fun! Exercise and competition, (friendly of course!)

    Also, clear liquids today for a medical test tomorrow, yeeech!!

    Am looking for others to add as a friend, I have a very long journey ahead of me. I need to loose @ least another person of weight, and incorporate exercise as a lifelong change. I have always hated everything exercise, except swimming, even hate going outside! I would go sit outside to read...So, have started to add little by little. have gone to my jobs gym, had a personal trainer help me with exercise routine and goals (he didn't laugh or anything, and I was petrified to go!) So I think I am well on my way.

    I don''t have an opportunity to post everyday, but will post as often as possible. :laugh:
  • DeeDeeLHF
    DeeDeeLHF Posts: 2,301 Member
    Yuck! I am having a hot flash right now! LOL!! :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

    I can tell this is going to be a fun thread!


    D
  • singer201
    singer201 Posts: 562 Member
    Just wanted to let you all know that it looks like there's light at the end of my "hot flash tunnel". I'm 58, and for the past few months it seems like the hot flashes are getting fewer and fewer. For the past 10 years I've joked, "I'm always too warm, so if I'm cold, the room/weather is REALLY chilly." I don't know if the weight loss has anything to do with it or not, but I'm very happy to not have them many times a day. Maybe by the time I reach my goal weight I'll have to turn the heat up during the winter.

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