The "FLAME DOLLS" (Menopause Support Group)

Still regular as clock work, but get all the lovely menopause symptoms, doesn't seem fair to have to put up with both. The worst is the creeping weight gain in my middle. UGH. Never had a belly, don't like it. Hormones, ya I'm on 'em. Not much help. Wouldn't mind as much except that my whole face turns red and people want to know why i am embarrassed. And my poor cold natured husband--don't even think about cuddling--get your 98.6 degrees away from me in the summer, winter his hands are like ice and they feel good.

Hi Flame Dolls,

It's great to read your posts and your stories. One thing that has interested me as several have mentioned this are sleep problems. I don't think it is a separate issue. I am coming to the conclusion that it's part of the package. Lack of good sleep is also a major contribution to weight gain. I know it is with me. When I'm tired I can't help but reach for sugary foods to give me that instant lift to get me through the day. It's a vicious circle. If I am blessed with an 8hr night I feel incredible, so full of energy and vitality. The trouble is I can't remember the last time it happened.
My usual sleep pattern is to wake probably 2 - 3 times a night. Sometimes I lie awake for 30 mins - hour before I get back to sleep. I read somewhere that the worst thing you can do is to get up so instead of lying there getting bored I put headphones on (so I don't disturb my husband) and listen to the radio. It kind of works, I'm over the worry about strangling myself with the headphone cords LOL
How do you cope? Any tips?

All the best. :-)

My usual sleep pattern is to wake probably 2 - 3 times a night. Sometimes I lie awake for 30 mins - hour before I get back to sleep. I read somewhere that the worst thing you can do is to get up so instead of lying there getting bored I put headphones on (so I don't disturb my husband) and listen to the radio. It kind of works, I'm over the worry about strangling myself with the headphone cords LOL
How do you cope? Any tips?

All the best. :-)

Lack of sleep is just killer - I'm a 7 hour person. I need my 7 hours just in order to function at a base level! I never, ever get up if I wake up because I'm one of those practical people that think "Well, since I'm up, I may as well do [name your chore]" and then I'll get engrossed in something and never get back to sleep!

This is going to sound hokey, but bear with me: our family is Catholic, so when I was young and couldn't sleep, my Dad would always just hand me a rosary and tell me to just start reciting in my head (for those of you unfamiliar with the rosary, they are essentially prayer beads - once around is 5 sets of 13 repetitious prayers, plus a few more - over 65 prayers in all!). Sometimes it would take me several times around the rosary before I got back to sleep, however, I knew even then that the idea was to stop all other chatter in my head and bore me to sleep! In college I took this idea to heart and came up with my own 'trigger' for falling asleep any time that I needed to - I had to work while in college, so I was very sleep deprived much of the time. I picked out certain words that seemed soothing to me, closed my eyes and just repeated the words over and over in my head in a very slow, soothing way. Very quickly, this became a 'trigger', telling my body that it is time to go to sleep and I can use it any time that I need to go to sleep, return to sleep or catch a quick nap. It's exactly like a meditation and will take some nightly practice to make it work - other words or thoughts will enter your mind and you have to just dismiss them and focus on repeating your mantra words again. Eventually, with enough practice and success, you can make it an automatic trigger for your body that it's time to go to sleep.

Just as an aside - my Dad confided to me not too long ago that he employed the same method for getting to sleep, also when he was in college - and he still uses his mantra every night to fall asleep - and so do I!

Anyway - thought this might help you!

I am 6-7 hours being best but I too have issues getting asleep and staying asleep. Sometimes it makes me so frustrated that I do get up cause I get too crazy laying there yearning to sleep.

General sleep aids:
Bedroom is for sleep (and sex ) but not for TV, computer, etc.
No heavy foods 2 hours before sleep
good activity level during day, no napping
consistency of sleep schedule

I try to avoid working double cause that totally screws my cycle up but I think sleep issues are just a part of the menopausal crap!
At least we have each other, my mom told me nothing of this. Actually when I started having periods @ 10 I thought there was something seriously wrong with me. I believed sanitary pads were mouse mattresses as a younger child because that is what my mother told me :0. Thank goodness I have a better rapport with my daughter!

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 that I find sleep almost impossible until I've calmed down/cooled down. Exercise at night can be counter-productive!

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

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 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.

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 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.

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