Is it normal in menopause to not get much sleep? I'm active all day and get in bed and fall asleep only to wake up a few hours later. If it's a weekend I don't care as I sleep in as long as I want but on work days it's exhausting not having a good nights sleep.
yes. We ought to all get online at 3 am which is when I wake up. It is common to not be able to sleep well. I used to lay awake sweating the night away. The hot flashes, I mean soakings are less now, but I don't sleep well at all.
Is it normal in menopause to not get much sleep? I'm active all day and get in bed and fall asleep only to wake up a few hours later. If it's a weekend I don't care as I sleep in as long as I want but on work days it's exhausting not having a good nights sleep.
thanks this is the first thread i ve read where anyone has mentioned having to go to work in the morning unable to focus on what you have to do and just watching the clock so that you can get home and go to bed.....
Originally Posted by Mel52
... It is common to not be able to sleep well. ....
No, I don't believe this to be true.
How come? It seems like we could have a party here at 3 am. It seems like alot of people are not sleeping well. If not true, I apologize for my bogus information
Mel, apologies aren't necessary...I may be wrong...but it is my belief based on my personal experience, my sleep specialists' knowledge, and my personal research of sleeping disorders.
Although many people on a board may share one or more symptoms, those symptoms may not be attributed to the condition of the board (like Menopause). If you regularly read other boards, you'll find people with other conditions who experience similar sleep problems and they are not menopausal!
Many things can impact sleep...one of them is medication, which as we approach peri/menopause, we are more likely to take. In my case, despite being sucessfully treated for sleep apnea (which can result in waking many times during the course of the night, without remembering any of those times), I was waking regularly at 1:30 every am...and staying awake until 8:00 am after which I would take my blood pressure med and go back to bed...this went on for months. I attributed it to my apnea, but when I stopped taking my bp medication, my sleep returned to normal UNTIL I took a different class of bp medication and then I would dozy during the day (but couldn't sleep) and woke up repeatedly throughout the night.
This is only one of many, many different examples of why some of us don't sleep well...and it is not at all related to menopause.
Again, many, many different things can cause sleep problems...but menopause becomes a "dumping ground" diagnosis for physicians who are unfamiliar with sleep disorders and other conditions that impact sleep.
PS I went to ??? doctors for over 40 years before being diagnosed with a sleeping disorder...not one of my physicians recognized the symptoms...I was the one who insisted on seeing a sleep specialist.
absolutely spot on! My doctor ruled out menopause and looked at other things. in the end we hit on the fact that I had been taking the herb St John s Wort, for two years for anxiety when going through a rough patch with my daughter. I gave up taking it when things got better 6 months ago. It was this that caused the sleep problems once it had withdrawn from system. I should have done it gradually. I am now happily taking it again and slowly regaining a pattern to my sleep. Hope this helps someone!
Last edited by mod-anon; 02-23-2009 at 12:25 PM.
Reason: removed quote
Sounds like you have a doctor who is better versed in sleep problems than most. I am so very, very glad that you're sleeping better!!
Quote:
...It was this that caused the sleep problems once it had withdrawn from system. I should have done it gradually. ...!
This is an excellent point!!!!! I had forgotten that improper withdrawal of medication is another reason for sleep problems (and other things, like anxiety, as well). So very glad you mentioned it!
