Women to Women

[itself]

Anyone ever try any of the treatments on this website: www.womentowomen.com ? My partner has had it with my sleep issues (and I don't want to treat with drugs!)

Thanks!

Lisa

[Norse]

No, but if you try it, please let us know how it works. My biggest problems are irregular periods, mood swings w/irrational anger and the worst part, night sweats. I was on hormones (low dosage birth control pills) for a couple of years but stopped this summer because I don't want the risk.

[azfiddle]

I am currently on hormone replacement- since February, because waking up 4 times a night was disturbing my sleep cycle so much I had trouble focusing at work (I teach 7th grade!). My doctor has recommended a commercial version of black cohosh root: Remifemin. I haven't tried it, but you might check it out.

[Cataboo]

Anyone ever try any of the treatments on this website: www.womentowomen.com ? My partner has had it with my sleep issues (and I don't want to treat with drugs!)

Thanks!

Lisa

I don't know what your sleep issues are - but you could try valerian tea. it should relax you & put you to sleep.

[badger]

I find that taking GABA or melatonin (some people take them together) lets me get quality sleep.

As for hormonal fluctuations, I was getting wicked PMS where I would turn into a dragonlady for a week before, and various other symptoms like night sweats. I started using natural progesterone (wild yam) cream, and it has significantly helped with mood swings, night sweats and breast tenderness. I really noticed the difference when I forgot to take the cream with me on vacation once. Keeps my cycle regular, too.

[VeloVT]

Don't know what your sleep issues are... but I"ll be interested in hearing your experience. I am not menopausal (hopefully nowhere near, I'm 29), so I don't know if that website is geared towards me. However, I've been having terrible insomnia for the past few months that's connected to anxiety. It's been really disruptive to my life and to my studies. My doctor gave me a three week precription for Ambien. She gave me the weakest strength. It works ok, sometimes I still wake up at 3 and can't get back to sleep. The bigger problem is that a three week prescription isn't really going to do much for me, I'm either going to need to use it continuously for a while or find something that replaces it/does a better job addressing the root problem.

I've considered trying kava. Next time I see the doctor (next week) I'm going to see if she objects strongly to this.

[OakLeaf]

<caution drift>

Liza, I hope you get it sorted. I hate it when a doctor treats a symptom like that...

Will your insurance cover therapy, or psychiatry to get you on an appropriate anxiolytic? Is there underlying depression, as there often is with early morning awakening? Has your PCP tried you on BuSpar (pretty inexpensive in its generic forms, non-sedating, non-habit forming, and the side effects are generally minor)?

</drift>

[Tuckervill]

I had sleep problems--waking up at 3:30 every single night and not being able to go back to sleep until 5:00 and then sleeping until 8:00 (I don't have a job to get up for).

During the time my son was in Iraq, I took Ambien. I had pretty fitful dreams on that stuff. He came home and I stopped taking it and a couple of months later the symptoms came back (I'm definitely perimenopausal). I tried Tylenol PM (the same ingredient as Benadryl) and I have never looked back. I cleared with my doc that it is safe to take every night. I've been taking it for 3 years, maybe? Every once in a while I go without, and I sleep through for a couple of nights, but then I'm right back where I started. So I keep taking it.

I'd try that if I were you, but not at the same time as the Ambien.

Karen

[shootingstar]

For Liza: Hope you find a good solution. I had insomnia for first few months of begining a job with an employer...it was on a project with demanding timelines and high expectations.

Found regular exercise helpful . If time/expense allows, would recommend a good yoga teacher who integrates movement, breathing exercises and simple meditation.

I'm taking a combined yoga-pilates course now which I've never taken before. Suddenly I was breathing deeper voluntarily when I went to bed in evening, several hrs. later after the class. Benefits are real. Of course it helped that I took a warm shower after the class and bike ride home.

[kenyonchris]

During the time my son was in Iraq, I took Ambien. I had pretty fitful dreams on that stuff. He came home and I stopped taking it and a couple of months later the symptoms came back (I'm definitely perimenopausal). I tried Tylenol PM (the same ingredient as Benadryl) and I have never looked back. I cleared with my doc that it is safe to take every night. I've been taking it for 3 years, maybe? Every once in a while I go without, and I sleep through for a couple of nights, but then I'm right back where I started. So I keep taking it.

I'd try that if I were you, but not at the same time as the Ambien.

Karen

More than any other sleep aid, I see people that get really jacked up with Ambien...be very careful. It seems to work well for some, but others do very odd things during the night...some combine it with alcohol (NOT good) but some just react to it. Sleepwalking, sleepeating, and sometimes violent, irrational behavior can result from taking it. Especially if you are on other meds or enjoy a glass of red wine before bed. ONE glass of wine will react with Ambien. I am not a doctor, but when you see person after person in JAIL after taking Ambien and then wandering naked amongst the briars (or other strange behavior), you start to draw some conclusions.

Tylenol PM rocks. I sleep odd hours due to my shift work, and one Tylenol PM knocks me out.

[OakLeaf]

when you see person after person in JAIL after taking Ambien and then wandering naked amongst the briars (or other strange behavior), you start to draw some conclusions.

Not that you need anything more to do... but anyone can file an adverse event report with the FDA. Until enough AERs get filed, this will be the kind of thing that "every street cop knows" but most PCPs don't.

[Blueberry]

Be careful with the Tylenol, ladies. I keep hearing more and more about how combining it with *any* alcohol, or in anything over the minimum dosage is not good...

CA
(who can't sleep or eat due to recent stress in her life)

[OakLeaf]

Yeah, I missed that part, you're absolutely right. "Tylenol PM" is just acetaminophen plus diphenhydramine a.k.a. Benadryl. Plain generic Benadryl is the way to go if you don't also have pain.

CA, hope whatever's going on works itself out to the better, and ASAP.

[Tuckervill]

I'm 47 and I work out 5 days a week. I always have pain. :P And I buy the large size at Sam's and it says right on the bottle "acetaminophen PM". I have good sense. I don't take anything else.

Karen

[Bike Chick]

"During the time my son was in Iraq, I took Ambien."


I bought my first bike when my son was in Iraq. It was a good distraction and the exercise helped me sleep.

I hope he made it home safe and sound.