At first I thought it was just Indian Summer. The temperature was high and we don't have air conditioning.
I would lay in bed staring at the ceiling breathing in and out trying not to think about the heat. When all of a sudden BAM! I'm all hot and sticky from the moist night air. It was awful and miserable. I didn't sleep well for weeks. I tossed and turned. Threw sheets and blankets here and there. I even slept with an ice pack on my head and a cool wash cloth on my face. Don't tell Don. He doesn't know yet. I've tried to stay on my side.
I would wake up in the morning tired from my restless evening.
I'm not used to this. I sleep like a rock. And I need at least 7 hours of sleep or I can't function.
I would fall out of bed in the morning, stumble to the bathroom, take a shower and as I'm drying my hair it would happen again. I would break out in a sweat. WTF? What is wrong with me? This was not cool. I had to dress for work and put on makeup and I was sweating like I was standing outside in Houston in the middle of August. Trust me, you don't want to do that.
Finally the temperature outside shifted . Our house felt better and I felt better. But guess what? I continued to have episodes at night and during the afternoon when the day got warmer. CRAP! It's me. It's not the weather. I was having hot flashes. Nooooooo!
This is what my life has become. I'm officially living the life of a....ugh. Can't say it.
I Googled hot flashes and was really bummed to find out I might have these for years. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I may have to invent chilled jammies and frozen bra inserts.
Holy crap. Am I like the little blue haired lady in church? This is not cool.
There are some dietary recommendations that might help. They say to eat more soy, red clover, ginseng and yams. Great. Looks like maybe I'm going to starve to death. And then even more bad news. Eliminate caffeine, coffee, alcohol, spicy foods and chocolate.
I may start fundraising for the hot flash society to find a cure. Or just work on my hot flash inventions.
For now it's time to get this hot laptop off my lap. It's not helping matters.
Oh, how well I know this stage! Soy and Black Cohosh are what my doctor recommended. The Cohosh also helps keep the overwhelming anxiety (my biggest symtom) in check.
ReplyDeleteHang in there!
Thanks! I have no idea what Black Cohosh is. But I'm going to Google it right now.
ReplyDeleteSeriously? "eliminate caffeine, coffee, alcohol, spicy food and chocolate"
ReplyDeleteI am not doing it.
So far I have had some sleepless nights and anxiety but no flashing yet. I can hardly wait.
So far I've just been cracking up on my chair..........oh how I remember those years......I would sit at Bridge and ask if anyone else was hot and everyone would laugh....It does pass....eventually!
ReplyDeleteMom
Sounds terrible, I can't tell if I have the same thing (sleeplessness)or if it's mr snore till his heart's content next to me!
ReplyDeleteThen I'm up all night and I can I scratch my itchy skin, another fun side effect of peri-menopause just horrible!
Sympathies.
Sorry, that sounds frustrating. But eliminating chocolate would just make it worse for me.
ReplyDeleteOh no! My doc put me on low dose birth conrtol because I'm nearing those happy days and so far so good. I've also heard that black cohosh helps and there is always HRT.
ReplyDeleteNo to giving up chocolate or wine- what's left?
Visiting from W.O.E linkup.
HI-LAR-IOUS! I'm just a few years behind you I'm sure......can HARDLY wait! LOL
ReplyDeleteTJ's sells "Estroven" and some people swear by it. It's supposed to reduce hot flashes and night sweats. It contains isoflavones and black cohosh as the main active ingredients.
Good luck Sweaty Betty!