Middle of the night insomnia

[sherry7899]

Thank you all so much for the empathy and suggestions. I really appreciate it. I am sorry so many of us are going through the same thing.

I don't drink coffee at all, only drink caffeine free tea after 12 noon and once in awhile have hot chocolate, but not very often. I don't drink alcohol at all.

I tried melatonin, but it gave me horrible weird dreams, so I won't try it again.

I will give meditation and yoga nidra another try.

I have used prescriptions in the past, but I'd rather avoid them. I hate that brain fog that I have the next day, and I dislike having to use prescriptions to fall asleep. I end up with rebound insomnia when I stopped using them.

Ironically, I slept much better last night. I should not have put that in writing!

Sherry

[SuzieC]

Originally Posted by cecififi

It helped for about a year. I eventually had to see a women's health doctor who prescribed me progesterone cream (I now take the progesterone in pill form). Best sleeps ever. .

This is similar to me....my doctor mentioned that progesterone taken by mouth is more helpful for sleep.

Constant middle of the night waking (esp. at 2-3 am can also be a sign of adrenal issues and the salt/sugar thing sounds to me a bit like the adrenal cocktail (which is salt and vitamin c). So, there is merit to that.
I can see omitting the vitamin c if taken in the middle of the night (because vitamin c will keep you up!).

[sherry7899]

Originally Posted by SuzieC

This is similar to me....my doctor mentioned that progesterone taken by mouth is more helpful for sleep.

Constant middle of the night waking (esp. at 2-3 am can also be a sign of adrenal issues and the salt/sugar thing sounds to me a bit like the adrenal cocktail (which is salt and vitamin c). So, there is merit to that.
I can see omitting the vitamin c if taken in the middle of the night (because vitamin c will keep you up!).

Suzie-thanks for the information. I will start with just the salt and sugar. I did not know Vitamin C can keep you awake.

[IceQueen07]

I don't use sugar so I don't have in the house, but I am going to try the salt sugar and see if it may work for me.

[sherry7899]

Originally Posted by IceQueen07

I don't use sugar so I don't have in the house, but I am going to try the salt sugar and see if it may work for me.

Good luck! I bake too often, so we always have sugar in the house
I'm going to mix some together tonight before bed to keep by my bed in case I need it.

[Lucky Star]

Originally Posted by cecififi

Back in 2011 I started waking up every 1-2 hours, struggling to fall back to sleep. When I saw a naturopath, she sent me to a health store for dong quai (i had low progesterone). It helped for about a year. I eventually had to see a women's health doctor who prescribed me progesterone cream (I now take the progesterone in pill form). Best sleeps ever. low to no progesterone is a big problem for women. read Dr. John Lee's book for info. best book around even though he is now gone. For peri menopausal/menopausal women - it's often low progesterone that is the problem. your regular GP will say you are "in the range" for progesterone but a naturopath will read your numbers differently. If you can rule out anxiety or other issues - read Dr. Lee's book for symptom descriptions for lots of things. Replacing missing progesterone can help with irritability, hair loss, sleep problems etc..

Very helpful stuff!

[Diana3271]

I have had issues with waking early and it's usually due to hormonal issues. Recently I have been waking about an hour early, but this morning it was 2 hours early. I made up a batch of the salt/sugar, but it didn't work for me. I always wake hot. The ceiling fan recently broke so I can't use that. I am going to put a fan close to the foot of the bed tonight to see if that helps. If it does, the ceiling fan will need to be replaced. LOL I have also used Hyland's Menopause formula off and on. I need to get it back out again. LOL. Geesh, it's always something.

[BunnyHop]

Coming off progesterone seems to have helped me. (Had a hysterectomy)

Changing seasons (cooler weather) has been a big help lately.

I do still wake up sometimes, and my sleep isn't the best even with meds, but good sleep habits do seem to help.

Meditation, fitness in general, yoga, Melt Method, yoga nidra, etc., all seem to be beneficial, but I've slipped out of the habit and it shows in my sleep.

For me, doing something sorta quiet in the hours immediately before sleep is a help, no matter what it is. Too much tv or internet does disrupt things.

Sometimes it feels as though 'doing everything I can to get a decent night's sleep' is a full time job. The routine of it can be a problem, because my life is sometimes erratic and not supportive of a routine sort of existence. (Live with an elderly parent who needs care at awkward moments all the time. Not great for maintaining routines.)

[horsemom2]

my main problem is I am afraid to not get up and go to the bathroom during the night because I have had dreams of peeing and the dreams have sparked a couple of accidents.

Usually, I fall right back to sleep but do have the nights where the *second sleep* theory seems to kick in.

Barb S

[Sara1000]

I take a calcium/magnesium tablet and a D3 tablet when I wake up to go to the bathroom. It takes about 30 minutes but I almost invariable will go back to sleep for the rest of the night.