Night Sweating Nina - Just Jill

Dear Just Jill,

I have menopausal night sweats!! I wake up drenched, looking like I have run a marathon in my sleep, and my bed turns into a waterpark!!

Forget restful sleep. The night has become an extreme sport of flipping pillows to find a cool spot. I toss and turn all night, desperately seeking relief.

The constant need to change my bedding and pajamas is beyond frustrating. My washing machine has become my nighttime bestie.

This nightly torment is exhausting, making my daytime activities and tasks feel like insurmountable chores. The fact that they are not consistent or predictable just adds to my anxiety.

Do any other Sole Sisters experience this? How have you coped?

What’s a gal to do?

Sincerely,

Night Sweating Nina

Sole Sister Advice & Comments

• I can’t take anything for my menopausal symptoms because my menopause was brought on by estrogen-positive cancer, so I just use a fan at night. I am now almost postmenopausal. I don’t sweat as much, but I still have to sleep with a fan at night because there are moments when I do sweat. I also carry a spray in my bag that helps. It's an essential oil. It’s a cooling mist, and you put it on the back of your neck. 
  
  
• I tried a low-dose anti-depressant, and even though it isn't indicated in all the literature, it works very well for me
  
  
• To relieve menopause symptoms, avoid the following:   alcohol, carbs, sugar, marijuana, getting too much sun, joy, wearing clothing, caffeine, breathing
  
  
• I used to have a vitamin/mineral "cocktail" that worked, but I bet I don't have it anymore because I haven't needed it in years. I do remember soy working—soy milk, soy nuts, anything you can ingest with soy.
  
  
• I worry about long-term effects/cancer etc…  by taking drugs, especially hormone drugs. I was prescribed some, and after reading about all of the health risks (included with the meds), I didn’t take them. Freaked me out!!
  
  
• I have been on HRT for 5 years …Best 5 years of my life. 
  
  
• Oh, the dreaded night sweats. I suffered from all of the peri-menopausal symptoms and was desperate for relief when I finally had a year without my period and could start bio-identical hormones. I use Estrogel topically and take a progesterone pill every night. HRT was a lifesaver for me. I know many women reject it; unfortunately, due to one poorly designed study from decades ago, it got bad press. I had to choose quality of life and go on hormones. I now sleep better than I have in my life, I think. I have to sleep in a very, very cool room, but I have always liked that. Some women experience very few peri-menopausal symptoms, but not me. I had them all! I'm glad to be feeling good again and to be functional!
  
  
• I use Estrogel for the night sweats, and it has been a lifesaver, as well the progesterone, which works better than any sleeping pill I’ve ever taken. Hormones are responsible for so much more than just our reproductive system and our bodies need them. No different than insulin (which is also a hormone) is used for diabetics.
  
  
• My hips used to hurt if I walked more than about 3km. I started HRT recently and have been walking 8-12 km daily. I feel great!  And I have been sleeping!
  
  
• It's really wild how many things our hormones affect. My feet and body were so sore when I was going through peri-menopause that I thought I was dying of some strange disease! So many other symptoms. And I didn't find any doctors very helpful besides offering anti-depressants. It was a relief to finally start the HRT. Why suffer?
  
  
• I feel like I’m me again - it’s probably been 10 years.
  
  
•  Pretty much an absolute cure for me was to cut out sugar after 7 pm, lose weight, and go for a walk after dinner...even just 20 minutes. The night sweats just disappeared when I did that.

• I am so happy that this was not one of my menopause symptoms—I had lots of other irritating things, but not this!
  
  
• I chuckled at the “constant need to change/wash sheets and pajamas.” Going on 18 years of it here and haven’t once kept night clothes for more than 10 minutes.
  
  
• A minor tip, but I found keeping a damp washcloth by the bed helped me cool myself down faster. And extra pillows; I couldn’t stand a warm pillow.
  
  
• I cut way back on sugar, coffee/tea (caffeine), and all sweets … lost 20 pounds. Wow, what a difference in night sweats and menopause side effects. Limit your coffee.
  
  
• I treated my hot flashes and night sweats with acupuncture and Chinese herbs. I also eliminated sugar, which helped immensely, but when sex got painful, I went on HRT.  I'm very happy I did. 

• I started experiencing hot flashes/night sweats in 2010 and still occasionally, 14 years later, wake at around 4:30 am and have to throw off the covers. I feel like I’ve tried everything, and they all worked for a while. We are women with constantly changing hormones, so for most of us, nothing will work all the time. Homeopathic remedies with black cohosh worked very well for a long time, then they didn’t. Then I tried Premarin but never felt comfortable with it. Then Estrogel (estrogen gel I put on my arms), and then that stopped, back to homeopathic and round and round I go. I'm currently back on Estrogel, and fingers crossed, I’ll be able to stay on this for a while. So, the moral of my story is not to give up and to keep trying remedies. Good luck 
  
  
• I’ve been taking liver support supplements, and they have drastically reduced my night sweats. I know it works, too, because I ran out a couple of times, and they returned! I always have an extra bottle now! 
  
  
• I've been on HRT for about 4 years now. Started on estrogen for night sweats but am now on all the hormones. It took some tweaking over the years, but I'm now at a good place hormonally and seldom have bad night sweats - yet I still prefer the lightest blankets to sleep under.  I've also found that stress/anxiety have affected my night sweats in the past.
  
  
• Despite being on HRT for years, I would wake up soaked every night. I would change nightgowns 3 or 4 times a night, and I had to wash my hair every day because it would be soaked, dry weird, and soaked again. My daytime hot flashes were not too bad, but nights were terrible for years. All I can tell you is that after several long years, it eventually went away. I used to blow dry my sheets in the middle of the night, so I didn’t have to lie in a puddle. I realize I am being of no help whatsoever except to tell you that I no longer have them and I totally understand what you are going through.

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