Menopause Related Sleep Problems

Two New Studies Analyze Menopause-Related Sleep Problems: "Two studies in the July 1 issue of the journal Sleep analyze menopausal sleep problems, finding that complaints may differ according to the stage of menopausal transition and the ethnicity of the woman, and identifying risk factors that may predict sleep problems at any stage of menopause.

A multi-ethnic study of more than 3,000 women shows that the odds of having trouble falling asleep and staying asleep increase through the menopausal transition. In contrast, the odds of having early-morning awakenings decrease from late perimenopause to postmenopause."

The study also found ethnic differences in the self-reported sleep problems. Caucasian women had higher rates of difficulty staying asleep, while Hispanics had lower rates of both difficulty staying asleep and early-morning awakenings. No ethnic differences were observed for trouble falling asleep.

Risk factors for poor sleep quality were hot flashes, depressive symptoms and lower levels of the hormone inhibin B, which declines quickly in the early menopausal transition. Sleep quality was not predicted, however, by menopausal status.

Findings were inconclusive regarding the potential benefits of hormonal therapy.

Vaginal dryness caused by menopause

Vaginal dryness during the menopause is usually caused by falling oestrogen levels. A lack of vitamin E can contribute to this.

Some medications, such as antihistamines, can also dry out your mucous membranes, including those in the vaginal wall.

Try taking 200-400i.u of vitamin E daily and using a good water based lubricant when needed.

HRT and Blood Clots

New Research on HRT indicates that there is an increased risk of getting a blood clot in postmenopausal women

Women who are overweight or have a genetic pre-disposition to blood clots should avoid HRT pills, but skin patches seem to be safer, says a systematic review and meta-analysis by French Scientists.
This was perhaps due to the different way oestrogen is absorbed into the blood stream, they suggested.
But as the authors themselves say, this needs to be confirmed with more research

However, the authors warned that the results should be treated with caution as the data is from observational studies and need to be confirmed with more research.

No trials have yet investigated the effects of oestrogen patches on the risk of blood clots.

When is a Hot Flash not a Hot Flash?

When is a hot flash or flush not a hot flash?

Falling oestrogen levels can precipitate hot flashes, night sweats etc, but another less thought of factor, is high histamine levels.

Histamine can become a problem if you are stressed, are smoking, eating foods that don't agree with you or drinking too much alcohol. It can also be a problem if your diet is predominantly made up of highly processed or junk foods.
Although in my case, I have found that it to be genetic, as I tend to suffer from allergies, which my mum does too.

If your skin is sensitive and you react violently to bites or stings, or get prickly heat, you are likely to have high levels of histamine.
So you never know, if you do have high histamine levels, your hot flashes may have nothing to do with your hormones!

Taking nettle either as tea or a tincture can help as can a low dose of vitamin C taken upto 6 times daily. These are natural antihistamines.

Also, it goes without saying, take care of your diet, drink plenty of water, and minimise your caffeine intake.

Is it 'just' the Menopause?

I have been experiencing fatigue for many years now and every time I go to the Doctor, they say to me, "it's just the menopause". You'll just have to take HRT, and by now you should know what I think of that!

I've had blood tests and everything has been normal.
However after reading up a bit more, I insisted on having a specific blood test for folic acid deficiency (red blood folate) and guess what?
My folic acid levels are abnormally low and this leads to a certain type of anaemia called 'pernicious anemia', which amongst a host of other things, makes you feel very tired!
Usually it would show up on a regular blood test (as the red blood cells become larger), but mine was normal.

So, after all, it wasn't 'just' the menopause!