Insomnia/anxiety with menopause

I've had hormone related insomnia for years now, and have found that clary sage essential oil on my pj top (just a drop) helps me drop off. Magnesium salts (Epsom salts) in a warm bath relaxes my muscles and unwinds my mind too. I buy big bags of it in Home Bargains...or at least I did before lockdown. Might be available online? I've tried medication too, but the side-effects...no thanks.

Hi,I'm going through the menopause and have been for sometime.I dont take anything but I feel like my life has changed drastically.I dont want to to parties or go far from home.my anxiety is getting the better of me.I still work and see my family but that's about it.My family dont understand how I feel and I'm not surprised because neither do I.Anyone suffering the same?

I take Trazadone for anxiety and depression, and one of the lovely side effects is a great night’s sleep. I just take 50mg which is a maintenance dose for me but I can up it to 100mg if needed. Brilliant stuff.

Hello,
I've recently joined this forum and I've been reading the stories. Yours sound so familiar to me, when menopause struck me, my brain was mush and my anxiety and insomnia were causing severe issues in my daily life.
HRT was not an option, I tried the lowest dose but had to come off due to severe issues with blood pressure, plus breast cancer in my family.

I needed o find something natural, I researched many things. After a conversation with a friend, she recommended I try cbd oil. I didn't know what it was, so i researched some more, and then tried her oil.

It completely changed my daily life, my anxiety levels greatly reduced and my sleep became normal again.

I know it may not work for everyone, but it is natural and it's given me a new lease of life. I wouldn't be without it.

Oh, as I understand you, when I started menopause I did not know what to do, the symptoms went terribly, I had anxiety due to which I could not sleep. Then I found articles at menopausecoach.com/menopause-symptoms/mental-symptoms/menopause-and-anxiety and it helped me a lot. I went to the doctor, he prescribed medications for me, I started doing fitness. You can try adding CBD oil, it's helpful. Good luck!

Sounds like menopause to me, but Scentia is right, do start your own thread.

Piglet101

I think you would be best to start a new thread with your issue to get the help you need.x

Hi everyone l have reached midlife and 2yeads ago, started to experience a deep depression , anxiety, confusion, my life as come to a standstill,really struggling doctor gave me some tablets and said l have clinical depression,l don't understand what's wrong with me,l feel weepy all the time, before this l had life by the horns so assured of myself. I even went to see a mental health nurse that took some real courage,he recommended,GBT therapy,tried got scared and didn't return ,l feel like life as gone out of me, can't do anything,just hopeless, anybody else experiencing this,is it menapouse,

Amitriptyline is a very old, very cheap drug often prescribed for numerous things including bed wetting in children. Don’t know if it is still used for that but it would explain why I never get up for a wee in the night! I’ve been taking it for quite a few years for pain at night and it does have a sedative side effect although I only take 10mg. It hasn’t really helped with my insomnia, a well known side effect of the menopause, but HRT does.

I meant to say, I take magnesium for insomnia and it works very well, also folic acid and vit. D and calcium . Seems to have made a big difference.

Hetty Amitriptyline has nasty side effects ... even the common ones for 1 in 10 people are horrible. I refused to take it.

Moll22, I was prescribed amitriptyline for a back injury nerve pain problem. It made me feel sleepy all the time and gave me serious stomach pains too. I don't know how people can take it!

I am getting on brilliantly with my weighted blanket which is scientifically proven to help with anxiety and insomnia.

Ah..lettuce, I do remember learning the word sophorific at 5 or 6 because Beatrix Potter used it to describe the effect of Lettuce on the floppy bunnies - it got them into all sorts of trouble, handle with care...

I tried everything. Tablets, meditation, hot milk, whisky.
Then I read about lettuce. It has something in it that induces sleep, apparently. I knew about the carbs helping.
So I tried a lettuce sandwich at bedtime. Which made me wee like a donkey so I was up and down. So I tried eating about an hour before bed and I am certain it helped. I did drop off and got a couple of hours. It’s worth a try.

I use concentrated cherry juice from holland and barrett. They have capsule forms too

It has melatonin in it which is a sleep aid

I still dont sleep that deeply but it helps me to drift off rather than lying there wide awake watching the clock getting closer to getting up time!

Hi Moll 22. I had very,very bad anxiety. I went to see a Hypnotherapist ( not a Hollywood style film one with swinging pendulums and all that nonsense), a proper registered one. I warn you it's not cheap, but the one I saw was worth every penny. I now have 'coping' mechanisms which I use. The insomnia was more difficult. I just used to get up and read or watch TV as for me , lying in bed dwelling on it just made it worse. I wasn't working though and can appreciate the difficulty. There was something I bought from the chemist which was Nytol I think. Doctors dont advocate using sleep medicine long term. That was the beauty of the hypnotherapy, no drugs of any sort. This will pass. Im now back to sleeping ok. The anxiety if it kicks in, I use the coping strategies I was taught. There is no cure for anxiety, but you can manage it. The insomnia and palpitations did go eventually, just over time. I could not go on HRT as high breast cancer risk in my family. Whatever you choose, good luck, menopause is a horrible time. I went through absolute hell.

Only just seen these posts, so may be too late, but my menopause was kicked off with insomnia. In fact, looking back, that’s what really kicked it off in 2015. I’d had a very vague sense of what I know now, was depression in 2012, but it only lasted 6 months, and was not the same as the depression I get bouts of now. Insomnia is a major symptom of menopause. Hope if you see this, it helps?

do you have access to Cannabis? I have to say I never tried it until I hit 55 and finally after both my daughters discussing it with me I went to the Dr and got a prescription. It has been a life saver. I take very little at night but it gives me a very sound sleep. It quite literally shuts off all the mayhem in my brain and allows me to have a restful sleep. I used to take Zopiclone but what that did was create an addiction with anxiety. It is difficult to explain, but because of the dependency on it, I had an anxiety about sleeping. Sure it knocked me out but not before I felt this crazy angst. I do not miss that.

My job is really stressful at the moment and I have been sleeping badly and waking up with my head full of the issues at work. I agree with Bradfordlass, in that I have an audio book or radio play (Radio 4 Extra) ready to listen to on headphones. This stops me worrying about 'everything under the sun'. I invariably fall back to sleep before the play finishes, I think because I have stopped worrying.

I was offered amitriptyline and refused it after reading the side effects, not the least of which are hormonal changes and weight gain.

Instead I take 2 capsules of magnesium chelate, with Sleepytime Tea, before bed and have an interesting audio book handy for if I wake up.

Being knackered doesn’t always work I’ve worked an 8 hour day on house renovations and still not been able to sleep but other days just been reading or gardening and slept really well.
Actually I find the only thing that totally wears me out enough is a long drive then I do sleep.
I get between 4 and 6 hours sleep most nights and usually take about 1 hour to fall asleep. I have to take antihistamines as I have Angioedema but they don’t make me drowsy.Recently I’ve been going into a deep sleep from 7am and then feeling totally dopey when I get up whereas I always used to get up early and hated laying in.

I sympathise. I went through a period of not sleeping and waking with a kind of anxiety attack.

And it still happens on a Sunday night when I know I've got a full day of work to get through.

I don't like taking medication but what I've found helps me is having a session of supervised weights training at the gym on a Sunday. Not for every one,I agree! But at least I'm knackered enough to sleep lol.

Don't feel guilty about sleeping in the day if you have to. Apparently very good for you. I still nap on the days I'm not working- always have, even as a youngun.

Thanks so much all, very much appreciated. I’ve found that I sleep much better on the nights I’m not working the following day, so definitely related to worrying about having enough sleep to manage the working day/ getting up in time and maybe the day itself.
On doctors advice I’m going to take two amitriptyline on work nights - got about five hours sleep first time so hoping works this coming week too. Thanks for your suggestions.

Hi Moll22, great empathy with your insomnia, chronic sufferer myself. Over the years have tried everything and anything, even referred to a sleep consultant. Now, I seem to have accepted it, my GP has prescribed mirtazapine and, after a run of bad nights I cave in and cut a 15mg tablet into 4 so 3+mg will give me a good night. BUT, recently I have found a Yoga Nidra meditation on my phone that has helped with the overthinking in the small hours. Google Yoga Nidra for Sleep by Jennifer Piercy. You could also check out Sleep Station which you can be referred to on the NHS which do a 6 week programme with daily help. It suggests sleep restriction which I found very hard, almost impossible until the hours were changed to suit me. Best of luck.