guess i'm old~ night sweats yay!

[Briza]

boy do I hate writing this post:

:elvis:Ok I'm about to turn 42. What is up with the night sweats that started a month ago. A week before my period one month ago.
Is this perimenopause??? booo hooo hooo lol
My periods are as normal and painful as ever. Nothing has changed there.

I wake 2-7 times a night not hot but drenched. Tell me it isn't so :elvis: this is really messing with my sleep!!!

I've found keeping the a/c on super cold (it is MARCH???) and the ceiling fan on high helps alot. I can imagine my electric bill this summer.

ok how long can I expect this to last? Ten years??? really does it last that long? I might as well sign up for financial assistance now to cover my electric bills.

*sigh* just when life was going good....

I'm not looking for suggestions on hormone or sleep treatments natural or otherwise....just tell me it is going to go away..like next week! hahahah

[amaranthe]

Sorry to hear about the night sweats. Yeah, it can sure be annoying! I get them sometimes if I am late taking my hormones. (I had a total hyster 4 yrs ago.) Anyway, if I fall asleep without taking them, I wake up drenched like you are talking about and burning up! I take Estrogel, a topical hormone gel applied daily to my arms.

Since I went thru surgical menopause, I am not sure if my experiance is the same as those who go thru it naturally.

But, one thing you need to remember is that many, many different things can cause night sweats besides menopause, so please make sure you get your Dr. to do a hormone workup/profile to make sure that is what you are really dealing with before you diagnose yourself! *tsk!* *tsk!*

Hope things get better soon!

Love and hugs,
Amaranthe

[Briza]

well i'd rather dx myself with perimenopause than go to the dr at this point! lol

i have sure been enjoying my vacation from doctors. do I even have a dr right now? don't think so lol. try another tactic cuz I'm NOT going to the dr!!!! :lmao:

tell me it me it will go away...tonight!!! :)

ok ok what else can cause night sweats.

[Briza]

google nightsweats at age 42. all you come up with is perimenopause.

i'm old. just tell me. unless you are going to dx me w/ some obscure disesase that can't even be googled it is perimenopause.

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[amaranthe]

Try just googling "night sweats" without specifying "age 42". It is one of the symptoms of cancer along with a gazillion other things. But, with cancer, depending on the type, often times it is the first or only symptom! You HAVE to get this checked out! Hopefully, it will just be caused by some virus or something that is easily remedied. But, I promise you this much....you will get NO PEACE until you get this checked out. NOPE, not one bit! How do I know? Because I will be bugging you continually until you either get it checked out or lie to me and tell me you did! LOL! So, you best be making that appointment come tomorrow morning! :)

With love and concern,
Amaranthe

[Briza]

cancer along with a gazillion other things........

oh this just gets better and better. i'll sleep really well tonight. thanks! lol:lmao:

[sailawaygrl]

I get night sweats too and also tend to have what seems to be a hot flash during the day hours as well. My hair will be soaked from very little exhertion. I just turned 41 this month. I was recently checked for my hormone levels and all was good. I attribute mine to medications I take especially my pain meds. That better be what it is, I am NOT ready for menapause. I have noticed grey hairs and my skin has totally changed all of the sudden. I am not going to like this at all. I still feel so much younger, even with all the illnesses. To me it seems just like last week that I took my now 20 yr old to kindergarten for the first day. Oh well, such is life. But I agree the sweating is awful.

If you aren't on any meds that could be causing the problem, I agree that you should see someone. Better safe than sorry.

[Zygala87]

Briza I was 44 when I started preimenopause. I have two Sisters who likewise were the same age when it happened to them. Night sweats, day sweats, emotions running kind of crazy. I opted to take homones. My Sisters did not. We all made it through just fine. You might wish to talk to other family members to see if they went through the same thing at about the same age. It is rare but does happen. It may seem like a life changing event but myself and my Sisters went on to enjoy a rich full life. Excuse me for saying so but we also kept our good looks and zest for life. I do feel you should have a talk with your Doctor. I did and he gave me many options and information that helped me. I know early 40's is very young but it does happen. I hope you are feeling less depressed soon. Keep us informed as many women might be going through the same thing and could use your help. Hugs, Ziggy

[ICNDonna]

Night sweats can mean a lot of things --- I really hope you will check it out.

Donna

[SharonA]

I began Perimenapause at 39.

[mary124]

Sounds like it! I have been having nights sweats on and off for years. (had a hyster about 10 years ago- I will be 50 in another few weeks); they weren't that bad, till I started taking Tamoxifen in October, I wake up most nights drenched as to where sometimes i have to change night clothes - sometimes if my husband is still up watching tv I might just switch to his side of the bed- poor husband has to sleep on the couch!

[curlycue]

I am 39 going on 40 and I get them as well.

Briza I know exactly what you mean about taking a vacation from going to the drs. I rather dx myself sometimes than to even think about picking up a phone and making a app. Good luck

[KarenAnne]

Bri, I started perimenopause early & was menopausal by age 44. My night sweats lasted off & on for about a year. What helped me was keeping the thermostat low, wearing cotton nightshirts that I could change easily, keeping a clean nightshirt by the bed to change into, sleeping with a small towel over my pillow. I doubt you have cancer, but you would tell one of us to get checked out too.

The easiest thing to do would be to see a gyn & have them order some blood tests- estradiol & FSH, & a chem screen. At perimenopause your FSH will be elevated. Good luck!

[Grandmav]

I'm the only woman in my family who has gone past age 30 without getting a hysterectomy, so I've had no one to ask - is this normal? Except you guys. Thanks by the way...
Started peri menopause at age 35. I'm now 52 and it's still going strong. I take 540 mg. of black cohosh a day, which has pretty much stopped my night sweats/hot flashes. I say pretty much, because right before I get the one-day spotting which my period has become, they come back. I haven't had a period in three months, but I still get the cramps every month. That's fun. Oh I love the hair loss and zits too, as well as the facial hair. You know - they tell you are becoming a young lady during puberty, but don't tell you what you become in menopause - you are becoming your father. :kiss: Love you dad, just don't want to be you. But we have plenty of company - each other. So let's turn on the fan and put down the gun - it's just menopause! :grouphug: Just think of them as power surges and you'll be ok. Tried evening primrose oil - nada. Stay away from ginseng - bladder UNfriendly (for me and I can eat pineapple). Hang in there!!

[sissygirl]

I'm 45 and started having a host of peri symptoms last year--you can get symptoms as soon as your hormones start changing at all--you can have symptoms for a whole decade before your period stops...

When I am not here for bladder advice, the other board I check often is Power Surge--an online support group--you will find lots of hot flash company over there!

[waterflow]

You are a lot smarter then I was. I just realized last summer I had been having hot flashes for the last 3 years!! I am now 46. I just though it was due to being hot weather or having the furnace set to high. Another person who lives with me kept saying it was cold in the house and I kept saying no it isn't. I'm sweating to death. Plus the fact I can't take the heat. I finally realized they were hot flashes because my period skipped for 3 months in a row and never did that before. Oh, I would go to bed freezing with covers on. Wake up 20 minutes later sweating to death and throw the covers off. Wake up 20 minutes later freezing to death so put the covers back on. Wake up 20 minutes later sweating to death. Throw the covers off. As you can see it was a never winning fight between me and my covers. Now 3 years later the hot flashes have finally stopped but I still cannot sleep for some reason. Toss and turn and my period is completely messed up so having more problems with cramping pain and bleeding. I always thought once menopause started Old Mother Nature moved on to another poor person to bug. Maybe I need to hire an exterminator?? Anyone know of a good exterminator who is not afraid to go head to head with MOther Nature? Maybe they give a discount for senior citizens too?

[KatieB]

I started w/ the night sweats when I was 37!! When I was 42 I had an endo ablation and tubes tied and the night sweats went away. Then I started getting them during the day!! BUT, all in all, it lasted about 6 years and the last 3 weren't bad or even everyday. They kind of went in cycles. I wouldn't have any for a month and then I couldn't get rid of them. I think it was worse in the beginning. I always slept with a mattress pad under me so the sheets wouldn't get wet. I also made sure to have extra t-shirts and panties laid out for middle of the night changes. And if things were really bad, I got in a cold shower. Or went outside and stuck my legs in the pool. I would also take off my clothes and get a wet towel, lie down on the bed under the fan with the towel on top of me!! The a/c and ceiling fan were my best friends and I also had my husband put a little window unit a/c in the window in our bedroom. And I told anybody who wanted to complain about how cold it was to just go put on a coat, a hat and some gloves!! Because there's only so much I can take off!!
It gets better, I promise!! I didn't do any HRT and I think mine was worse when it first started. And now!!! I'm DONE!! No more flashes of any kind!! Hang in there babe!!

[chainsaw]

I am going through the hot flashes and night sweats now for a couple years. I am going through the Perimenopause. I turned 52 in October, I have been having these for a few years now. Sometimes they are really bad and other times not so much. My head, neck, back, pretty much my whole upper torso will sweat day and night. I have the fan on at night on full blast and it has to be aiming right at my face. Boy, what us women have to go through.

Kim Hall