can't stay asleep at night

I am almost 3 months post op from a TAH/BSO. About 2 weeks ago I started having problems staying asleep at night...it's 2AM as I write this...ARRRGGG! I wake up after about 4 hrs and can't get back to sleep. I have no trouble falling asleep, just staying asleep. I've also been having awful hotflashes and really have a short fuse! I can't take HRT due to a past history of blood clots. Has anyone else had this type of sleep problem after their hysterectomy? And if so, what helped?

I am up, too. I fall asleep for an hour or so and then wake up and wander around the house. It is 4am here.
I have my ovaries, so surgical menopause is not the case for me.

I am having a cold glass of water and going to try to get back into the warm nest. that seems to help a little. Your body temperature should go down a little when you sleep.

Good Luck!

Welcome to the land of no sleep after a TAH! I can't take hormones either and I've suffered from "staying asleep" for 6 months now. For me it started the minute I got out of surgery. I haven't had a good nite's sleep since then. I've tried every herb and vitamin under the sun. Melatonin worked somewhat. I've tried acupuncture which works great on my hot flashes but does nothing for my sleeping. I'm on Ambien which works but not if I take it everyday. So some days i take one tylenol p.m. and the next night I take an ambien. That seems to work for me but it is awful. I never had a sleep problem in my life so this is all new. Hopefully we'll get some relief soon. It's an individual journey for us all and some things work for one person and don't work for another. Ask your doctor about a prescription sleep aid. You'll be glad you did.
good luck!

Even though I can (and do) take hrt, sleep has been a huge issue post-hyst. I'm WAY better than I was, but not perfect. I have found something that I SWEAR helps a lot, especially with being able to stay asleep and sleep deeply. I take calcium and magnesium at night. I found a supplement that has some plant extracts in it to maximize absorption (no soy) - the ratio of magnesium to calcium is about 3 to 1 in this product - I take 2/3 of the daily dose PM and 1/3 am with my other vitamins.

I only recently became aware that magnesium is known to have a calming effect, in addition to aiding in calcium absorption and for bowel regularity. I had been aware for some time that calcium is known to be a muscle relaxer.

Anyway - I figure I need to take my calcium anyway and taking this supplement at night seems to improve my sleep dramatically. Might help you guys, too??? I bought it at Whole Foods - I think mfg. is Rainbow Pharmaceuticals - called "Everyday Calcium."

thank you Katrina591,
I have an appointment with my herbalist in an hour and will ask about the mag/cal supplements!

I have been dealing with this issue for about 6 years now. I had completed menopause in 2002. I noticed after that I started having problems and spoke with my gyn about it. She told me it is part of menopause. So once in while, when I feel I haven't had enough sleep, I will take a Simply Sleep. I have also found that new OTC called Mid Nite works fairly well to fall back to sleep. Talk to your doctor. I can't take HRT so I have learned to manage and deal with it. Good luck and here's to a good night's sleep!!!!

So interesting reading all of this. I had to visit my GP this week to get sleeping pills. She was a little reluctant to give them to me and told me only use them if I have to. Its not just not sleeping but I am so agitated in bed twisting and turning and ending up cross ways and upside down looking for cooler parts of the bed. My husband has had to move to a different room as I cannot stay still and would disrupt his sleep. Feel sad about that too but I not comfortable tossing and turning and disturbing him. I get so warm and then get really cold. I get up lots of times in the night and end up eating something which does not help my weight problems. So will try the cal mag soon and hope it will relax me. However I have not been a great sleeper since menopausal symptoms started with me 2 years before my operation. Cannot go on HRT as I have high blood pressure and my GP not in favour of it. Do hope we all get a good nights rest soon as one feels so much better after a good night's rest. Mabe

I too am dealing with the tossing and turning at night. I solved the 'hot spots' in bed by sleeping on a waterbed. It stays the same temp all night long, but my body still overheats in an instant and then I throw the covers off for a bit. Wish there was an answer to keeping the pillow cold, besides flippng it over and over.

And like others, I'm going to look into the mag cal supplement too!

	Quote:
Originally Posted by allmyshelties I too am dealing with the tossing and turning at night. I solved the 'hot spots' in bed by sleeping on a waterbed. It stays the same temp all night long, but my body still overheats in an instant and then I throw the covers off for a bit. Wish there was an answer to keeping the pillow cold, besides flippng it over and over. And like others, I'm going to look into the mag cal supplement too!

If you have a warm pillow and want to keep cool you might want to look into buying a Chillow. I think we sell one in our store here on the site. I know a lot of women have really benefited from them.

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