Menopause: 'Herbs cured my sleep problems'
Teacher Marianne Rhys, 56, lives with her husband in Llandeilo, South Wales. She had hot flushes and insomnia when her menopause kicked in two years ago.
'I was taking hours to fall asleep and, when I did, I was woken by dreadful night sweats, which drenched my clothes and bedlinen. If I had three hours' sleep a night, I was lucky. It led to dreadful mood swings. I was irritable and intolerant, although I wouldn't admit it at the time. Then, during the day, I had unbearable hot flushes. They started with a burning sensation in my chest, flooding my entire body.
I have a demanding job, teaching modern languages at a comprehensive school where I'm also head of German. My classroom was in the sun all day, so I'd get the children to open the windows. They'd say, "Oh no, Miss! It's freezing" But I told them fresh air would do them good!
Nothing helped
I did all the right things - a proper bedtime routine, healthy diet and no smoking or alcohol, lots of hill walking and trail bike riding. But nothing helped. My GP suggested HRT but I didn't want to go down that road, so I tried herbal remedies, such as black cohosh, with no effect. I struggled on for two years, and things got increasingly difficult.
One day in the chemist I came across Kalms, a traditional herbal sleep remedy of valerian, hops and gentian. I bought it with a high degree of scepticism because everything else I'd tried had failed.
Miraculously, that first night, I fell asleep quickly and was woken, not by a night sweat, but by my alarm. The next day I didn't even have a hot flush.
I've been taking it for six months now and I'm still falling asleep at 10.30pm and not waking until my alarm goes off at six. And the flushes have disappeared, too.
These days I bound out of bed full of energy. In fact, I've set my alarm an hour earlier because I feel so lively, I can get so much done. Looking back, I think I was verging on depression, but now I've got the old me back.'
Where next?
- Get all the facts about menopause
- Try our menopause diet
- Alternatives to HRT in the menopause
- Your experiences of the menopause
- Quiz: How much do you know about the menopause?
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By Tanya Spriggs, Photo: Indira Flack
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Anita, 5 months
For helpful hints to combat night sweats go to <a href="http://www.cool-jams.com/abt-ngt-sweets.html">Help For Night Sweats</a>. The tips have been a real lifesaver for many of my clients.
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