How long does the need for so much sleep last? I have never needed more than 5 hours of sleep in years; and since the surgery (6/12) I seem to need at least 8 hours - sometimes more. I went to bed last night at 10 and had my alarm set for 5:30 to get up and exercise -- there was no way - it was all I could do to hit the snooze button, let alone get up and start exercising! I HATE being so tired all the time and having no energy -- it's so unlike me-- I used to be go go go and now I have no energy for anything and have to push myself to do everything.

Anyone have any idea how much longer I'm going to feel this way? :lol0::sleep0::yawn:

Once you are eating regular food, you can take regular Vitamin pills, btw.

I am not a fan of the chewables or liquid Vitamins because they are missing some key ingredients. There are a few vitamins that just can't be made to taste good so they leave them out. This includes things like potassium.

I don't know your age, but if you're menopausal, 8 hrs. isn't going to happen without major drugs.

You have no idea how badly I wish I could

get 8 hours of sleep per night.

Mac- Good to know on the vit. pills, I prefer a pill to anything else. And you are right, there isn't any potassium listed on the label, but it is still quite a bit more of a whole pile of things that I am not getting at the moment, so I am going with the better than nothing defense. And it has 6g Protein to add to my tally...

Yes, I am post menopause but I take hormones. I feel pretty dead today. This getting hardly any sleep is going to kill me.

I am going with the better than nothing defense.

That's just fine early out. What choice do we have anyway, right? :thumbup:

So do I, but that doesn't always help. Here's what I found that does help me, and yes, sleeping was a huge issue for me.

www.womentowomen.com They have some answers. I've been on their program for a three months and noticed an improvement in sleeping and over-all feeling better. Look into it for your health. I'm a satisfied customer, and have no affiliation with the company. You can order online and they will support you through whatever issue you're having. They'll call you to check up on you and you can call them. It works!

Yes, I am post menopause but I take hormones. I feel pretty dead today. This getting hardly any sleep is going to kill me.

That looks like a good site, thanks for posting it.

I am 42 and have no idea when to expect menopause to start. My mom had a complete hysterectomy when she was 36, so I can't judge by her. I do know something weird happened in the middle of a meeting on Thursday. I was sitting there and all of a sudden I just started sweating profusely, I was so hot I couldn't stand it. Then I got really lightheaded and funky feeling. After about ten minutes it passed. I told hubby about it later and he said it sounds like I had a hot flash. I have no idea of this is a sign of the beginning of menopause, or was just a freak one time thing. Guess I will have to wait and see.

That's how it starts....menopause is a process. You don't wake up one day and have symptoms, they begin gradually. Yep, that was a hot flash. I used to have what seemed like warm blushes that came over me. I didn't even know what it was, but figured it out later on. The site womentowomen tries to help women steer away from HRT as they feel pharmaceutical grade supplements (vitamins, etc.) is the better way to go. And if you're already on HRT, they'll help you wean off. They are of the opinion that if you choose HRT, to go with the patch rather than what I take (Premarin.) I tried to wean off once and it didn't work out; then I found them. I still take Premarin because I don't want to wean completely off AND THEN after the VSG find I can't take my horse-pill sized vitamins that I get from them. So I'm in the middle: I don't take as much Premarin as I used to, in other words, not every day, and it's fine. I just hope I can cut up my vitamins and be able to swallow them after the surgery. If I can do that without issues, I can continue to wean completely off the HRT. You're basically trading one regimen for another, but the alternative is at least a more natural approach than the hormone drugs.

I can't take HRT because of my past history of blood clots.

Technically, the period where you have all the symptoms - hot flashes, irregular period, moodiness -- is called peri-menopause and it's supposed to happen in your 40s for most women. Menopause is when you get to the other side and are no longer ovulating. That happens typically in the 50s.

But I had a kid when I was 41 and became regular as clockwork after. It sucked because I hardly ever ovulated before that. I think that now, in my 50s, I maybe, might be just starting peri-menopause. But it could just be a side-effect from the surgery.

Who knows when menopause will hit. At this rate, I'll be in my 60s!