Hi, I was diagnosed about 4 years ago with RRMS, looking at my history though they believe that I actually had it from the age of 24 - a couple of bouts of optic neuritis - I am now 50. Up until 4 years ago I had a very active life, and still do on my good days. I still have a full time job in medical education, I have 2 children, one of them being autistic, 1 grandson, 2 dogs and a horse! Since being diagnosed, I have had 5 significant relapses and am now on Pregablin and Tecfidera. All was going reasonably well until recently. I have started to get night sweats - 5 or 6 a night that wake me up. I am now even more exhausted and feel the need to sleep in the afternoon!! I think I may be starting to become menopausal - now that I am eventually getting to the point - I wondered if anyone out there is going through anything similar.
well I`m 63, finished my periods at 31,due to hysterectomy, but still going through menopause as regards hot dos.
they are short lived but happen frequently.
i dont want hrt or the like.
ask your gp to do a test, you may be what the new folk call peri menopausal.
they didnt have this in my day…nor braxton hicks contractions in pregnancy!
pollx
I am 60 and most certainly am not menopausal; but I’ve started to wake up in the middle of the night with a soaked pillow. If I wake up I take my usual meds, get a dry pillow, put a towel over the damp sheet and go back to sleep.
Anthony
Are you sure that it isn’t a bladder problem!
Pollx
Night sweats can be an indicator of diabetes. Have you been checked out?
On his pillow?
I’m close to the same age as you and have been miraculously lucky in that my periods stopped a couple of years ago. I occasionally get a bit hot & sweaty in the night (now calm down Polly, not like that), and turn my pillow over to a drier, cooler side. But other than that haven’t been troubled with any menopause type symptoms. But then I had an ovary removed about 10 years ago so maybe I’ve only had half the symptoms!
I seem to remember there’s some test your doctor can give you (a blood test I think) that will show up if you are peri menopausal. I haven’t bothered for myself, I’ve just described myself as such without having any medical evidence or opinion.
Sue
I’m 51 and haven’t had any menopausal symptoms. I was interested in trying oestrogen a couple of years ago to try and reduce the effects of my MS. I was referred to a gynaecologist who told me
a) he puts all his MS patients on HRT because MS gets worse when oestrogen levels drop
b) a fifth of women get no menopausal symptoms at all, their periods just stop
c) it’s worth getting your FSH levels checked annually once you’re past 50 because this will tell you if you’re perimenopausal and your oestrogen levels are dropping, whether you have symptoms of the menopause or not.
I am planning to have HRT when my oestrogen levels drop but I wouldn’t bother getting an FSH check if I wasn’t going to have HRT.
It’s not my bladder. I’ve got a separate plumbing system for that. Which is fine as long as I remember to close the tap.
Yes me too i am constantly changing my night wear. Its odd as I have never really had this before but had surgical menopause when i was 27, and 65 now, so I no it has nothing to do with menopause lol.
Its horrible.
I wonder if it is a phase in MS, I am ppms, so not sure if its normal or something i should be worried about. I dont have UTI, as i check my urine regularly with sticks.
My GP put me on HRT when l was about 45 - and l took it for about 20yrs. Livial. Had no problems whilst on it. l now use Estriol cream which you massage into your body. l can tell who - amongst my friends- have taken HRT. The ones who have - their skin looks younger less lines and wrinkles. And they are not starting to bend over - stoop - with osteo-arthritis. So take it. lts not natural for women to be low in oestrogen. Years ago, women looked really old at 40 - now you can still be a hot chick at 70!!! [not hot as in hot flush]
Spoken to my GP, he’s done blood test but doesn’t believe I’m menopausal. It’s even worse at the moment with the rise in temperature. I’ve just bought a spray called magicool, it helps. My whole body thermostat seems to have gone crazy!! But thanks for all the responses. I too test my own urine regularly. I can’t get an appointment in the relapse clinic without having checked for infection.
Hiya
I’ve had night sweats on and off since having MS. My old neuro said that lots of people seem to get them although there isn’t anything to ‘officially’ connect them to MS. He understood that for me it would tend to be the lead up to a relapse or a even just a bit of an up & down phase. He thought that the word of the people having the issue was worth more than what the text books say. He didn’t have any advice though apart from the usual wear cotton clothing and maybe keep a cold damp flannel by the bed to use.
My newer neuro on the other hand says that MS definately does NOT cause night sweats so it’s either hormones or in my mind! I therefore went to my GP who did every test he could think of (hormones, diabetes, thyroid and a few others). They all came back clear so his advice was to follow the advice of my 1st neuro and take it as a warning that my MS was about to start playing up a bit (even if not a relapse) and I should make sure to look after myself and listen to my body (don’t over do it, eat too many bad things, get stressed etc).
My new neuro still says it’s not MS but what does he know!
Sue
x
Recently, l bought myself a new duvet and pillows - they are made from pure sheeps wool. Which you would think would be rather warm. But, in fact, it works quite differently. Cool in summer and warm in winter. lt was a friend of mine who suffers with horrendous night sweats who told me about them. And they are very light - another problem for me as l cannot bear any weight on my legs at night. Taking magnesium or using the oil helps a lot.
Menopause, sometimes is never ending for some people and can stay well into our pension years, Drs are mostly useless with getting it right, hormone testing is very unpredictable as they change constantly.
I found My Ms was worse before Hrt and even now if I have a period my ms symptoms are always worse just beforehand and during, so now I’ve had a Mirena Coil fitted to hopefully stop my periods, and hopefully make me feel better in the long run.
There is a test Boots or most pharmacys do you just were on a stick and it tells you if your menopausal or not I used one years ago I think I was about £12 at the time.
Hrt is good for a lot of things bone protection,heart protection,skin,nails,hair and most importantly for our lady parts,memory,
Have a look at this forum it’s very informative: Menopause Matters
Ann x.
Forgot to say if you suffer too much at night try filling hot water bottle with ice instead of hot water!
Ann x
hi
following on from the talk about UTIs - i sent for some urine test strips.
when they arrived they were pregnancy tests.
argh! thank the lord i have no need for those.
carole x
Sorry but that makes me laugh.
Sue