Many women in perimenopause and menopause have been fooled into thinking there is something wrong with them when there isn’t.
They wake up drenched in sweat and have to change their pajamas and sheets in the middle of the night.
It’s a conundrum that most women face and you’ll be curious to know that according to Harvard Health, researchers don’t even know why this happens.
What does that mean?
It’s left up to us to figure out what is happening to our own bodies. It’s left up to us to share our findings. and help other women understand that they are perfectly okay.
WHAT DOES RESEARCH SAY?
It might surprise you that there hasn’t been much research done on menopause even though it affects women on a daily basis.
It just isn’t that popular in the research industry.
Who cares about a woman getting sweaty when she sleeps when there are much more pressing matters like cancer and pandemics to cure?
It just doesn’t matter.
But to us, it matters. To women, it means quality of life even if it is less important than other things.
It isn’t a high priority.
There has been some research done on hot flashes and night sweats, but as mentioned in Harvard Health, research just doesn’t know what causes it for sure.
So that it that, right?
Nope! I will let you know what I have found, and you can leave a comment about what you have found if you like.
I’ll tell you what works for me and you can do the same. Together as a sisterhood, we will help each other. That’s what Crunchy Menopause is all about.
Let’s help each other.
EVALUATE YOUR SYMPTOMS
First, we must evaluate our own symptoms if we are to understand what is happening to our bodies.
Bear in mind that every woman is different, and what causes hot flashes in one woman, may not affect another. No wonder researchers can’t put their finger on what is happening during menopause after all these years.
The symptoms and the severity are all different depending on who you are.
How diverse is that!
For me, I noticed that my hot flashes were worse when I first started menopause just after I had no more cycle.
My FSH test confirmed that I was in full menopause because I hadn’t had a period in a year. That’s the qualifying factor.
FSH tests must be done by a gynecologist, so if you’re wondering if you are in menopause, you have to take a trip to the gynecologist to get it confirmed.
Once menopause was confirmed, I started having more intense hot flashes throughout the day and at night.
However, I had been having night sweats for a few years already while nearing menopause. That happened while I was in the peri-menopause stage.
That stage is horrific, filled with flooding and clotting and mood fluctuations, as well as night sweats. Lovely, right?
I noticed the night sweats didn’t get really bad until I was finished with peri-menopause though. They were there, but just mildly.
I remember going to the doctor when I was 42 and asking why I was sweating at night. I thought I had cancer or heart disease or something along those lines.
I asked about menopause, but he shrugged it off and said I was much too young. Well, he was wrong. Five short years later I was confirmed to be in full menopause at only 47 years old.
I wonder if doctors know anything about menopause at all.
Really, we women are the best educators when it comes to the change of life. We know how we feel and we can tell others. Together, maybe we can do something about it.
If I can help just one woman avoid the pain and anxiety I felt over this issue, my job is done.
Another thing I noticed is that food is the determining factor. It was for me anyway. I found it interesting that when I didn’t eat, I didn’t have as many hot flashes and night sweats.
I have adopted the intermittent fasting lifestyle, and it helps me immensely with menopause symptoms. If you don’t know what that is, you can check out my book through the following link, Intermittent Fasting for Menopause to get more information.
When I do a long fast like three or four days, I notice I haven’t struggled with hot flashes during the day at all. At night, I rarely have them. When I do, they are way less intense.
But you can’t go without food forever. Eventually, you have to start eating again, and that is when all hell breaks loose.
It’s the food.
Something is happening in our bodies when we eat that causes hot flashes and night sweats. Maybe it’s the glycemic index?
It still baffles me that not even Harvard researchers know for sure. How crazy is that?!
I also think it depends upon what you eat not just when you eat. Take, for example, yesterday I ate post-Valentine’s chocolates. Um… a whole box.
Yes, we all do that sometimes, but rest assured it was just a small box. Anyway, it was all sugar. I had a day off from my normal OMAD way of eating. That’s when you eat one meal a day. It was a Sunday.
I couldn’t believe how bad my night sweats were. It was ridiculous. I hadn’t sweated that much at night for a very long time.
I don’t normally eat a lot of sugar. I eat a lot of vegetables and healthy foods that make me feel wonderful. After the fact, Valentine’s chocolates didn’t make me feel great at all.
I should have known better.
Needless to say, I suffered in more ways than one. My night sweats were way more intense, stronger than they had been in a very long time.
Is that research? Well, it is for me. It’s valuable information for women who suffer from intense hot flashes and night sweats.
Stay away from sugar. Stay away from anything that turns into sugar like carbohydrates and fructose from fruit.
I still eat those things, but in moderation. They don’t like me.
Again, every woman is different so take what I’m saying with a grain of salt. It might not be the same for you, thus the research conundrum.
Everyone’s bodies behave differently, and that’s probably why researchers are stumped. I can’t wait for a breakthrough though.
Can you imagine if they ever come up with a vaccine to prevent hot flashes and night sweats in menopausal women Like they did with the shingles virus?
Which, by the way, I just got.
I don’t know if that has anything to do with my night sweats though. I noticed this pattern before the immunization shot, but who knows?
Sweating especially at night can be a sign that you have an underlying problem. That is where the danger comes in to play.
We just don’t know.
If you have a bad cold, you might think your sweatIng is a fever and start to panic when you wake up in the middle of the night with drenched sheets.
You might even take your temperature and find that it’s over the top. If could be the flu. It could be just a cold. It could be a serious illness like cancer or heart disease.
But… It could just be menopause.
It’s so difficult to determine if there is anything seriously wrong with you, so I suggest if you are worried, go to the doctor and get it checked out.
Nine times out of ten it’s just menopause, but one percent of the time it might be detrimental to your health.
Make sure It isn’t the one percent.
GO TO THE DOCTOR
Sometimes women have heart problems when they enter menopause. There is a chance that you may be sick. If so, do the responsible thing and get it checked out.
You will feel better when you do.
Even if your doctor just tells you it’s nothing, your anxiety levels will decrease. Often anxiety in itself can make you sick, so you want that controlled.
You can have heart tests done to see if yours is functioning properly. I had an ECG done and all was well. I also had to wear a Holter Monitor for a few days to track my heartbeat.
I’m glad I had those tests done . I was born with a heart murmur and it’s always good to see how it’s affecting me during menopause.
I was surprised to find out that they couldn’t detect a heart murmur at all when I got the test done after 50, which is fabulous.
Not everything will have a bad outcome when you get tests done. In regards to hot flashes and night sweats, I agree, it can be worrisome. Most times though, it’s absolutely nothing.
But it is wise to get things checked out just in case.
DON’T GO TO THE DOCTOR
That said, I hate going to the doctor. I wrote an article about it which you can read through the following link, 7 Reasons I don’t Go To The Doctor if you want a good laugh.
I hate always having to run to the doctor for every little sniffle. I decided long ago that I would be my own health advocate.
Doctors don’t understand me like I do. They usually let me down and can’t find anything wrong when I do come in with issues.
It’s frustrating.
When it comes to menopause, I have found that my symptoms were not fixable through traditional medicine.
Sure, I could take HRT, but I wanted to go the natural way because my obstetrician said it was the best possible route to go.
At the time, I was blown away that he said that to me. When he confirmed I was in full menopause he even had the gall to say, “Welcome to your new life.”
I couldn’t believe it. I felt as though my life was over, but I assume that’s exactly why he said it to me. He really made me think.
He made me think there were other possibilities to get through menopause other than with drugs. I hadn’t even thought of it at the time.
When I just wanted him to give me hormone replacement therapy because that’s what I thought was supposed to happen, he gave me an alternative I didn’t know about.
Was it possible to go through menopause without any drugs at all? According to a professional obstetrician it was.
I ran with that!
Instead of worrying about the menopause symptoms I was having, I just didn’t. I found a lot of relief with natural supplements like herbs, minerals, and folk remedies.
And you know what? They actually worked.
DON’T PANIC
The main thing to remember is not to panic. You can get caught up with researching your symptoms on Google, and end up believing something that is false.
If Google says your symptoms indicate heart disease because you are having palpitations, you might tend to believe that. You might convince yourself you have plugged arteries when really your heart is as clean as a whistle.
You’re just in menopause, and that means you are experiencing an array of scary unexplainable symptoms because of the stage of life you’re in.
Once again, I am still shocked that Harvard researchers cannot pinpoint the cause of many menopause symptoms. Did I say that enough times in this article?
Really, it’s unbelievable, but I digress.
If we let ourselves get carried away with the ‘maybe’ diagnosis, we will be unhappy for the remainder of our lives. Eventually, you will have to come to a place where you’re okay with night sweats.
Eventually, you’ll learn to be your own health advocate and understand what is happening to your own body better than a doctor would.
Naturally, you’ll be able to assess yourself well enough to determine if or when you may need a professional to take a look at you, but for the most part, you don’t have to worry.
Worrying about something will only cause more anxiety, and that in itself can create sickness. Don’t create sickness.
Stop panicking over menopause. It’s a natural thing that happens to all women, and if you’re diligent about understanding your own body, you will realize that.
Menopause is supposed to happen.
There is no need to panic.
WHAT CAN YOU DO ABOUT IT?
There are plenty of things you can do about hot flashes and night sweats. I’ve written a lot of articles about the natural supplements I take.
Some relieve hot flashes, and some don’t. Some supplements work for a short time for me, and then my body is right back at the sweating overload. I don’t know why.
I think it’s important to accept that we don’t know why.
I reiterate the fact that we’re all different. Those supplements I take might work for me, but not for you. The key is trial and error. Find what works for you.
That said, I found a remedy that works for every menopausal woman on the planet. As soon as I began to look at the physical side of menopause, I found my solution and it’s changed my world.
Bamboo! Yes, bamboo. Do you know they weave it into fabric? It’s the most absorbent material in the world, even better than cotton.
What does that mean and why should you care?
Because they use the fabric to make pajamas. Those pajamas are highly absorbable and can revolutionize the way you sleep.
I own two pairs of bamboo pajama. And no, they don’t look like some primitive cardboard garment. They are comfortable and lovely. Take a look at my pajamas.
Me with my (beloved) bamboo pajamas! 
I love my bamboo pajamas!
I sewed the red pair myself and purchased the brown pair.
They sop up all my sweat at night, and I mean all. My sheets are never wet. My blankets are never wet. Even my bamboo pajamas are never wet. They hold in all the moisture, and sometimes it’s a lot.
Check out these lovely bamboo pajamas through the following Amazon affiliate link, Bamboo Pajamas, and check them out for yourself.
They. Are. Amazing!
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, I just wanted to say that menopause is normal. Don’t ever let anyone tell you it isn’t. It’s a natural passageway for a woman and should be celebrated as such!
There are some problems along the way, but what season in life doesn’t have that? Menopause is no exception. We just have to find solutions that work and not panic or fear the symptoms that science can’t even explain.
Wearing bamboo pajamas to sop up sweat has transformed my sleep. I’m glad I found the solution and hope that others will follow suit.
I no longer wake up in the middle of the night because I’m freezing cold from night sweats. The bamboo handles it perfectly.
I can get a good night’s sleep with no interruptions because I’m comfortable instead of wringing wet. The bamboo holds my sweat all night long.
It’s kind of like a gigantic maxi-pad that absorbs sweat. Okay, that’s too much, but you get what I’m saying. If you don’t, you can read my bamboo pajama review for more information.
Bottom line –Try bamboo!
You will NOT be disappointed!
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Author Kathleen Morris
Kathleen Morris is a successful published author, blogger, and Youtuber. She enjoys writing about things she’s passionate about and making a difference in the world.