Night Sweats – Menopause – Hot Flashes – Sleeping hot

Archive for the ‘Night sweats’ Category

Almost all women get at least some hot flushes and night sweats  around the menopause; they’re a by-product of the "make more oestrogen" chemical messages that our brains send out when they detect falling levels of this hormone.

Our ovaries may work intermittently for some time, so the sweats often come and go, until the brain realises that the ovaries have finally stopped working for good – this can take several years.

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can suppress menopausal symptoms until it’s all over. Current recommendations are to take HRT for short-term relief of menopausal symptoms. But some unlucky women do continue to have symptoms into their 60s, or even longer.

I’d recommend seeing your GP to check nothing else is going on, as there are dozens of other causes of night sweats , including an overactive thyroid, chronic infections, some drugs (for example, antidepressants) and some rare forms of cancer.

If your sweats are still due to the menopause, you could consider taking HRT even now, provided your GP thinks that it’s suitable for you, although the risks of stroke and heart attack do increase slightly as you get older.

For many businesses, 2009 has been a painful year. Not so for BodyLogicMD. The nation’s largest and fastest growing network of expert physicians specializing exclusively in medically supervised bioidentical hormones has grown the number of physicians in its network since November 2008 – from 21 to 36 physicians – and is in progress to add more physician-owned centers, including one in Puerto Rico, by the end of this year.

In the past year, BodyLogicMD has opened 13 new bioidentical hormone specialty practices around the country, currently spanning coverage in 36 cities and 18 states.

“2009 has been a year of unprecedented growth for BodyLogicMD,” said Patrick Savage, founder and president of BodyLogicMD, Inc. “We’re adding an average of 1,000 new patients each month and are opening new offices and adding doctors to existing locations as quickly as possible to meet the tremendous demand. It’s very exciting to be a part of the explosive growth in this area of preventive medicine.”

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Sleep problems can be bad enough when you’re otherwise in good health. But when you’re being treated for cancer and already feel fatigued, not sleeping well can be devastating.

Sometimes you can’t get a good night’s sleep because of anxiety or depression. Other causes include pain, night sweats , some cancer medications or side effects from treatment.

When counting sheep doesn’t work

Making small lifestyle changes during the day and in the evening can help improve the quality of sleep you get at night. Here are some tips:

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BENEFITS OF COOL-JAMS PERFECT TEMPERATURE REGULATING SLEEPWEAR

Night Sweats are less frequent by actively regulating temperature Reduces overheating by absorbing excess heat Keeps you cooler by pulling the excess heat away from the body Releases heat when needed to keep you warm, plus dries quickly so the body is never chilled. Minimizes perspiration by pushing moisture to the outside of fabric and balancing temperature You’ll always have a great night’s sleep because the body will never be too hot or too cold…always just perfect!

HOW DOES OUR PERFECT SLEEPWEAR TECNOLOGY WORK?

Cool-jams temperature regulating technology is a high-performance material originally developed by our Cool-jams product development team. It provides the technology of athletic wicking apparel with the softness of the finest sleepwear fabric. The fabric responds to changes in the body temperature while sleeping. Unlike traditional sleepwear fabric that traps heat, Cool-jams wicking fabric actually absorbs the excess body heat when the body becomes too warm, and releases it back when needed. At the same time any moisture is pulled away from the body, so that the wearer stays cooler and dryer while sleeping. The result: reduced overheating, sweating and chilling so the body is never too hot or not too cold….always just perfect!

HOW DO OUR COOL-JAMS PAJAMAS HELP YOU SLEEP BETTER?

It is common for people to experience restlessness as they cycle between feeling too hot and too cold throughout the night…they toss and turn as their bodies search for the optimal sleeping temperature. The heat-absorbing fibers continually absorb and release excess body heat to keep your personal microclimate in the optimum range for restful sleep. By eliminating temperature swings throughout the night, you are less likely to wake up from chills or overheating. The result is a deeper, more restful sleep.

Pfizer yesterday questioned the verdicts.

"The company believes that neither the awards of punitive damages nor the liability verdicts were supported by the evidence or the law," spokesman Chris Loder said. The company plans to challenge both decisions.

"The company stands by its belief that its subsidiaries acted responsibly," Loder said.

Plaintiffs’ lawyers say the verdicts are further proof that their cases are strong.

The verdicts show that "when jurors hear how Wyeth put huge profits over the safety of patients, they will react with a strong message of outrage," Esther Berezofsky, one of Barton’s lawyers, said in a statement.

Tom Kline, cocounsel for plaintiffs in about 40 other Prempro cases, said the punitive awards "showed that juries clearly believed that Wyeth hid the risks of breast cancer from doctors and patients, making the defense of these claims harder down the road."

There have been larger verdicts in pharmaceutical cases involving individual plaintiffs – a Texas jury awarded one plaintiff $253 million, later reduced to $26 million by an appeals court, in litigation against Merck & Co. Inc. over the arthritis drug Vioxx. But yesterday’s jury award in Philadelphia nonetheless was significant, another Center City plaintiffs’ lawyer said.

Pfizer Inc. has been hit with more than $100 million in two punitive-damage awards – one decided and the other unsealed yesterday – from Philadelphia juries.

Both cases involve Prempro, a hormone-replacement drug made by Wyeth, which recently was acquired by Pfizer. Plaintiffs said the drug was linked to their breast cancer.

The total includes $28 million awarded yesterday to Donna Kendall of Decatur, Ill.

In the second case, Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge Sandra Moss yesterday unsealed a verdict reached earlier this year that awarded $75 million in punitive damages to another Illinois resident, Connie Barton, over her Prempro-linked breast cancer.

"Those are large punitive verdicts, make no mistake about it," said Howard M. Erichson, a Fordham University law professor who has studied pharmaceutical litigation.

About 1,500 of 10,000 similar cases are pending in Philadelphia, a common jurisdiction for large liability cases, attorneys say.

The juries are sending a message that they are angry about the corporate conduct in the cases, Erichson said. The $75 million likely will be reduced because it far exceeds the $3.5 million Barton received in compensatory damages, he added.

"This is a pretty good-sized punitive-damage award," said Sol Weiss, whose firm, Anapol Schwartz, tries pharmaceutical lawsuits in jurisdictions around the country. "The jury believed that the [drugmakers] were not straight with what they knew about the cancer risks."

New York-based Pfizer and lawyers for the plaintiffs even disagreed over how to count wins and losses in hormone-replacement therapy cases to date.

While plaintiffs’ lawyers point to recent verdicts in their favor, Pfizer argues that judges have set aside some decisions and plaintiffs have dropped some cases, turning the legal tide in the company’s favor.

More than six million women have taken hormone-replacement medicines to treat menopause symptoms including hot flashes, night sweats, and mood swings. Until 1995, many patients combined Premarin, Wyeth’s estrogen-based drug, with progestin-laden Provera, made by Pharmacia & Upjohn, a company also acquired by Pfizer.

Wyeth, which had not reserved funds to cover losses in the litigation, combined the two hormones in Prempro. The drugs are still on the market. Pfizer, the world’s biggest drugmaker, completed the $68 billion purchase of Wyeth on Oct. 15. Pfizer reported net income of $8.1 billion last year on sales of $48.3 billion.

Pfizer shares closed yesterday up 17 cents, or a bit less than 1 percent, at $18.53.

Annual sales of Wyeth’s hormone-replacement drugs topped $2 billion before the 2002 Women’s Health Initiative study, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, suggested that women using the medicines had a higher breast-cancer risk.

Wyeth faced its first punitive award over Prempro in January 2007, when a Philadelphia jury granted damages to Mary Daniel, an Arkansas woman who said the drug had caused her breast cancer. A judge threw out the award seven months later. The case is on appeal, and the amount of punitive damages remains under seal.

In October 2007, jurors in state court in Reno, Nev., awarded a total of $99 million in punitive damages to three women who blamed the drug for their breast cancers. That figure later was reduced to $35 million and is being appealed.

A federal jury in Arkansas awarded Donna Scroggin $27 million in bad-conduct damages against Wyeth and Upjohn over her Prempro claims. An appeals court threw out the award this year and ordered a new trial on the punitive-damage issue.

World AIDS Day began Dec. 1, 1988, and continues to be recognized annually each December. The day raises awareness about the disease and how it’s spread and explores the stigma attached to it. Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is the final stage of HIV infection, which compromises the human immune system.

“In the absence of a cure or vaccine, the only hope of tackling HIV is to educate people on how to avoid contracting the virus in the first place – or passing it on if they are HIV positive,” said Vanessa Green, Group Head, Living with HIV at Standard Chartered.

Worldwide, 33.4 million people were living with HIV in 2008, up slightly from 2007. The increased availability of treatment allows more people with the infection to live longer and may account for the increase. Children still account for 2.1 million of people living with HIV.

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Clinicians are accustomed to treating patients who have medical illnesses; however, managing the symptoms associated with menopause—a natural, biologic process—is quite different. Hormone therapy (HT) using estrogen either with or without progesterone remains the most effective, and most studied, treatment.¹ But many patients and clinicians have reservations about using HT because of the controversy surrounding it. All clinicians, regardless of their specialty, may encounter patients who have questions about the use of hormones. In family medicine practices, women may inquire about hot flashes and night sweats ; in orthopedics practices, the treatment and prevention of osteoporosis; and, in gynecology practices, dyspareunia and vaginal atrophy. Clinicians should be able to respond with accurate, upto- date information on the recommendations for HT as well as its known risks and benefits.

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Menopause – it’s an unavoidable part of aging as a woman, and brings with it a host of uncomfortable symptoms that negatively impact quality of life. Hot flashes, poor sleep, mood swings, weight gain, night sweats and lethargy are just some of the life-altering symptoms of menopause and perimenopause. What’s worse, menopause signs and symptoms can show up a full ten years before actual menopause occurs (perimenopause), and can last for another five years during menopause before a woman finds relief from the prison of hot flashes, night sweats and mood swings. Unfortunately, even after menopause symptoms subside many women find themselves still feeling lethargic and prone to weight gain.

Though much attention has been given to hormone replacement therapy as a solution to menopause symptoms, a number of studies have shown that adding hormones to the body can cause other health problems and risks. For women who want to find fast, natural relief for their menopause symptoms, the Anti-Aging Institute of California has an answer: Don’t Pause. Don’t Pause is a completely natural menopause treatment that helps women get rid of their worst menopause and perimenopause symptoms including night sweats, hot flashes and mood swings. In addition to natural ingredients that eliminate the worst menopause symptoms, Don’t Pause contains other natural supplements that increase energy, vitality and promote weight loss to combat other common issues that women experience as they age.

The secret to combating menopause signs is the high concentration of pomegranate extract in the Don’t Pause supplement. Pomegranate extract has been clinically proven to reduce the occurrence and severity of menopause and perimenopause symptoms. Pomegranate extract has also been shown to inhibit the development of a type of naturally occurring estrogen that increases a woman’s risk of breast cancer. Other key ingredients in the Don’t Pause natural menopause treatment include black cohosh, which safely and effectively reduces hot flashes and night sweats, and green tea extract, which is full of important cancer-fighting and metabolism-boosting catechins as well as the super antioxidant EGCG. Selenium, Phytoestrogens and Chromium Picolinate round out the list of active natural ingredients in Don’t Pause, all of which fight menopause symptoms, reduce cancer risk, and fight other age-related illnesses such as osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease decrease muscle mass and elevated glucose levels. Don’t Pause is an investment in health that gives a woman back her life and vitality.

Night sweats, or sweating at night so immensely that your sheets turn out to be drenched is a sign that there is something not right. There are many problems signaled by night sweats but could your night sweats be related to a ailment recognized as haemochromatosis?

Haemochromatosis is a ailment that is inherited from family members. Nearly one out of 200 of us hold the gene, which causes the body to suck up too much iron from foodstuff.

The body is unable to deal with this excess of iron, and the build-up causes injury to various organs and tissues, together with the liver, heart as well as joints. The symptoms exist only when the organs are already injured, which is why the illness repeatedly isn’t diagnosed until middle age.

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By Pam Lyon

No one is certain just why we experience menopause night sweats, but there are many ways in which we can try to avoid or lessen them, especially with quick and easy lifestyle changes.

There are some common things which have been found to trigger episodes in the majority of women who experience night sweats during perimenopause and menopause, so let’s look at some ways we can try to knock them out before they have a chance to begin.

Start by avoiding the following, especially close to bedtime:

Stress, mental or physical, although light exercise can be helpful.
Caffeinated foods and beverages.
Alcohol.
Spicy foods or hot beverages, soups and stews.
Tight or uncomfortable clothing.
Warm temperatures, either with hot showers or baths, or in your home.
Cigarette smoking or exposure to secondhand smoke.
A few more simple self-help techniques which may make your menopause night sweats more manageable are quick and easy to incorporate into our daily routine. These may also reduce stress helping us lead happier and healthier lives.

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Many women seem to feel anxious about menopause — partly because they don’t have any choice.

“It is a necessary evil you have to go through,” said Dr. Robert Ogdee, obstetrician/gynecologist of Abilene Regional Medical Center.

But women may feel some relief when they understand the transition their bodies are going through physically and emotionally.

“What is happening is the ovaries are not producing any estrogen, so the brain is trying to tell the ovaries to kick in and produce more estrogen because they are not popping out an egg anymore,” Ogdee explained. “It is the quitting of ovulation every month that is the reason they do not pop out an egg or have a cycle, which is the true cause of menopause.”

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Anyone of the female persuasion is perhaps already aware of the connection between night sweats and menopause. Many of us have already watched our aunts, mothers and grandmothers go through this process. Although it is a natural part of life but it is also a temporary hormonal imbalance.

So far, the process of menopause can take several years in a woman’s life. And it is not something which can just be ignored. The menopause symptoms and discomforts during this time in life can be hard at best to manage.

Many doctors will suggest and prescribe hormone replacement therapy or other drugs to combat the menopause symptoms. Many women feel these artificial means are potentially harmful to their health and would prefer a more natural treatment to menopause and night sweats. Fortunately many women at this life stage have found relief with hormonal supplements. Here are a few more symptoms that this type of therapy can relieve.

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Hot Flashes, night sweats, trouble sleeping, vaginal dryness, and other symptoms can occur before or during the onset of Menopause. While none sound fun, menopause is natural.

Concerns have been raised over Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) safety when used long-term. This and other factors have some women experiencing symptoms moving to alternative therapies in the fight against symptoms of menopause. These women prefer to fight “naturally,” rather than suffer through it.

While there has been limited research on Complimentary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) related to menopause treatment, and results have been inconclusive for a number of reasons, some women swear by one or more of these (taken from a MayoClinic.com page on Menopause and Alternative medicine, and the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine’s web page on Menopausal Symptoms and CAM):

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If you’re wondering how to stop night sweats from menopause you’ve come to the right place. There’s nothing worse than not being able to sleep in the middle of the night, then waking up from the two hour nap you were able to take, tired, moody, and preparing for hot flashes during the day while cooking breakfast. I’m going to help you conquer these night sweats and restore your happiness back to the way it was prior to menopause.

Why Does It Occur?

Hot flashes and night sweats occur due to hormone imbalances that cause useless adrenaline energy to be released at night and during the day. Your adrenal glands will often receive the wrong signals causing your blood to move faster through your body, therefore, producing sweat. This is a natural 2 to 10 year occurrence in a woman’s body around her late 40s and late 50s, but I will help you deal with it now.

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Not to worry, it will only take a few hours for them to make this money back.

Pfizer Inc. must pay about $75 million in punitive damages to an Illinois woman who developed cancer after taking one of the drugmaker’s menopause treatments, people familiar with a sealed verdict in the case said.

A Philadelphia jury ordered Pfizer’s Wyeth unit on Oct. 26 to pay the bad-conduct award, which is about 20 times larger than the $3.7 million in actual damages the panel awarded to Connie Barton over her use of Wyeth’s Prempro menopause drug, according to people with direct knowledge of the verdict.

A judge ordered Barton’s punitive-damage award sealed at Wyeth’s request until the trial of another Prempro lawsuit in the same courthouse is completed. Lawyers in that case say jurors won’t start deliberating on that suit’s claims for another three weeks.

“The company believes there is no basis in fact or in law for the jury verdict in the Barton case,” Pfizer spokesman Christopher Loder said. “We plan to ask the judge to reject both the compensatory and punitive awards. We anticipate that if the judge doesn’t grant the company a judgment notwithstanding the verdict, we will appeal.”

Loder said he couldn’t comment on the amount of the punitive damages verdict because of a court order banning disclosure of it while a related trial is in progress.

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