Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Wrensong]

Hi pastie supper, sorry for the late reply, not been on the forum for a while.

wrensong you mentioned a lot, could fasting during the day lead to night sweats?
I fast during the day then have an evening meal and something sweet after that. The reason for my fasting is that it's the only way I've found to slightly control my lifelong IBS pain which is caused in my case by a hereditary condition I was born with.

How difficult for you, that being the only way to help manage your IBS.  I would have suggested making sure you eat regularly throughout the day, not going too long between meals, having a portion of lean protein with complex carbs at every meal, plenty of veg & some fresh fruit, healthy fats like oily fish & avocado, avoiding sugary foods & drinks & not eating a lot of fruit in one sitting.  The protein, complex carbs & fibre help slow down digestion, keeping blood sugar more stable, as does eating regularly throughout the day.   

I found I began to struggle with blood sugar control at the start of peri & had to change my way of eating for life.  I was already eating plenty of complex carbs, veg & fruit, but was predominantly veggie (also for IBS) & found I needed to include more protein in the form of fish, lean meat, eggs, high protein natural yoghurt . . . as veggie protein sources like beans were not enough any more. 

All I can suggest re the evening meal is to experiment with timing & content if you can.  Eating a big meal too late could mean that a lot of heat is being generated from digesting it overnight.  I found I had to shift main meal of the day from evening to lunchtime for that reason.  Also, if you are having something sweet afterwards it's possible this is causing a sugar spike, followed by a crash, taking your blood sugar too low overnight.  One of the horrible consequences of too low blood sugar is sweating, sometimes along with anxiety/panic, the shakes, nausea & feeling faint.

If you are losing a lot of fluid from the night sweats I wonder too if it's possible you're getting a bit dehydrated, as that won't help with temperature control.

Also, if you are going all day without eating, your metabolism will be slowing down to conserve energy while you are not taking in adequate calories & this could be contributing to cold sensitivity by day.  That said, in the early years of the menopause transition I also used to get uncontrollable shakes so badly & for so long at a time, with the dodgy menopausal  thermostat that it could get physically exhausting.

I shiver so violently I can get sore muscles from it

I hope you manage to find a way to improve things as the sweating sounds extreme & really troublesome.
Wx

P.S. sorry - kept coming back & adding to this as I thought of more I should have said!

[Wrensong]

Hi Kerrw21,

I wonder if antidepressants play a part in having night sweats too or maybe even making them worse

yes I'm afraid this can be a side effect of some ADs, but I did come across a study that found Escitalopram was also helpful in controlling menopausal flushing.  Imagine it depends on the individual, but perhaps something to raise with your GP.  Articles suggest taking it in the morning if it causes night sweats, if you are currently taking it at night.
Wx

[CLKD]

There are some ADs which ease flushing but can't remember which 1  .  I've never had problems on any of the ADs that I have been prescribed, nor did the Propranolol have any effects.

Eating chocolate within an hour after a meal of protein/carbs shouldn't cause blood sugar spikes as the meal with absorb the 'empty' sugars.  I've never had problems - I have a stick of 'twirl' for pudding both lunch and tea time ;-).  Apparently a square of black chocolate is better.  However   

I have stopped eating shop bought cakes, biscuits etc..  Not good on upping the fruits as they make me gurgle, more veg is working thus far. 

[Wrensong]

There are some ADs which ease flushing but can't remember which 1

I think the one usually tried first is Venlafaxine, CLKD.

Eating chocolate within an hour after a meal of protein/carbs shouldn't cause blood sugar spikes as the meal with absorb the 'empty' sugars

Yes, I have a square of dark choc after lunch & as you say the main meal with protein & complex carbs acts as a buffer, preventing a sugar spike & crash.  But if someone is perhaps eating a big dish of pasta, then having something sweet, the high carb combo could cause a big sugar spike & crash.  Not suggesting that's what pastie supper is doing of course!

[CLKD]

Tnx.   One would have to fight to get chocolate bars off me  .  However, I've given up on chocolate 'gu'-like etc. puddings.  I've learned over the years to eat little and often to stop that energy dip = nausea.  It really has been Trial and Error!