Up again at 3am!!! 5htp?

Hi jane,

All you have to do is drink water before and after exertion and you should be ok, dont over exert as it will make the fatigue worse then everything else will be worse with it, stick with gentle exercising, and pace, remember whilst you may not realise it, your body temp will also fluctuate, and will be higher during flare, this in itself will dehydrate you, which will cause fatigue and thirst, so you should always take more water in during flare, and gentle exercise, but dont over do both, otherwise you will knock your electrolytes out even more, it is a nightmare your right, and its all about balance, and listening to your body, you will figure it out, go back over the day to find if you can work out, what  have i done wrong, should i have put water in, or, should it be salt, magnesium, have i had too much cake.............ha  whatever, you want to keep things as balanced as you can, to help you through it, its trial and error really, wouldnt it be great if we could all have HRT just to take the lot away, and it cause no risks etc whatsover.........good luck with it. 

Well, dear lady you're doing the exercises too late in the day giving you a wake up rush as if you're ready to start your day. I had this same problem until my trainer said to stop exercising late in the day. I switched to early mornings and I was able to sleep better. I suggest you do the same and you'll see how it will change your sleeping habits. If you continue doing it no pill will help as your adrenaline is running high from the exercises. Hope this helps.

Hi Jane!

Love to know how you get on with the 5htp...I resorted to buying some  antihistamine pills from chemist as need to get some night sleep!

Took last night, an hour before sleeping, no drowsiness in morning...reasonable sleep! Don't recall waking enough at 3-4!

Let me know how you get on jx

I have a problem with morning exercise as I work and it would mean getting up at 5am to fit 60mins on the treadmill in

I'm having a night off tonight anyway as been to the chiropractor this afternoon and he suggested having a rest! Will see if sleep is any better.

Thank you for your help though, I will need a re-think!

Hi Jane, I will let you know, hopefully they will be here tomorrow or Monday.

Glad you got some rest with the antihistamines x

Thanks Elaine, I do drink about 2 litres of water while I'm going along. I will try and think about the other things too!

In the morning all you need is 10-20 minutes of treadmill, doing intervals and your done for the day.

Hi Pat, so much conflicting advice, I was recommended to do 60 minutes to burn up some fat (not that it is working ). What do you mean by intervals only I can't run due to prolapsed discs...

Okay, I loss weight, doing about only 10 minutes in the morning. First, stretch for 3-5 minutes then walk on the treadmill for 3 minutes then walk super fast for 30 seconds three times then cool down for 2minutes. That's not hard to do, my discs are herniated but I don't care, I proposed to lose weight and I did. I cut out bread, rice, and potatoes. Cut out all sweet drinks. I also started fasting but I know people feel think it's hard but it really easy and it's not a 24hrs type of fasting. I hope this helps.

thank you , it helps! Tell me more about the fasting?

We don't eat pasta, bread or potatoes as a rule anyway and not sugary drinks either. We do eat rice though and I have porridge for breakfast!

Okay, that's another problem eating breakfast is a no no. Once in awhile is fine but not every day. Especially rice, it's no different than eating bread except it's perhaps worst because it raises your glucose making it hard to lose weight. I never liked rice because I know that all that starch that is also a carbohydrate turns to sugar in your body. Oatmeal is good with a tiny bit of honey or none at all. But like I said once to twice a week is okay unless you make sure it's not glutinous which also helps people gain weight.

So for the fasting. It's a 16 hour fast 2x a week. The hours are easy but in the beginning since you're use to eating breakfast, which btw, French women rarely eat, you can start out with 14 hours. Count for example, your last meal is at 8:00pm to 8:00am is 12 hours just count 4 more hours and you've got your fast. In between the fast drink water, tea or coffee, but no food. When you eat say at lunch drink water first, then eat. Eat protein and vegetables. But when you eat only eat to 80-90% full. Do this say Monday and Wednesday. Then on regular days, eat only to 80% full, and one or 2 of those days, eat less than the other days, more like 50% of what you normally eat to get to 80% full. If you get hungry, eat a little more, I eat nuts to satisfy the hunger. Hope this helps let me know if you have any questions.

Bread is a real no no for me.

I've been a bit lazy the last few days and had some. Organic wholemeal and some seeded bread (good quality). 4 slices in total over three days. Today it's just awful. I look 7 months pregnant. The bloating starts right under my breasts all the way down and I can't sleep because I just feel like a beached whale when I'm laying down

Okay well 4slices isn't bad if you exercise. But I gather you don't so keep eating to get to 8 months lol.

I'm fine unless I eat bread, I love it so I chanced that maybe now with the HRT it may have improved but alas it's the same as it has been for a few years now. I don't usually eat that much in a month.

I'm thinking yeah some exercise maybe when the weather gets a bit better I will get on my bike again to go to the shops. I used to have a little routine but I've got so out of condition now I need something more gentle to start with. Also could do with losing a stone and a half!

Yes, But even a little exercise never hurts especially now that you're on HRT and exercises at home can help. There are lots on the net for older ladies, soft no impact type. Just be careful not to get carried away. I'm the type that just be I can do some I think I can do it all, not true. I made that mistakes a few times, then my trainer said it's not a race to hurry things up but to condition your body and tone it so you can feel better about yourself during this life changing time. He's right but my competitive ego gets in the way sometimes, lol.