Sheepish, and other's of the "fairer sex" that are troubled by nightmares, have you tried using the natural progesterone creams that are available at most natural food/health stores? They are applied to the skin and have no side effects, other than in some women the cream can make them a bit sleepy.

The first time I used progesterone cream was the first night in many, many years I finally slept like used to, like a baby, sound, deep, and truly refrenshing sleep! What bliss! And easily obtainable in a jar/tube!

As an alternative, you can try taking two capsules of valerian root or of kava-kava about an hour before you go to bed, they both help you sleep soundly and deeply.

Since I have other perimenopausal symptoms that the progesterone cream helps, I use the cream twice a day without fail, every day of the month, but you could try it just when you are troubled by the dreams if you don't want to use it daily.

-- Anonymous, October 16, 2002

Answers

I have tried the creams, that's wild yam, right? but without luck. I read a research paper done in Germany that kava-kava causes liver damage. And I had a reaction to valerian but can't remember now what it was.

I'm batting a thousand here, aren't I?

My OB told me to use the cream for three weeks on, one week off during that time. I had stopped using it but started again when I saw a TV commercial saying dark spots on your face is a sign of estrogen problems and since I started using it again, the dark spots have started to disappear.

They say that black cohosh is good for hot flashes.

I started meditating before falling asleep. Most times I'm asleep before I finish. Since I've been having stomach problems, I imagine little "workers" massaging a healing cream in the problem spot of my stomach. If I wake up with my hallucanating nightterrors, I imagine these little guys massaging in the cream again and fall back to sleep. So far it has been working in helping my sleep and my tenseness with the stomach pain. I thought it sounded strange when I first read about it but it seems to help me.

-- Anonymous, October 16, 2002

I can't believe how naive I must be, but: are you saying that nightmares are related to perimenopause?? Hmmm.

I'd love to hear about it thanks! Seriously!

(And less seriously):

Ya think Dubya, Saddam, and the other guys are having these symptoms too?!

8-)

-- Anonymous, October 16, 2002

I take melatonin when I can't sleep.

-- Anonymous, October 17, 2002

Does anyone have any suggestions to gas out my new mattress? Maybe something to spray on it? I was thinking of maybe baking soda. I pull the sheets back with the air purifier going. I wish we got it during the summer so the sun could have cooked it out.

I was even thinking about a barrier cover but it is only fine enough to keep out dust mites. Someone suggested a plastic cover (YUCK) which I said would still keep in the smell but he suggested just until the summer when it could be cooked.

Any suggestions will be appreciated. Terrible nightterrors and super achy eyeballs. Thanks

-- Anonymous, October 17, 2002

How long have you had the mattress? Do you still have your old one?

I have never heard of anything one can do with a new toxic mattress other than air it in fresh air for at least a couple of weeks till its major off-gassing is complete. Sorry, Dee.

If you have no other options, leave the windows open as much as you can stand, bedding stripped during the day so the mattress is as exposed to the air as possible.

Maybe there IS some kind of airtight cover that isnt toxic you could buy to use till next spring? Didja do a search?

Feelin bad for ya, what a bummer........damn those manufacturers and their chemicals!!

-- Anonymous, October 17, 2002

Dee, you might try this: wrap your new mattress in a piece of plastic (six mil visqueen worked for me). Put a mattress pad between the plastic and your bottom sheet, so it doesn't feel yucky to sleep on. If necessary,I suppose you could put another pad, or blanket under the mattress pad.

The mattress will still be outgassing, but your face won't be right against it, and you'll get a lot less fumes.

If that doesn't work, maybe sleep somewhere else until you get the gas out. It can't be helping your mental or physical health!

-- Anonymous, October 21, 2002

I was afraid when you said you were getting a new mattress that it'd be the same thing again.

Do you have any seperate room in the house, or an outbuilding or something where you could stick the mattress, crank the heat up into the 90's and bake it out that way? I've heard of people doing that with new houses to off-gass it faster. They do that for about a week I guess, and air it out thoroughly every day.

I have dust mite barriers for my pillows, but I don't know if they would be a barrier against fumes -- it MIGHT help. I press the air out of the pillowcases before I zip them shut, or else it traps air inside and it is sort of like trying to sleep on a balloon. So apparently it's stopping off a good amount of air transfer. Whether the chemicals can leak through though, I'm not sure.

-- Anonymous, October 21, 2002