It's Been A Week

Well, I joined Curves on April 7th. I'm wanting to get there everyday that they are open ( they are closed Sundays) and up until yesterday I did go every day. My middle daughter and son-in-law came over for dinner so I didn't want to push them out the door before Curves closed, lol. I was unable to get there in the morning but it worked out today. Going to Bunko tonight so wanted to get that workout in since I missed a day. They leave me feeling energized. I need that. I've cut back on my portions and am eating 6 small meals a day. I won't be getting measured and weighed until May 7th, so will be anxious to see how I'm doing.

It's been about 4 months or so since I've been using the CPAP machine. Once in a while I'm able to keep the mask on for a full night, but the average time is 4 hours. I wish they could come up with something more comfortable and less cumbersome. I'm supposed to be feeling more refreshed and have more energy, but that isn't happening. I still find I am nodding off in the middle of the afternoon or early in the evening.

My incision has healed up beautifully. For a while there I felt like Frankenstein, but it looks pretty good, for a scar.

I've had this nasty rash on my left leg since mid February. I thought it was hives and my sister-in-law thought it was cullulitis. It was neither but my Dr. isn't sure what it is exactly. It started off on the lower region of my leg, above the ankle and towards the center. The itching was unbearable. Dr. gave me scripts for an anti-itching pill and a steroid ointment, not to exceed 14 days. Well, the original area looks great now, except for a couple scars from scratching so heavily, but the rash began to spread behind my leg and around to the other side. And now it has appeared on my right leg. I have an appt. with a dermotologist on the 28th.

My middle daughter is 13 weeks pregnant with her first baby and we are all so excited for her. She'd been trying for over 3 years. We are already planning her baby shower for the end of summer.

Pacemaker & Sleep Study

I learned on Thursday evening of last week that a lead in my pacemaker is 'fractured' and isn't pacing my heart. I had to go into the Dr's office ( Cardiac Electrophysiology) on Monday for tests and the defibrillator was turned off temporarily and pacemaker set to pace automatically until I can have the lead replaced. That will be in two more days. It will be an overnight hospital stay. Then I'll be all rewired and good as new again.

This morning was my follow up appointment with the Sleep Study Center. I'd been having problems with the nose mask - air leakage and a feeling much like claustrophobia where I can't keep the mask on for more than 3-4 hours and I feel like someone or something is sitting on my face and I can't breathe - even though there is more than plenty of air being forced in through the mask. I was given a nose pillow mask to try out for 2 weeks to see if that was any better. I had to try it on in the office, and Lordy, Lordy but that doesn't feel much better, LOL but I'll give it a go.
I really and truly need some good sleep!!!!

The sleep doctor told me I have a deviated septum, and that could be the reason I keep getting the claustrophobic reaction to the mask. If I continue to experience this problem, he said I should consider surgery ( septoplasty) to correct the deviation. He also told me the roof of my mouth is 'very high' and that cannot be fixed - and is part of the reason why my tongue has no where to go when I'm sleeping and is causing the obstruction. The tongue relaxes and falls back into my throat. GROSS!!!!!!!!

So...what are my options?

1 Continue with the CPAP machine and masks
2 Surgery to correct deviated septum
3 Dental appliance that will help keep the airway open during sleep by pulling tongue forward when sleeping ( insurance does not cover this and can cost upwards of $2,000)
4 Somnoplasty: A minimally invasive procedure to reduce the soft tissue in the upper airway.
5 Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP): A procedure that removes soft tissue on the back of the throat and palate, increasing the width of the airway at the throat opening.

I hope this darned CPAP machine does the trick.

Jan. 8 update

I haven't updated here for several reasons....I've been busy working on my crafts and graphics and there really hasn't been anything 'new' regarding Mrs. Hyde, who I believe is hibernating for the winter, my health has been okay and I haven't noticed any improvements on better sleep with the CPAP machine. Only one night in the past couple weeks was I able to leave the mask on all night. I was just as tired that morning as I am any other morning.
Most nights I can use it for 3-4 hours before I have to rip it off. Even though I try not to fiddle around with the straps, one night air leaks or another night the mask feels too tight. One night Tom was snoring so loudly even the sound of my machine couldn't drone him out. I moved to the couch when I couldn't get him to roll over and it just seemed too much of a hassle to move the machine along with me so I slept without it the remainder of the night. It is so weird trying to talk with the machine on. It's near impossible. I tried to tell Tom to roll over and all that came out was a big puff of air and some gurgling. No wonder he didn't hear or understand me.
It was funny last night. When Tom went to bed, I put the mask on so I could try to readjust the head straps to minimize the air leakage so I wouldn't disturb Tom doing it when I went to bed. Tom wouldn't look at me, he threw the covers over his head and said 'don't scare me' Well, that's all it took for me to imitate the sound that the vampires made in the movie 30 Days Of Night.
Have you seen that? They open their fanged mouths and a screeching noise AAAAAHHHHH comes out. I did that and it really creeped Tom out. LOL Of course if I really wanted to be mean I 'could' do that in the middle of the night while he's in a light sleep, but he'd probably have a stroke. That sounds like something Mrs. Hyde would think of. Maybe she's only pretending to hibernate.

I Don't Notice A Change

After two weeks on the CPAP machine, I still don't feel any different. If possible, I'm even MORE tired than I was before. I'm still only able to use the machine for a couple hours, then I have to remove it for a few hours and then I'll put it back on. I'm sure I would get the benefits of it if I could leave it on all night. Really hard to adjust to something sitting on your face for 8 hours. I went to bed at 11 last night. I probably woke up at least 4 times if not more. I got out of bed at 8 am so I was 'in bed' for 9 hours but feel like I only got 2 hours good sleep.
I sure wish there were other CPAP users out there who read this so they could offer some tips/suggestions. I could sure use some.

Just About A Week Now

I can't help but feel a little disappointed in my CPAP machine. Tomorrow will be a full week that I've had the machine and I don't feel any different. I do not feel like I'm getting a good night's rest. I keep hearing the hum of the machine in my head with my eyes closed. You can hear the pattern of breathing. I hold my breath for a few minutes to make sure that's what I'm hearing, and it is. It's keeping me awake. I know that at some point I do fall asleep because I made it to the dream state last night. A really bizarre dream that involved my CPAP machine.
I've been hanging the tubing over my bed post because the machine is supposed to be lower than bed level and the table it's sitting on is just bed level. In the dream the hose was over the bed - but also hanging out the window behind the bed. I don't have a window behind the bed. Sometime during the night I wasn't getting any air through the mask and it woke me up ( in the dream). For whatever reason, I went outside below the window that really isn't there and someone....SOMEONE......had taken the hose and stretched it all along the side of the house, into the back and tacked it up high near the roof line. How weird is that? I woke up from this goofy dream and air was leaking out the sides of the mask because I had rolled over onto my side in my sleep. I've noticed that the only way the air works properly with no leaks is if I'm lying on my back. I don't normally sleep like that and I think that's part of the reason I'm still not getting a good night's rest. The very first night I kept the mask on for 7 hours. That's been the only night I've been able to do that. The remaining nights this past week it's been 2-3 hours on......off for 2 hours and back on for a couple hours. I guess I was expecting a miracle cure. I was told to give it at least 3 weeks.
Two more to go...........will I make it??

Duh.....It's The Humidifier

I called the Home Care Provider yesterday morning to see if someone could explain why my CPAP was gurgling and spitting. It's because water got into the hose from the humidifier being turned up too high. That wasn't in the troubleshooting section of the manual but I guess if I had been getting enough sleep the common sense section of my brain would have been more alert and guessed that on my own. DUH. Never occurred to me. All I had to do was turn the knob on the humidifier down a notch - from 3 to 2 and hang the hose and mask over the shower to drain. Last night there was no more gurgling, although I was only able to keep the mask on for 4 hours. It was really bothering me. I tried to loosen the straps some but that only made air leak from under the mask, which isn't supposed to happen if you have it fitted properly. It's going to take some getting used to. I can't say that I've had a really good night's sleep since getting the mask Monday...but I'm not giving up yet.
When my daughters asked Tom if the machine bothered him he said yes, since I got the machine HE hasn't had a good nights sleep and he's not too sure he likes sleeping with Darth Vader.

Double GRRrrrr

I'm about ready to take a hammer to my CPAP machine. When I went to bed last night it seemed to be okay, there was no detectable gurgling coming up from the tubing into the nose mask and I breathed a sigh of relief. I slept for two hours. Then that damned gurgling started up again and this time it was spitting water up my nose. I tried everything I could think of to get it to stop and the only thing that worked was taking the mask off and turning the machine off. It was nice and quiet now and I didn't have water spitting out at me but I could NOT get back to a good sleep. If anything I may have made it to stage two but no further. Horrible night. I have a splitting headache this morning which I'm sure is due to a poor night's rest.

I searched the manual troubleshooting pages and there is not one mention of gurgling or spitting anywhere. I'm going to have to call the home care provider this morning.

GRRRrrrr

Stupid mask!!! I cleaned it out, refilled with distilled water and made sure the hose part was connected properly and it's still gurgling. Now how the heck am I ( and Tom) supposed to fall asleep with that irritating gurgle?!! I didn't wear the mask at all last night. Mainly because I think Tom would have kicked me out of bed and had that happened, Mrs. Hyde was sure to retaliate and I'm not sure what she would have done. Sometimes I just don't trust her.
Take last night. Tom tends to 'poof' when he's sleeping. It's not really a snore. His mouth is slightly open and little poofs of air blow in my face. Usually I'll just either roll over or say "Tom, roll over" and he does and no more poofing for at least a half an hour or so. Last night Mrs. Hyde was already irritated because she was looking forward to a good night's sleep and we didn't wear the mask so that plan was shot down. We were just ready to fall into stage one of sleep when the 'poofing' started. She reached over and was about to pinch Tom's nostrils when I gasped and restrained her. I didn't realize just how strong she is, she fought me for a good three minutes and then Tom rolled over on his own. Whew...he's lucky. I really have to figure out what's wrong with that stupid mask so we can wear it tonight. I don't know how much longer I can restrain Mrs. Hyde, she's been so irritable and exhausted and I think she needs a good night's sleep better than I do.

It's Finally Here

My CPAP machine was delivered last night. It's actually much smaller than the one I used at the Sleep Center. Matt, the guy who delivered it and explained to me how to operate and clean it said some of the benefits to using the machine besides a good night's sleep it helps to lower blood pressure, reduced levels of depression, increases concentration and may even speed up metabolism. That last one is news to me, and I'm trying to find a source that confirms that but so far haven't found it. Wishful thinking, lol
I let Tom hear the machine hum to make sure it wasn't going to bother him and he did wince and suggested if it bothered him that I could 'move' into the living room onto the couch. Maybe he could just move to the couch!!

I waited until he was asleep and then put the mask on and turned on the machine. I had to adjust the chin straps a little because the nose part was 'leaking' some air. I'm not sure how long I lay there with my eyes closed waiting to fall asleep, it felt like it took about an hour.
I do know that I made it to the dream stage because I had a couple of doozies. I woke up at 2:30 to use the bathroom and instead of taking the mask off, I pulled off the hose and then put it back on when I got back into bed. I must not have had it on securely because the nose part was making some kind of 'burping' sound that was driving me insane. I tried to readjust it with no success. I'll need to read the manual this morning. I made it 7 hours with the mask on and then had to rip it off. The burping sound is what was bothering me and I know it bothered Tom too, I could tell by the little sighing noises he made. It was almost 6:30 time for him to get up for work anyway. I kept the mask off and did fall back to sleep for another hour and a half. I wish I could say I woke up refreshed and felt like I had a good night's sleep, but I didn't. I guess it won't happen overnight.

Sleep Treatment

My sleep study treatment was last night. I was all hooked up with the wires by 9:30 and just lay in bed watching TV until I got tired which was about 10:30. Lisa, the tech came in to fit me with my CPAP mask. I had several to choose from. My first choice was one that resembled the tubes that go with an oxygen mask/tank. Instead of the two narrow prongs that fit up inside your nose, this one had two oval 'pad's that fit right under your nostrils. I thought it might be the best one for me since I'm a side sleeper. I had a half hour of getting used to it and I wasn't at all sure I liked it. I felt like I had cotton stuffing up my nose and it bugged me. I switched to the mask where it covered my nose only instead of the full face mask. It has straps with velcro that fits across the forehead, and has a chin strap and other straps that run down the side of the face. It was about 11:15 when I settled in for the night. I woke up shortly afterwards to use the bathroom and when Lisa came in the room to unhook me from the CPAP machine she commented that I was halfway done. I asked her the time and she said it was 3:30. I was very surprised, as I thought I'd only been asleep for about an hour. She said I was into a deep sleep within 5 minutes of closing my eyes. I did have a hard time falling back to sleep but I eventually did. Once again I needed to use the bathroom and Lisa said 'good, you're all done, it's time to get up'. It was 6:30. Fastest night of sleep I've had in a long time.
After Lisa removed the mask and all the wires, she gave me a copy of my Sleep Study Interpretation.

There are five stages of sleep:

1st stage: is light sleep where you drift in and out of sleep and can be awakened easily. In this stage, the eyes move slowly and muscle activity slows. During this stage, many people experience sudden muscle contractions preceded by a sensation of falling.

In stage 2, eye movement stops and brain waves become slower with only an occasional burst of rapid brain waves.

When a person enters stage 3, extremely slow brain waves called delta waves are interspersed with smaller, faster waves.

In stage 4, the brain produces delta waves almost exclusively. Stages 3 and 4 are referred to as deep sleep, and it is very difficult to wake someone from them. In deep sleep, there is no eye movement or muscle activity. This is when some children experience bed wetting, sleepwalking or night terrors.

The fifth stage is the Rem period, breathing becomes more rapid, irregular and shallow, eyes jerk rapidly and limb muscles are temporarily paralyzed. Brain waves during this stage increase to levels experienced when a person is awake. Also, heart rate increases, blood pressure rises, and the body loses some of the ability to regulate it's temperature. This is the time when most dreams occur, and, if awoken during REM sleep, a person can remember the dreams. Most people experience three to five intervals of REM sleep each night.

My first study shows that I have an abnormal sleep architecture. Onset of sleep was at 5.5 minutes and the REM latency was unachieved all night. Lisa explained that I went from stage 1 to stage 2 and stayed there all night. She says it's no wonder I am always so tired and have no energy. Last night she says I was in all 5 stages but went into deep sleep ( stage 4) within 5 minutes of closing my eyes. She said I experienced several REMs during the night which means I had been dreaming.

My first study shows that I experienced a total of 86 apneas (stopped breathing) and hypopneas ( shallow breathing / low respiratory rate) which is about 15.4 an hour. A total of 12 obstructive apneas were recorded.
Last night with the CPAP I experienced no apneas or hypopneas.

I am definitely going to be getting a CPAP. Lisa said I'll probably have it after Thanksgiving. I'll have to go back in January for a followup to make sure the CPAP is working properly and some data from it will be downloaded.
I'll be seen by a Respiratory Therapist who will review my equipment and resolve any issues I might have had since receiving the CPAP. I'll also be examined by a doctor who specializes in sleep disorders.

I feel pretty good today, the most rested I've felt in many months.

The mask will take some getting used to. The machine makes a humming sound but it didn't really bother me. I hope it won't bother Tom too much. Lisa gave me a paper on troubleshooting if I experience things like mask leaks, skin irritation, pressures sores, nasal congestion, chest discomfort. The last one on the sheet was 'bed partner intolerance' Possible cause: noise, anxiety Correction: promote education of the patient and bed partner, recommend attending a patient support group. In other words 'suck it up bed partner and deal with it'!!

Official Report

Finally got my phone call. Turns out I would have had it days ago if my answering machine had been working properly!

The results of my sleep apnea test show I have mild to moderate apnea. I'm scheduled now for the sleep treatment on Nov. 21. I was hoping to have it sooner but the weekends are full. I really didn't want to do it on a weeknight but I may see if I can get it changed. Would like to get it over with so I can start sleeping better. I wake up haggard with no energy whatsoever. It takes me a few hours to get motivated. That's not normal.

Sleep Study - No Report Yet

I'm still waiting for an official report on my sleep apnea. Thought for sure I'd have it by now.
I'm still experiencing the snorts and they are really starting to drive me up the wall. I can be in bed for 9 hours and still wake up feeling like I've not had a good night's sleep.

I've asked Tom that if he hears me snorting, to wake me up and tell me to roll over. What does he do?? He pokes me in the back!!!! AARRGGHH I hate that so much. All he has to do is say 'Hon, roll over' and I'll hear him. Do NOT poke me, that in itself can awaken Mrs. Hyde who hasn't seemed to be affected by sleep apnea at all, go figure. If you wake Mrs. Hyde, I will NOT be responsible for any damage she may do to Tom. As long as SHE seems to get a good night's sleep, she is on her best behavior. On the mornings that I am irritable I know that she must have had a few of her own snorting bouts. I may be still tired when I wake up but I'm not normally irritable. It's all her.

I'm going to wait until the middle of this week and if I still don't get the results of the study, I may have Mrs. Hyde make 'the' phone call. She seems to get quicker results than I do. Must be her winning personality.

My Sleep Study

Several weeks back in a craft forum I belong to - one of the gals mentioned she was just tested for sleep apnea and that her results were positive. Some one else posted that she had it too......until there was about 15 gals who have sleep apnea. They described their symptoms and I thought........I have all of those, especially waking from snorts and being overly tired during the daytime even if I'd had 8 hours of sleep. So I mentioned it to my doctor the last visit and she gave me a script for the study. She said she was surprised at herself for not thinking to have me do this years ago - since sleep apnea can cause strokes and heart attacks and I have cardiomyopathy. It just never came up.

I had to be at the Sleep Center at 8:30 last night. There are three bedrooms, all are very homey and comfortable with regular beds ( awesome mattress!!) and pretty quilt comforters. I was impressed with how it was made to look more like a hotel room than a hospital room.

I was supposed to relax and read or watch TV for a while - didn't feel like reading so turned on the TV - they had cable but it was out and could only get 6 channels and NOTHING good was on. At 9:30 the tech began to attach wires to my body. There was one on each leg ( calf), one under my left breast, one on my chin, one on my belly, one on each temple, one on my forehead and about 5 on my scalp. Also had to wear a tubing device up my nose ( like one wears with an oxygen mask - but no oxygen was delivered) and a pulse oximeter that clips to your finger so they can measure oxygen being taken in.

This is the test I had done:
Polysomnogram. This test records several body functions during sleep, including brain activity, eye movement, oxygen and carbon dioxide blood levels, heart rate and rhythm, breathing rate and rhythm, the flow of air through your mouth and nose, snoring, body muscle movements, and chest and belly movement.

I went to bed at 10 pm but it took me a while to actually fall asleep. I'd say a good 20 to 30 minutes. I woke up several times during the night. The first time was around midnight to use the bathroom ( had to be unhooked from a machine that registers everything but all the wires were hanging from me, felt very creepy.)
I woke myself up several times during the night with 'snorts'. Sometimes I was able to fall right back to sleep and a few times it took awhile.

I woke up one more time to use the bathroom and I could hear the tech talking to the man in the next bedroom ( there was only two of us last night) about his mask appliance. To alert her that I needed something, I was to take off the pulse oximeter and that shows up on the screen she is watching. Since she was in the next bedroom and not at the screen, I had to wait. It felt like a half hour or so and my bladder was ready to burst. I would close my eyes and try to go back to sleep but they were talking so loudly, that was impossible. Finally it got quiet and I assumed she returned to the screens and I removed the oximeter. She came in right away and said it was time to get up. I was stunned. I thought it was about 2 am and it was already 6:10 am.

The tests show positive for moderate sleep apnea. When I 'snort' - that's because I had stopped breathing and that's the body's way of waking you up to remind you to breathe. The tech said I did a lot of snoring during the night too. Sleep apnea usually occurs during dream states. She said I dreamt alot, although I don't recall any of them.

With sleep apnea - the tongue and soft palette collapse into the back of the throat causing obstruction. If you have a large uvula ( that hanging thingee in the back of the throat) that can also contribute.

I'll get the official results in about a week. From there it will be determined what type of treatment I'll receive. One is a CPAP - (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) - I believe it's a type of mask.

Another treatment is oral appliances - but I do NOT like the description of these - a tongue retaining appliance and a mandibular repositioning appliance. If I get my druthers, I'd druther have the mask.

Rescheduled Sleep Study

I had to call and reschedule my sleep study from tomorrow night to Friday Oct. 10th. I've been sick all week with a bad head cold and it's now going into my chest. I 'm up half the night blowing my nose and spraying my throat so there's no way the sleep study would be a 'true' one anyway.

Sleep Study & More

I finally made my appointment for the sleep study to see if I actually have sleep apnea. It's next Saturday night. I have to be there at 8:30 pm. I was so surprised that they do this on a weekend, but really glad so I won't have to worry about Deana having to take off work because she can't get a sitter for the baby.
I have to keep a log of my sleeping habits for this week. Also my coffee and alcohol consumption, naps, when I doze off, etc.

Got my results back from my bloodwork. My thyroid test came back normal. How can that be when my metabolism is 'stuck'? Oh well, guess I have to work harder at getting it back on track.

My cholesterol was high. Might be those once a week egg, cheese and sausage bagels. Back to cereal. Dr. M. wants me to start taking 80 mg of Zocor instead of the 40 mg I was on.

Friday my 8 year old grandaughter stayed home from school sick. She started off the night before with a scratchy throat and by morning was coughing and complaining her stomach hurt. When she got here she was hungry and wanted some 'dippy eggs' ( lightly turned over) and toast. She was only able to take a few bites before she made a mad dash for the toilet and lost what little she did eat.
She laid on the couch and fell asleep for most of the rest of the day. I tried to get some liquids into her so she wouldn't dehydrate. She really didn't want much.
By late afternoon she had a low grade fever.
When mom picked her up from here at 5:30, Jordyn didn't want dinner, just gingerale and went back to bed. She slept until 3 am, watched TV for about an hour and then fell back asleep. By Saturday morning she was feeling better.
Saturday night her Mom, Deana complained of a scratchy throat and yesterday was suffering with a fever, chills, stuffy nose. She stayed home from work today as she still didn't feel any better.
Last night both Tom and I had scratchy throats. Neither of us got a good night's rest. Today we are both coughing, sneezing and have stuffy noses and he's lying down right now. This scratchy feeling makes me think of when I had strep throat.
It's very unpleasant.
Deana says the baby isn't feeling well now either. It seems too early for the flu - they aren't even giving out flu shots here yet. Must be some virus going around.
I have too much to catch up on so I'll rest later.

Is Menopause The Cause Of Tiredness?

The past month or so I've noticed that even with my getting between 7 and 8 hours of sleep a night, I'm still exhausted during the day time. I do not sleep straight through the night. It doesn't matter how tired I am it takes me a good ten to fifteen minutes to fall asleep and I'm constantly waking up. I do not sleep straight through the night.
I am just so tired and I have no energy. At first I wondered if I might have sleep apnea, and the only reason I suspected that is because ocassionally I've waken myself with a 'snort'. I asked Tom if he's heard me snore and he says sometimes. Most of the time it doesn't bother him because he's so busy snoring himself. I looked up sleep apnea and it was 'possible' I might have a slight case.
I had to see my family doctor last week to get some new prescriptions and mentioned to her how tired I've been. She asked the usual questions and then looked at my chart to see when the last time was that I'd had my thyroid checked.
It's been over a year. She wrote me out a script for some blood work but I haven't received the results yet. Hypothyroidism runs in my family, my eldest daughter and two of my siblings have it.
I brought up the possibility of sleep apnea and she asked if I was a snorer and I explained about the 'snort'. She wrote me another script to have a sleep test done. I asked if she wanted me to wait until we got the results of my thyroid test back first, and she said no, that it's a good idea to have this sleep test done anyway because of my heart condition. She said she's surprised that she didn't think to have this done 'before'. I still need to make that appointment, just trying to figure out the best time to have it done so that I don't inconvenience the family. I watch my youngest grandaughter who is 21 months old ( the older two are now in school all day) while my daughter and son-in-law work. They have no one else they can depend on and one of them would have to miss work.

Sleep Apnea More Common, Severe In Post-Menopausal Women

Today I got an email from Wellsphere.com of which I'm a member. I went to the site to read some other member's writings on menopause and came across one that caught my attention by Eileen K. called Sleeping And Menopause.
Eileen writes that her own sleeping patterns have taken a turn for the worse since she began perimenopause. She came across an article called Getting A Good Night's Sleep Is The Biggest Problem For Women Entering Menopause .

I found it very interesting. Although in my own personal case, I think my sleeping problems are worse now than they were when I was perimenopausal. My menstrual cycle stopped three years ago when I was 52. I've had a few night sweats over the past seven years but I've never heard anyone refer to 'day sweats' until I read this article. I get the day sweats every single day, several times a day.
It's more than annoying.
Forgetfulness was another commonly reported symptom. Again, I was not aware that forgetfulness was a symptom of menopause. I just thought I was on the brink of early dementia. My forgetfulness has been embarrassing, inconvenient and scary. At least now I have something I can blame it on.