Love Bujold.
@SouthJerseyChessMom I don’t really know, but I don’t think so. I think the insomnia is related to menopause as it just started a couple of years ago and I’ve had the heart condition since I was a teenager.
The heart valve issues are mild/moderate structurally (two are leaky, the mitral and tricuspid), are very common and aren’t supposed to be concerning. But for some reason the mild prolapse will sometimes cause symptoms for some people that can’t be explained by such a minor structural defect. My symptoms increased in severity when I started perimenopause, which is also common. I have had problems with SVT and other arrhythmias, and was on beta blockers for a while, but they dropped my already low BP and heart rate too much, so I don’t take any heart meds now. That’s why I had the procedure last week, I got a small implanted cardiac monitor (just under the skin) to try to find the root cause of the arrhythmias because meds weren’t an option for me anymore (the non med treatment option is a cardiac ablation if the problem can be pinpointed to faulty electrical pathway - but the Dr. needs more info on how exactly my heart is behaving - thus why I had to get the monitor implanted). So heart meds aren’t the cause of my sleep issues. I didn’t want to get into all this, because as you can see, it’s complicated.
Thanks for your suggestions and support :).
@mathmom @tempemom I’ll get my daughter one and send to her as a surprise. She loves to read. Which one would you suggest?
And thanks for the answer to the St. Cyr question. I’ll get the first one in my next order!
I also have MVP and leaky mitral and tricuspid valves. I have sinus tachycardia related to POTS but never svt.
Have you ever been evaluated for Ehlers Danlos Syndrome? Were you really flexible or double jointed when you were younger? Is your skin velvety and/or stretchy?
The low blood pressure goes along with EDS. Mital and tricuspid leaks, too. Beta blockers aren’t always helpful with EDS either.
I think what you’re dealing with is probably age and hormone related, but you’ve got some signs that something else is going on. It’s benign and just something you have to live with but it can be helpful to understand the big picture.
My doctor wanted to put me on estrogen for sleep but I can manage with exercise.
I’d recommend some mysteries/thrillers, if I could actually remember what I’ve read! 
I’ve actually started a list this year on my computer since a few months ago I brought home a book from the library that I had just read 4 months prior. 8-| Husband then read it and enjoyed it though so I guess it served a purpose - Before the Fall by Hawley.
LeastComplicated, have the doctors suggested bio-identical hormones? Or other sleep aids like melatonin? I know some people take ambien with success, but I’m rather leery of taking that.
I have a friend that I fear is suffering serious memory loss, and I don’t know how to bring it up, or if I should. I would assume she knows, she is in the medical field. She texts me every week or two about getting together, even with specific days and times. I text back, usually within minutes with an answer and a question, she forgets to check her text and then I get another text a week or two later, like it’s a new day…no reference to the last text. I understand that not everybody checks texts often, but she is initiating it, and then forgetting to check, or that she asked. I don’t really know what to say to her.
There are two possible starting points for Bujold’s Vorkosigan books. One school of thought is the order written which means you read the two books about Miles’ parents first - Shards of Honor and Barrayar. I’m pretty sure that’s what I did many eons ago. Shards of Honor is a bit of a love story, so some people prefer to start with the first book about Miles which is much more of a fun adventure tale. Then you start with Warrior’s Apprentice. You don’t need to know his parents’ background to enjoy the story or the universe. You should read the Mile’s books in order since they are both stand alone adventures and a bildungsroman. (BTW she is the first winner of the newly created Hugo category “Best series”.)
@macmiracle No, I don’t believe I have EDS or POTS (even though my sister had a form of scleroderma, which is a connective tissue disorder). I was a gymnast when I was young and would have loved to have been more flexible, but I just don’t have those markers or POTS symptoms (I get my tachy episodes when lying down not standing up).
I didn’t want to get into a lot of medical details, but some medical professionals think that odd symptoms related to MVP can be a form of dysautonomia like POTS and EDS. It’s called MVPS (Mitral Valve Prolapse Syndrome), but it’s not overwhelmingly accepted by the med community yet. My doctors aren’t on board with it for sure.
It would explain some of my symptoms, but I don’t think my treatment would be any different. I’ve thought about inquiring about HRT but I have high cholesterol and just don’t want to have to worry about more med side effects. I’ve been waiting to see if this stuff will ever settle down eventually - I started peri about 9 years ago!
@doschicos Haha, Good one! I think I read about Before the Fall a few weeks ago - I think it was nominated for a mystery book award. I’ll put it on my list!
@LeastComplicated Have you read Donna Leon’s Brunetti series about a detective in Venice? I’ve enjoyed them for the story lines and cultural tidbits given the setting.
@busdriver11 No I haven’t tried that yet. But I have tried melatonin and it made my heart race. My Dr’s and I agree that Ambien isn’t a good idea for me as it is addictive (it’s similar to benzodiazapines). It also isn’t recommended for older people (I used to take it when travelling years ago and it worked great, but it also stopped working after a few days).
So sorry about your friend. I would think that she suspects also, since she must be able to see that she’s messaged you earlier. My mother is definitely having memory problems like that and she doesn’t want to acknowledge it either.
@ Mathmom and @doschicos - Thanks! I’m going to have a long list soon. I love it!
I wonder if you took too high a dosage with melatonin, LeastComplicated, as I don’t think heart racing is a common side effect of it. You are supposed to start with only 1 mg and see how that works for three days, then up the dosage 1 mg every three days, to figure out the appropriate dosage for you. Our son was waking up exhausted in the morning, just doped up, and we found out he was taking a 10 mg melatonin pill! People don’t understand the dosages.
@collage1 – I take Nature Made B Complex with Vitamin C, plus a separate B12 supplement (because the Nature Made doesn’t have B12, and my doctor suggested that I add B12). Nature Made has several different formulations and I have found that the combination of B-vitamins in other supplements also is variable. So no particular recommendation … it’s just what works for me.
@busdriver11 I just checked and it was 3mg. So yes, I possibly did take too much.
I think it was the lowest dose that the pharmacy offered. I’m very sensitive to drugs, so I usually take the smallest dose when I try a new drug or supplement.
I’ll give it another try. I saw that they had a 300 mcg dosage on Amazon, so maybe I’ll try that. Thanks!
Sure, LeastComplicated, it’s always worth a try. I go to a specialized longevity clinic, and one of their huge emphasis programs is a memory one (I’m not on it, but probably should be).
The doctor says that you should make sure that you have a good 8 hours to sleep, that you don’t have to get up too early, and it does take at least a half an hour to kick in. The goal is that when you wake up in the morning, you should feel rested and refreshed. You should have dreamt, but not had crazy, wild psychedelic dreams (too much melatonin, and some people can’t take any). It’s fine if you woke up in the middle of the night, it’s not like you’re drugged, but you should go right back to sleep, not stay up for hours. Most people won’t even be affected by a tiny dosage, but some can’t take it at all. And then you just increase it until you get the desired effect. I only use 2 mg, and when I use 3, my dreams get a little intense and I feel a little doped up when I wake up.
Not saying you have POTS, but people with POTS can get tachy with melatonin. Just saying it can affect some people that way. Maybe it can be a trigger to certain people with abnormal wiring??
I don’t doubt it. I gotten tachy from all kinds of things that certainly wouldn’t affect most people at all.
Least Complicated - this may sound like a silly suggestion for sleeping but I learned accidently that a Starbuck’s Hot Vanilla Creme aka Steamer will calm you down and help you sleep. Turns out it’s just warm sweet milk - Grandma’s remedy but $! My husband and boys like to take a trip to get an ice cream cone occasionally and I’m not a fan so I’d have them swing by Starbucks and get a skinny decalf latte - but it was never quite decalf enough so I switched to the “steamer” and found I would always get sleepy not too long after finishing.
Least Complicated–my suggestion would be to get out and exercise. Take a class if you don’t want to do it on your own–barre, pilates mat, TRX or yoga. I started yoga at age 60 and I love it. I can’t believe how much better I feel after a class–both physically and mentally. I have been practicing for 5 years and feel like it has kept me sane.
I second the earlier recommendation for Donna Leon’s Commissario Brunetti series. I’m a big crime/mystery fan–two books I finished recently and would recommend: Long Black Veil (Jennifer Finney Boylan) and Husband’s Wife (Jane Corry).
The health food stores sell melatonin in liquid form with an eye dropper so you can finely titrate your dose to the smallest effective dose.