Whirlpool and GE both offer unitized 24-inch wide washer-dryers that use gas for the dryer. Reviews for both machines are readily available online from various sites. Another option is to use a portable dryer that runs on 120V. Drying times will be longer, but if you have an outside vent it will still beat indoor rack drying.

The gagging could be from what is called "silent reflux"... I didn't even know i had it until i went to the doctor with an ear ache which was also contributed to the reflux. When you are laying down the acid can creep up and then in turn make you cough and gag. I had nausea as well for many years from this and did not even know it. It is quite common in perimenopause as it relates to hormone fluctuations. I take an OTC Zegerid at night for the reflux and it has helped a lot. Also, not eating a few hours before going to bed may help as well. Not sure if this is what you have but it sounds like it to me. As for night sweats i found that at least 30 minutes of exercise a day, walking or running helped tremendously. It also helps with my anxiety and nervousness that also comes up out of nowhere at times. The only thing getting me through is the thought of making it to the finish line and this being over fairly soon... i hope! Good luck

I was in the same boat as you are 12 years ago. I went to an herbal store and spoke to the worman who owned it. She suggested Dong Quai. I didn't find chewing on a Dong Quai leaf helped much. Then I tried Solaray's phytoestrogen and that helped quite a bit. I went down to about 6-8 hot flashes a day and waking up to about 1 night sweat/night, sometimes none. I also found that keeping a bottle of cold water in the refrigerator, or a small cooler when I went somewhere, helped a lot. When I felt a hot flash coming on, I would drink probably 6 oz. of the cold water and it seemed to cool me from the inside, making the hot flash less severe. Then I became a Melaleuca customer and tried their EstrAval (contains dried soy extract, dried Dong Quai extract, and Dried Black Cohosh extract). I went down to 1 and sometimes no hot flashes/day, and while I occasionally get hot at night, I rarely have a night sweat. There is nothing to say these products will work for everyone, but I'd try them before I went to a perscription. Both Solaray and Melaleuca have good reputations for safe, effective products. I know Melaleuca is a registered pharmaceutical company the same as Merck and Pfizer.

GM, a couple of years ago I was put on Effexor to try to wean off of HRT. I'm sorry I cannot remember the specific side effects, but I ended up back on HRT. I happen to be extremely sensitive to most medications and I've tried a lot of AD's because of chronic depression(in addition to menopause). I've never been able to take any of the SSRI/SNRI's(Effexor is one). These meds in general kept me up at night, made me jittery, and some made me itch intensely. That being said, Effexor did help with my hotflashes. You might ask your doctor if you can start with the very lowest dose you can, and work up from there. Maybe start with a regular release instead of the timed release you've been given so you can split pills and start with a very low dose. And, if it doesn't eventually help with your symptoms, it's very important to wean off of these drugs gradually, not by stopping cold turkey. Another drug that has been used for hotflashes is Neurontin(Gabapentin). It is I believe an anti-seizure drug that is also used 'off label' for neuropathic pain, hotflashes, and more. I tried this one too(I have FMS along with everything else), and I couldn't even get up to a therapeutic dose(typical in my case)before I had bad side effects, although it did help with hotflashes. And, it has helped others...I'm just very sensitive. So if you are against, or are not a candidate for HRT, I would give these meds a go, being careful to start at the lowest dose. Good luck to you, and keep trying! You deserve some relief!