Everol 25 Patches-chronic insomnia

[nadine6301]

Hoping someone can come along and help!! Started hrt month ago and initially prescribed everol 25 patches alongside provera for progesterone. Started patches one day then the provera the next ( day 15 of my cycle just happened to sync in with gp appointment) and two days after starting provera had the most awful insomnia, completely wired and up most of the night. Perservied for ten days then stopped!! (Now been prescribed utrogestan) Sleep improved after for few days but this last week has been hell again.....I'm now thinking it's the everol patches causing the insomnia!? The common side effects state insomnia but gp thinks I need to up the patches to 50...I'm terrified it's going to make it worse still. My mental health is suffering severely. Could really do with some advice from you who have been through similar...what would you do ?

Take high strength magnesium. It helps improve sleep and, seemingly, many menopausal women are quite low in magnesium.

@YouPistonWhat
Thanks for that, do you have a recommendation? I've had a look and there's alot to choose from..

The higher my estrogen patches went, the better my sleep.

I'm on 100 and I sleep now like I used to do before I had children 15yrs ago.

I have coil for progesterone.

I also take magnesium glycinate that I bought from amazon. Get the one with the highest elemental magnesium.

25 is a pretty low dose of oestrogen. I would return to Dr and increase dose until your sleep is resolved.

OK, thanks all. After another horrific sleepless night I'm going to up it today by using two patches. Fingers crossed!!!

If you didn't have insomnia before HRT then yes it sounds like it's the HRT causing it here. But it could just be a temporary effect as your body adjusts. Or maybe it's an ongoing reaction to the Provera which is just going to take time to settle down again.

I don't understand the logic of increasing the dose. Did you GP explain why he thinks that a sudden onset of insomnia within 3 days of starting HRT could be caused by low estrogen, and therefore solved by increasing estrogen?

Many people replying to you will have had insomnia before starting HRT. In other words, their insomnia was caused by menopause. If you didn't, then their experience is not really relevant for you. By all means try increasing the patch dose though. It's only by experimenting that you're going to figure this out. If increasing makes it worse, then you have more information to go on. You could then go back to 25 and leave it a while for your body to adjust.

@Pollyputhekettleon
sorry, didn't explain but yes I've always been an awful sleeper but the last seven months it has gradually got worse. Either couldn't get to sleep, would wake up constantly throughout the night or wake super early and not be able to get back to sleep! Insomnia is horrific!!! However since starting hrt, other than maybe the first few days it's now a nightmare combination of all three..
My gp thinks my starting dose was too low so I guess that's why he's suggested going up to 50 patches.
Do you use patches ?

Ah I see, fair enough. No I'm on Femoston - no help with my insomnia so far so am increasing my dose. Yes insomnia really is the worst, I never had it in my life pre peri-menopause. Hope the dose increase works for you.

I'm a few days in but no miracle yet. I also started eating a carb heavy meal a half hour before bedtime just yesterday and it might have helped last night because I think I got back to sleep a bit after waking up. I generally eat low carb, but for some people that causes early waking (maybe especially when menopause is messing with everything...). Early waking is my only insomnia issue though, whereas yours is a mix.

Sounds like you need more oestrogen.

I always slept really well but my main peri symptom was awful insomnia. I have gradually upped my dose to keep on top of the sleep issue and am now on 2mg zumenon and 1 pump of oestrogel plus progesterone a day.

FWIW the patches did absolutely nothing for me, despite trying a couple of different types and strengths

Out of interest are you on femoston tablets?

I was on the gel and tablets but had to move to patches due to stock issues. When I was on the patches my insomnia was through the roof as were the other symptoms of peri. The doctor agreed that the patches weren’t a good match and I’ve now moved back to gel and tablets in the hopes stock will carry on getting better. I was on the conti patches though which are obviously different

Yes Femoston tablets. Not sure why they put me on them rather than gels or patches. I think it's because of all the supply issues people are having with the transdermals. For now I don't care but longer term I'd like to switch to transdermal.

Everol patches (only) haven't helped my insomnia yet. Though early days.

I might try the magnesium mentioned

I don't know that they've made it worse, though

Thanks all, its just so frustrating not knowing which way to go! I know it's early days and it has to be given time but frankly insomnia is bloody awful, I can manage other symptoms if I could just sleep!! Today i start utrogestan so maybe that will help..
Out of interest anyone used the lenzetto spray ?

I was switched the other month from Zumenon to Femoston tablets and oddly Femoston didn't work at all. All my symptoms came back, so I went back to the docs to get Zumenon and now everything is under control again.

It might be that Femoston doesn't suit you either?

@nadine6301 The obvious answer at the moment is to ask for a higher dose patch. 25mcg is very low (roughly 1 pump of gel, or less.) You've also only been using it for a month when the medical guidance is give it 3 months.

However, as it's such a low dose, you should try 37mcgs or 50mcgs.

@FunnysInLaJardin You could well be right thanks. I'll give the higher dose a month or two to work, then I'll have to try something else. Never heard of Zumenon.

@JinglingSpringbells
Thank you, I did think I'd need to give it at least 3 months but the insomnia is not something that I can tolerate if I need to function. I understand most women are started on a lower dose to see how it goes then work from there, so had assumed 25 patch would be sufficient. What I didn't understand was that younger women ( I'm 44) need a higher level of estrogen ..so based on that I'm hoping a higher dose patch will see an improvement..
Can I ask, is it usual to feel wooley headed when starting hrt? A month in I'm still feeling light headed and dizzy on and off all day..makes me feel rather nauseous!