Adding progesterone and insomnia

[AngieBei]

I had been on Estrogel transdermal with a Mirena coil for progesterone for some years but was experiencing intermittent insomnia, joint pain, intermittent hair loss etc so saw a menopause specialist. She upped the pumps of estrogen and added testosterone 0.3ml daily plus Utrogestan 100mg daily. The progesterone has caused greater insomnia in that I fall asleep ok but wake up feeling wired and not able to get back to sleep. I’ve looked on the internet for alternatives but Provera and Northiserone seem to have worse side effects. What’s everyone else’s experience with progesterone?

Norethisterone gives me awful insomnia. I wouldn’t touch if it you already have problems.

I take Utrogestan for 2 weeks a month and I do sleep worse on those days, increasingly as it gets nearer to my period, but I now take them vaginally and it’s slightly better that way. It’s off licence but GPs don’t seem to know what they’re talking about anyway so 🤷‍♀️

Have you still got the Mirena?

I still have the mirena so am getting some progesterone. I’d hoped this increase would stop or help the joint pain and fatigue but unless these symptoms are just down to an initial settling in period the side effects aren’t going to make this worthwhile in the long run. Insomnia has only been an issue for me whilst in perimenopause and has usually improved when I used a wild yam cream at night so I hoped the Utrogestan would be the same.

I take Provera and I've had no side effects from it at all. A higher oestrogen dose helped my sleep hugely.

I love my Utrogestan. Insomnia was one of my distressing symptoms before I started HRT and I now sleep fine, but especially in the two weeks when I am having Utrogestan (I’m still having periods, so I take it cyclically).

It’s interesting how we all react so differently to the various components of our HRT. It’s a good reminder that we shouldn’t be shy about asking to try different types until we get it right. I think I need to up my oestrogen so am waiting for an appointment to talk about that just now.