I cannot stay asleep and it's killing me

[ExhaustedEm]

I've now been on HRT since December and testosterone added since February and my sleep, if anything, has got worse.

I fall asleep fine but cannot stay asleep. I sleep exactly 5 hours - you could set a clock by it - and then I'm awake.

I'm fucking up at work, I'm falling asleep at my desk, I fall asleep on the train. I cannot stay awake I am so tired. I'm worried I'm going to lose my job.

I've tried magnesium, CBD, L theanine, Nytol and god knows what else. I can't take prescription stuff for too long and when I stop, the sleep goes back the way it was.

If anyone has a similar sleep pattern, have they found a way to fix it? I am absolutely desperate now

Take vitamin B complex for energy.
Which magnesium did you take, it needs to be glycinate taken before bed.
No phones/screens/TV in bedroom.
Good, constant bedtime routine.
Are you too hot/cold? Being disturbed by partner snoring etc? I can highly recommend separate rooms if so.
Stop alcohol.
Reduce stress.
Think about what you are eating in the evening.

Have totally cut out alcohol
Kicked out Dp to spare room
I wear an eye mask and ear plugs
Took the right magnesium at night but it did nothing

Argh!!

I'm in exactly the same boat as you right now aged 51 and menopause too. Because around 11pm or a bit later and 4am wake up every.single.night and I can't get back to sleep so I wait until 5.30am then just get up and make tea

I'm having to go to bed at 9pm which is probably too early but I cannot torment myself awake any longer!

My sleep is exactly this too 😩 I find tablet and spray magnesium before bed helps a bit. Relaxation exercises (insight timer app has free ones) sometimes help me go back to sleep. Knackering myself out during the day can sometimes help especially if I do
something outside all day, but not always. The only thing that seems to work for a few consecutive nights is to miss an entire nights sleep when I don't have to work the next day. But even that doesn't last more than 3 night usually.

I'm also 51 @Carsarelife

I am seriously getting to the point where I'm considering stopping work, selling the house and going to live in a static caravan as dragging myself through every day this tired is like a permanent torture!

Yeah I manage until 11pm just watching Netflix normally. I'm doing a healthy diet too so at first I was worried I was just hungry but it's way more than that as going on too long now

Can you build a 2 hour nap into the day at some point so you’re still getting the equivalent of a full nights sleep in total across a 24 hour period? May not be ideal but getting more sleep will make a difference even if it is broken up.

I have to admit to having taken the occasional antihistamine on a night before work, if I’ve been feeling stressed.
I had to drop a day as my sleep was so affected. Stress really doesn’t help, but it’s a vicious circle.

Doctor thought/hoped HRT would help. I've seen a specialist now and I'm going back next week again to check testosterone levels so I will ask again.

Mainly people just look at me with those sad sympathetic eyes and talk about sleep hygiene but I'm really doing all I can I think

It's just so frustrating :(

Feel for you OP. Have been in a similar situation.
I have found cutting out all booze and taking the 3 in 1 magnesium just before bed and a multi b vitamin has completely reversed my insomnia (which went on for a looooong time).
I did try heaps of magnesium supplements before I found this one that really does work for me

@DustyLee123 I'm going to have to start doing that more if I want to keep my job. I'm also pondering asking for a day off each week at least till I've sorted this out as I'm not coping. Today I've got to give a 2 hour presentation to 300 people and I honestly want to cry :( . Usually I would have prepared so well but yesterday I had a long meeting and it took it out of me so I haven't prepared as much as I normally would have done

@MolkosTeenageAngst I'm in an office most days unfortunately grrr

You can't do this every night but if I've had a few bad nights then I take a dose of night nurse and it does the trick.
At least then I have a decent night and can cope for a few more days

Same here. It is sooo bloody frustrating.

How long did it take for this to work for you?

I would just accept it for the time being. Five hours sleep is not ideal, but you can certainly survive on it, and hopefully your hormones will settle into a better pattern soon.

I would get some good audio books on Libby or Borrowbox and put one on when you wake. You are more likely to fall back to sleep if you are relaxed but if not, at least your mind is engaged with something other than fretting.

Controversial- but if I'm struggling with sleep & have something important on at work, I take blue Nytol for a few nights in a row to try & regulate a pattern. Works a treat.

No there's nothing you can really do other than take medication for it (or alter the hormones you're taking in your case) I'm nocturnal and I just have learned to live with it to an extent, and treat sleeping pills as something I'm allowed comparatively sparingly. I hope it levels out for you though

If your on holiday to Europe anytime soon or know someone who is get some melentonin. You can't take it every night but it definitely helps. I stock up whenever I'm abroad.

I found I woke and then my mind was racing. I taught myself some techniques to distract my mind and that's really helped or I've just come out the other side. It's horrible.

I could have written this. Tried EVERYTHING.

finally found CBD oil and my God it actually works!!!! 7 hours solid every night ( after a decade of 4 or 5 hours.

The one I use is Otto, from John Lewis. 10% cbd oil, £70 a bottle but well worth it

I found marine collegen made me sleepy as hell

@Mumblechum0 do you drink the oil or rub it on you? I haven't tried that brand and tbh I'm so desperate I will try anything

Thanks for everyone's suggestions - it actually makes me feel better to know that others are going/have gone through this

I will have to take a Nytol tonight I think!