Insomnia

[Touty]

have Suffered from insomnia for several years I am 54 post menopause , currently taking 1 pump of oestrogen and 200 of progesterone for half the month

mood is ok

i I have to rely on sleeping tablets most nights

should I increase oestrogen- would that help with insomnia?

@Gatekeeper its 200 dose for 15 days

@xyz75 i know but I feel I’ve nothing to get up for

Fellow insomniac here as you can see from the time 🙄
I plan all appointments in the morning, can you join a local walking group / gym to get your steps in ?
I’m definitely worse if I’m not tired enough. Tried everything HRT has not helped.

That’s how you’d fit in the 10k steps and other activity to tire you out for a proper bedtime.

At the moment, the research shows no link with higher estrogen doses and BC.
The risk with HRT comes from the progesterone (and the type it is) according to the research. 2 pumps is still a low-medium dose.

Lack of sleep is one of the biggest health risks of all- far more than 2 pumps of gel.

It leads to heart disease, diabetes, weight gain, lower immune system (to fight off diseases like cancer.)

I read this week that less than 6-7 hours of sleep a night, long term, doubles the risk of cancers.

'It seems like a lot of posts here aren't addressing your question which was do you need more oestrogen YES'

Tbf the op seems to have a deep seated, chronic insomnia problem with a reliance on sleeping tablets. Yes of course tinkering with hrt worth a try but when the issue is this entrenched lifestyle obviously needs looking at first and foremost.

An extra pump of oestrogen will not make a blindest bit of difference to someone whose routine is sleeping throughout the day with what seems little or no physical activity.

They need to reset their body clock by getting up, having a plan of activities to fill their day and then go to bed at bedtime naturally tired.

The sleep problem started in peri really, about that time I moved to Spain

@Janiie Her sleep problem started in peri so it's likely this is hormonal.
She's 54 and post menopausal so it has been going on for years - yes- but that's not to say it's not caused by loss of estrogen.

I agree her body clock is skewed and that needs addressing, seriously.
Sleep hygiene, regular time to get up, go to bed, morning light, meals at the right time, no screen time in the evening, eetc.

But it also is worth trying more gel especially when she's not yet on the standard dose. It's something I feel personally (my sleep went to pot post meno.)

My Mum hasn't slept well for over 40 years since menopause. Sadly she was not allowed HRT at 60 when she asked for it (decades ago) not just for sleep but night sweats and her health has suffered since through lack of sleep.

@Touty There are lots of sleep experts online. One of the best is Dr Matthew Walker who's written books and has a lot of stuff online. Take a look at his website.