Thank you all for your help, advice and thoughts.
Thank you silverlady for the recommendations on where and what to get and the dosage advice - I knew you would give the best advice on this.
I have always resisted the temptation to have a television or computer in the bedroom(though my husband would love a TV!!!) and even the bedside lights are not strong. I have made light blocking blinds for the window so the room remains really dark. I've recently bought a new mattress that is more supportive (fab bargain in the John Lewis sale) and a 2.5 tog feather duvet with cotton/linen mix covers to help me keep cool but warm enough to sleep.
I tend to have a good bedtime routine to wind down. I have a lovely warm shower, a good rub down with the towel and then massage in moisturiser. I usually read for a while and often do some meditation and when I feel sleepy I switch off the light. I sometimes fall to sleep quite quickly but I often get anxiety type dreams and tend to wake several times during the night either because I'm over heating with a flush or need to have a pee. After I've been to the bathroom I always find it hard to go back to sleep as I get that horrible creeping sensation through my legs which ends with a major flush and this makes me feel wide awake. Some nights are better than others - the humid nights we've had this summer and at the moment have been torture.
I know I have Nocturia so have to pee at least twice a night. When I was on HRT it was not as bad as it is now. My GP prescribed some diuretics to take late afternoon (she thought I was retaining fluid in my legs!! - I don't think I do) but they make me really thirsty through the evening, I still get up at least twice in the night and I get a headache in the morning. I tend to have most of my fluid intake during the day and very little during the evening but, again, this often doesn't work. I know there are drugs you can take for this but they bring some nasty side effects and I'm reluctant to go down that route.
I have tried herbal remedies like Herbal Nytol, teas etc. - I know that Hops are supposed to be really good to help with sleep (I work for a brewery so I know all about hops - hops are related to cannabis!!!) but sadly they haven't really helped. The only way I can get a good night is if I take a Nytol that has an antihistamine but of course you can't take that too often as it will stop working. I usually take a Nytol the night before a busy work day or when I've had a run of bad nights.
To me it makes sense that if I am not making enough Melatonin - which apparently is quite common as we get older - then this might be giving me a more disturbed night. I think it's worth giving it a go.
The only thing I haven't tried is acupuncture and that may be my next experiment if I can afford it and also I'd need to find a good practitioner.
It's been nearly a year since I came off HRT and I thought I was doing really well and was rather relieved not to be dependant on HRT(for me HRT was always a necessary evil as I always had issues with progesterone) but at the moment I'm starting to feel a real craving for oestrogen - the quality of sleep, the energy etc. I think the very hot, humid summer has drained me a bit - I'm a very active person and I'm having to pace myself so much more without HRT. Maybe when the weather cools down I will feel differently. I am not ruling out going back on HRT - I'm very tempted to try just one squirt of Oestrogel with 7-10 days of Utrogestan monthly to see how I feel.
If anybody has any other thoughts or ideas I'm open to your suggestions.
Thanks again everyone. DG xxxxxxx
