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[soniad]

Hi Ladies,

I am new to this forum and would like to share my story and get some insight from you all. I am 49YO, still having periods and after struggling for 3 years with insomnia, I have started HRT 5 days ago.

I am taking 25mcg of estrodiol (patch) and 100mg Utrogestan (vaginally) for 15 days a month. I wanted to start with a very low dose because I was terrified the hrt would make my insomnia worse. I am due to start the Utrogestan tomorrow.

I felt the effects almost immediately - the estrodiol is very stimulating. I had difficulty falling asleep the first night and slept fitfully and in my opinion, not very well.
I woke feeling grumpy because I had a full day at work ahead of me and was wondering how I was going to get through the day after having had a shocking night's sleep.

Interestingly enough, I was not tired the whole day. Normally I would start to feel very sleepy and fatigued at about 11AM after a bad night's sleep. The following two nights I fell asleep straight away, woke a couple of times to go to the toilet (this is normal for me) and then was awake at 3AM - unable to return to sleep.

Again the following days I was not at all tired,except for one day where I started to feel tired in the second half of the day. This pattern has continued since starting the estrodiol - fall alseep straight away, get anything from 5 - 6.5 hours sleep (I usually need at least 8 hours to feel refreshed) and then awake at 3AM.


I'm not sure what to make of it. At least prior to starting the HRT I would have quite a few nights in the month where I would fall asleep fine and have no early morning waking (although in the last month this has worsened). Today, on day 5 I also feel tired so I feel the HRT is actually making my sleep progressively worse.

I have a couple of questions for those of you who have tried hrt for insomnia:

1) Does anybody else find the estrodiol stimulating?
2) Could I be making my situation worse by taking hrt?
3) Has anybody experienced an initial worsening of symptoms when starting hrt?
4) If HRT was successful for you, how long did your sleep take to settle down?

Thanks in advance for your advice

cheers

[CLKD]

 

I'm sure that someone who takes HRT will be along. 

Sleep problems often come with the territory  - how was your sleep pattern prior to HRT?  Browse round, make notes!

[AuntyNancy]

Hi Sonaid,

I started on 25mg Estradot but quickly increased to 50mg patch.  I have been on the 50mg for nearly 5 years now.

Personally, I found the effects of the oestrogen beneficial after years of suffering the general awfulness of being peri-menopausal. I can't recommend Estradot enough, I love it.  I slept better due to not having hot sweats every night.  Incidentally, I also sleep very well due to the sedintary effects of the progesterone.

It may take a while for the HRT to take effect. Also, it can also take time to find a HRT best suited to you.  Good luck on your journey.

Please ask, I will try and answer any questions you may have.

Debs x

 

[Dancinggirl]

Hi and welcome soniad
Firstly, you are trying a very good form of HRT - well done for asking for this.
HOWEVER, you are over thinking things way too much It is very early days on the HRT, it's summer and the weather is very humid at the moment, so sleeping is difficult anyway - I doubt very much that it's the HRt causing your sleep issues.
That low a dose of oestrogen will take some time to kick in so the sleeping problems you are describing are about you being anxious and looking for side effects and probably nothing to do with the oestrogen.  Oestrogen is not a stimulant - it is a natural hormone that allows your body to function better generally.  In my experience oestrogen gives me better quality sleep - progesterone can have a slight sedative effect but this varies from women to women.
Your sleeping problems could well be more to do with a lack of oestrogen or fluctuating hormone levels which are typical of the peri meno stage. As the HRT stabilises your hormones then you will start to feel better and this can take 2-3 months, or even longer, after starting HRT.
This low dose of oestrogen will probably take 3-4 weeks to really start taking effect. I bet you will find your sleep will start to improve over this time.  BE patient, try to relax and don't look for problems. Keep us posted.  DG x

[soniad]

Thank you everybody for your replies and your well-wishes!

Dancinggirl I'm actually from Australia so so hot weather here atm

It's definitely not anxiety that is causing the sleeplessness - I know my body very well and it is extremely sensitive to hormonal changes. I have to say my sleep is the worst it has ever been since starting the patches.

Your sleeping problems could well be more to do with a lack of oestrogen or fluctuating hormone levels which are typical of the peri meno stage. As the HRT stabilises your hormones then you will start to feel better and this can take 2-3 months, or even longer, after starting HRT.
This low dose of oestrogen will probably take 3-4 weeks to really start taking effect.

It comforts me to hear that it can take 3-4 weeks for things to settle. I was under the impression that everything should have sorted in about 2 weeks.

I will keep persevering!

[Taz2]

Hi soniad  I found that 25 wasn't enough to help with my symptoms so you may have to ask for an increased dose to get more benefit if after a few weeks you still feel the same?  The 50 patches gave me relief from hot sweats within forty eight hours.

Taz x 

[matildamouse]

Hi Sonia, I am also from Australia. Well done for getting utrogestan! I am really interested how did you go about that as I was told it is not available here as Utrogestan for HRT purposes?? Hopefully you have some good news

I am also on Estradot 25mg patch and it helped for my hot flushes but did not stop it. I had to increase to 37.5mg since the weekend and now my hot flushes are gone but I wake up early (from 04h00 onwards) the last few mornings. Also hoping this will settle as I feel so much more settled on this dosage.

Please let us know how you are getting on. Hope it all settles down.

[soniad]

Hi soniad  I found that 25 wasn't enough to help with my symptoms so you may have to ask for an increased dose to get more benefit if after a few weeks you still feel the same?  The 50 patches gave me relief from hot sweats within forty eight hours.

Hi Taz2! Yes I wanted to tread very carefully with this so I started at the lowest dose. I will give it 6 weeks then see how I'm faring. I've been reading a lot of forums and many say that when you start hrt or change your dosage symptoms can actually get worse before they get better, so that gave me great comfort. I'll review my dosage with my doctor after that time.

Well done for getting utrogestan! I am really interested how did you go about that as I was told it is not available here as Utrogestan for HRT purposes?? Hopefully you have some good news

Hi Matildamouse! It's great to meet a fellow Aussie! Re the Utrogestan, I was adamant with my doctor that I wanted Utrogestan and was willing to buy it myself online if I had to. But it turns out you CAN get it from a company called Lawley Direct in Perth. All you have to do is send them your prescription and you can order via email. Too easy!

I am also on Estradot 25mg patch and it helped for my hot flushes but did not stop it. I had to increase to 37.5mg since the weekend and now my hot flushes are gone but I wake up early (from 04h00 onwards) the last few mornings. Also hoping this will settle as I feel so much more settled on this dosage.

I've been doing a lot of reading about this Matilda. When you change or start hrt there can be an adjustment period where you might actually get new menopause symptoms or your current symptoms may worsen. For example, Since I started 7 days ago I have been getting mild hot flushes - which I NEVER got before starting the hrt.

So don't panic just yet. Give it a few weeks to settle down

[matildamouse]

Thanks for the info Soniad. I pm'ed you.

Interesting that you are getting the hot flushes now on the patch. I started HRT mainly for the hot flushes and night sweats etc. What was your main symptoms or reasons for starting HRT?

[soniad]

The main symptom for me was insomnia. It wasn't terrible, I had plenty of good days - but the last month it has taken a dive, just before my 49th Birthday.

The penny finally dropped after 3 years that the insomnia might be due to perimenopause.

Normally I don't get hot flushes at all.

BUT what I have noticed in the past 3 years is that when I have a bout of bad sleep I get a feeling of excess heat in my upper back (feels like the start of a hot flush). Whenever that happened I knew I was in for a bout of sleeplessness.

[matildamouse]

Oh Ok...makes sense. And insomnia is the pits!! Really hope it settles for you soon.

I forgot to answer you, I am post menopausal. Had no periods for 18 months and  I am 52 years of age.

[soniad]

Thanks for letting me know Matilda