Sleeping

Many thanks for your reply Suzanne maybe this is something I should look into. I have tried herbal remedies but not helping at all.

If you don't get sleep other things can surface. So important to get sleep!!

Hi Suzanne, iv been put back to oral progesterone only troche for a week now. Was wondering how you find the oral progesterone? I'v definately been a bit tired and flat the past week. I'm not sure what to think.

I only take it before bed. It really does help me sleep. And it's controlling the crazy estrogen. My breasts seem better than they were. When I first started taking it I was tired the next day, but that seems to have gotten better. Im no longer taking the estrogen/prog/testosterone. I've got a boatload of expensive cream here. But now that I found I have reactivated EBV and hormones feed the virus I've gone off.

For now anyway..hopefully the creams won't go bad and I can revisit them later once things have calmed down. How much oral prog are you taking?

That's so interesting. I'v had massive problems with high estrogen. Its high all the time then it spikes and the moods are uncontrollable and unbearable. He tried to balance me with all three hormones which helped a lot with my moods but my estrogen is still through the roof. I'm on 200mg progesterone plus an anti estrogen myomin (switched from dim for a while). I actually feel better today. I know it takes a while for the body to adjust each time my troche is changed. I'm a bit of a tricky one for my doctor as I don't display any signs of high estrogen at all except my moods. I'm very lean and quite muscular from lifting weights for a number of years. Eventually he does want me back on my old troche with estrogen progesterone and testosterone as we need all three as we age . Forgot to mention my testosterone was incredibly high naturally too so it might be converting. Wow its complicated but I'm definitely getting better and I have no choice but to get myself sorted. I was actually becoming unhinged before I found the doctor who is helping me and it scared me. Do you have mood problems ??

When all this started last year I was out of control. I'd get so mad at my husband for stupid reasons and I would just fly off the handle and scream and throw things. I'm sure my behavior caused the gastritis! This was all probably due to unopposed estrogen. The hormone doc said my progesterone was almost zero. He reasoned that even though I'm estrogen dominant my estrogen was low. And that's why he wanted me on the estrogen too. When I started complaining about having adrenaline rushes the GYN said it was from the testosterone but hormone doc said no. Regardless I demanded cream without it. But it didn't matter. Still got them along with the burning foot which started a week after starting the creams.

I just don't believe they can really regulate things when our hormones are all over the place.

Hello.

What is a hormone Dr? An endocrinologist?

Do you trust the gynecologist more or the hormone Dr?

I want to start HRT but have no idea who I should see.

Do they test your hormones before, during or after menstruation?

I am in the USA and I can't afford all these different doctors.

Thank you for your help.

The hormone doc I saw is in Tampa and he specializes in bioidentical hrt. Forget an endocrinologist unless you are having thyroid issues. GYN will depend. My GYN's answer was birth control pills and she doesn't believe in BHRT, but some do.

My doc checked my blood. It showed I was perimeno and probably not ovulating but I still get my period. And it showed my progesterone being very low. But I really don't think they can be accurate without testing every day, hormones are going up and down and all around. Guess you just have to go by symptoms and ruling other stuff out.

Even the experts don't know enough yet about how to regulate our hormones. My boyfriend studied female hormones a few years ago so luckily he understood why I was out if control but it was still very hard for him to handle me sometimes. My doctor is a genius and he knew the moment he met me that my body hates estrogen from my body type. My progesterone was ok, estrogen very high and testosterone very high. I still get ups and downs but no where near as intense and they pass a lot quicker. The brain fog has gone so I can put things into perspective now when I feel off. I had a basic understanding of what was happening to my hormones when I was at my worst so I did know I could get help. I have no idea how women handle things if they dont know what's happening to them. It can be terrifying.

I'm on bio identicals in Australia and my doctor specializes in BHRT. He only works with hormones and has done so for about 20 years. He used blood work plus my symptoms as blood work alone may not tell them enough. Don't bother with gynos or endos, the doctor must specialize in bio identical hormones if that's what you want to do. If they are good then they're understanding of Peri/menopause will astound you. My doctor is in his 60's and is a genius. He has given me my life back.

I want your Dr!!!! I am thinking of going with Bioidentical HRT. I am in the USA. I'm going to research online for doctors.

Thanks for info. It's much appreciated.

Thank you for your reply. Unfortunately cannot do HRT due to very high bloody pressure. Acupuncture out of the question as hate needles. Lack of sleep is making me a rather horrible person to live with right now poor kids and husband are getting the brunt of my tiredness. Go to bed lay there for hours and when finally go to sleep wide awake again in 3/4 hours. Like now 01.11 in morning and no sign of me sleeping yet.

I'm so sorry.

I understand. I was hardly sleeping either. It is so hard. I told my husband "now I know why they use sleep deprivation as torture."

You may have to see a Dr about it.

Maybe acupressure? Meditation? Do any antihistamines make you sleepy? Over the counter sleep med?

I know they are chemicals but it is sleep.

Melatonin?

My cousin used Melatonin and it helped her quite a bit.

I hope you find sleep soon.

Sparkysweet, I get why they use it as torture too. Sleep is how your body repairs itself and I really think you could go mad if you're deprived of it long enough.  Karen is getting some sleep, just not enough. When my sister went through menopause, she had bad insomnia for two weeks. I mean only sleeping about an hour or so each night. She was still working at the time so it was paramount that she get some rest. She called me and at the time I was nowhere near menopause, so I didn't get it. I wasn't mean or anything, I just told her to relax and her body would eventually just give in and sleep. And that's just what happened. But I realize now it can go on longer than two weeks. She was blessed, but she had a lot of other menopause related issues that lasted longer. Sorry, I didn't mean to go on.

I seen that you take hydroxyzine for your insomnia and anxiety. I just started to take it. How long have you used it?  I'm perimenopause and have been for a few years but this April I was hit with severe anxiety and then came the insomnia. 

Hello.

I was hit overnight with the anxiety and insomnia too. I literally went into full-blown bad symptoms overnight.

It started early this May.

I started taking Hydroxyzine the middle of May this year. I take 12.5 mg at bedtime.

It also helps me with pain. I have a condition called Complex Regional Pain Syndrome in my right foot and leg.

I have acupuncture once a week now. I was going twice a week. It really helps me with anxiety, sleep and just an overall sense of well-being.

I hope this helps. Take care.

It's funny that you started close to the same time this year as me. I started my nightmare April 4th, thought I was having a heart attack. Rushed to er, tests done, admitted cuz one of my heart enzymes was elevated and continued to climb while in the er. They done all tests on me including a cardiac cath the following day and my tests including my heart came back excellent thank goodness , they diagnosed me with myocarditis, inflammation around the heart due to a virus caused by stomach flu that I had a week prior to this incident, what threw me into this nightmare was my depo provera shot, I got it the day before and after all this time And research I've came to the conclusion that it threw my whole hormone situation out of whack, I've had hot flashes and night sweats for over two years and just dealt with them but now anxiety and insomnia is my main problem.𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌 I take 25 mg of hydroxyzine hcl. I don't know if I'm on the right one tho. There's two different ones and from what I've read the hydroxyzine Pam is better for anxiety. Do u sleep well with only 12.5 mg. I sleep some but I do toss a lot too. A lot of it is because of my night sweats. They're just awful lately. 

Hello.

It was Prednisone that put me over the edge. I had a bad reaction to the prednisone, it caused me to have Serotonin Toxicity and messed up my hormones and threw me into bad menopause symptoms.

I sleep OK on the small dose but definitely sleep better on a higher dose. I slept better on three quarters of a 25 mg pills or just a 25 mg pill but the higher dose makes me have side effects.

I saw a homeopathic doctor and got treated for the bad prednisone side effects. It helped my anxiety and panic attacks and insomnia.

I'll have to look into the Hydroxyzine PAM. I've never heard of that.

I have had sleep problems for years. I have Fibromyalgia and sleep issues go with that but the prednisone gave me straight out insomnia. The Hydroxyzine and the homeopathic treatment helped me a lot. I didn't know what to think of having a homeopathic treatment but I went ahead and did it. I'm glad I did.

I hope you start feeling better soon. This perimenopause/menopause is not fun at all!

Homeopathy treatment? I've never heard of that either.  I wouldn't even know where to begin to find that. But I'm glad you're getting better and I'm hoping I get some relief soon as well. This change sucks for all of us women. 

What side effects did you have on the hydroxyzine?