Could progesterone correct a problem of insomnia in a postmenopausal woman?

BlackMolasses

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My mother is in menopause and suffers from insomnia, she has obvious signs of too high levels of estradiol (hot flashes, aggressiveness and emotional instability, insomnia?...).
Could progesterone help counter balance the problems of menopause by antagonizing estradiol?
Would it have any harmful side effects? What daily dosage would be acceptable?
I thought of making him an oral solution of progesterone with melatonin, a priori in vodka because I know that apparently melatonin dissolves well in ethanol, no idea for progesterone.
 

Neeters 27

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OMG YES YES YES! Progesterone has saved my life when my periods stopped and all hell broke loose! Please remember most women will spend 40% of their life IN Menopause, its not temporary its the last state of your life! I was using Progesterone cream only for a while, and it helped a great deal when taken at night, and I still use the cream to help me fall back asleep when I get woken up by my husband at 4:30 am when he goes off to work. But I also take 2 pills of 100 mgs Progesterone called Prometrium every night before bed, and if I take it about half an hour to an hour before sleep, I get so sleepy and have wonderful dreams and such. I take that because I also take estrogen and it is required to prevent buildup in my uterus as part of continuous HRT. PLs order some Progesterone cream for your mom, Now brand is excellent from iherb. at menopause our ovaries quit their day job, and we dont make any more progesterone as we no longer ovulate. it will help tremendously! read up on it, you cant go wrong! also at menopause many women are hypothyroid. have a full thyroid panel done. good luck! I would start with 40 mgs at night to see how that goes. at first it may seem like its not doing anything but making her hot at night, but with time it will definitely help. I cant live without it ive been on it since 2010.
 

PeatyParty

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OMG YES YES YES! Progesterone has saved my life when my periods stopped and all hell broke loose! Please remember most women will spend 40% of their life IN Menopause, its not temporary its the last state of your life! I was using Progesterone cream only for a while, and it helped a great deal when taken at night, and I still use the cream to help me fall back asleep when I get woken up by my husband at 4:30 am when he goes off to work. But I also take 2 pills of 100 mgs Progesterone called Prometrium every night before bed, and if I take it about half an hour to an hour before sleep, I get so sleepy and have wonderful dreams and such. I take that because I also take estrogen and it is required to prevent buildup in my uterus as part of continuous HRT. PLs order some Progesterone cream for your mom, Now brand is excellent from iherb. at menopause our ovaries quit their day job, and we dont make any more progesterone as we no longer ovulate. it will help tremendously! read up on it, you cant go wrong! also at menopause many women are hypothyroid. have a full thyroid panel done. good luck! I would start with 40 mgs at night to see how that goes. at first it may seem like its not doing anything but making her hot at night, but with time it will definitely help. I cant live without it ive been on it since 2010.
Would that dosage work for a post-menopausal woman not using estrogen? Is it necessary to cycle the progesterone if not taking estrogen? Thanks
 

Neeters 27

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I know they state on most brands that 20 mgs is 1 full dose, but its mostly for cycling women. for your mom, 40 is the absolute lowest starting dose , and if not on estrogen it wont be too much at first. check out Wray white, she has excellent information, (but she also sells her brand Natpro) and i find it expensive. I pay around 16 bucks for now brand i find it the best for absorption. I had to take 80 mgs 2x a day in the beginning until my symptoms of freezing cold all day and sweating all night improved. turns out I needed thyroid meds. now I take the 200 mgs pills (which actually only deliver 10% after liver metabolizes it) but the metabolites of allopregnanalone is what helps sleep so well) and then again I take 10 or 20 (1/2 to 1 pump) of cream in the morning if needed. I would die without it, plus it keeps my mood stable. without it I am a Beotch and get very anxious. Progesterone is a potent Gaba neurosteroid. better than smoking weed I find!
 

Neeters 27

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I know they state on most brands that 20 mgs is 1 full dose, but its mostly for cycling women. for your mom, 40 is the absolute lowest starting dose , and if not on estrogen it wont be too much at first. check out Wray white, she has excellent information, (but she also sells her brand Natpro) and i find it expensive. I pay around 16 bucks for now brand i find it the best for absorption. I had to take 80 mgs 2x a day in the beginning until my symptoms of freezing cold all day and sweating all night improved. turns out I needed thyroid meds. now I take the 200 mgs pills (which actually only deliver 10% after liver metabolizes it) but the metabolites of allopregnanalone is what helps sleep so well) and then again I take 10 or 20 (1/2 to 1 pump) of cream in the morning if needed. I would die without it, plus it keeps my mood stable. without it I am a Beotch and get very anxious. Progesterone is a potent Gaba neurosteroid. better than smoking weed I find!
Ps I dont cycle it. i cant NOT take it as I have weak adrenals and I cant function without it at all.
 
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“Misconceptions about serotonin and melatonin and tryptophan, which are metabolically interrelated, have persisted, and it seems that the drug industry has exploited these mistakes to promote the “new generation” of psychoactive drugs as activators of serotonin responses.” Ray Peat
 
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FrenchKiwi

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OMG YES YES YES! Progesterone has saved my life when my periods stopped and all hell broke loose! Please remember most women will spend 40% of their life IN Menopause, its not temporary its the last state of your life! I was using Progesterone cream only for a while, and it helped a great deal when taken at night, and I still use the cream to help me fall back asleep when I get woken up by my husband at 4:30 am when he goes off to work. But I also take 2 pills of 100 mgs Progesterone called Prometrium every night before bed, and if I take it about half an hour to an hour before sleep, I get so sleepy and have wonderful dreams and such. I take that because I also take estrogen and it is required to prevent buildup in my uterus as part of continuous HRT. PLs order some Progesterone cream for your mom, Now brand is excellent from iherb. at menopause our ovaries quit their day job, and we dont make any more progesterone as we no longer ovulate. it will help tremendously! read up on it, you cant go wrong! also at menopause many women are hypothyroid. have a full thyroid panel done. good luck! I would start with 40 mgs at night to see how that goes. at first it may seem like its not doing anything but making her hot at night, but with time it will definitely help. I cant live without it ive been on it since 2010.
I am also on estrogen patch and 2×100mg micronised progesterone pills. Have you noticed an increase in hunger and some fat gain?
 

Neeters 27

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I am also on estrogen patch and 2×100mg micronised progesterone pills. Have you noticed an increase in hunger and some fat gain?
Not really for several years, until covid, when gyms were closed and I stopped exercising but still eating the same...however, I am now working again and on a good schedule and losing some inches. I have a good appetite that's for sure! I ride my bike when its not so hot outside. I am 62 and not as energetic as I used to be. thats ok. im not stressed anymore that's the main thing. I was over exercising to keep up with my much younger husband that I met at the gym. now we are both working, me at home on the phone and him in a physical job, its all good, we dont miss the gym and the aches and pains from weight training and such. we just enjoy riding bikes and skating at the beach now for fun...I was a size 8 all my adult life, now size 14, but hey I got me a great set of boobs now, who knew this would happen now Lol!
 

Ildikó

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My mother is in menopause and suffers from insomnia, she has obvious signs of too high levels of estradiol (hot flashes, aggressiveness and emotional instability, insomnia?...).
Could progesterone help counter balance the problems of menopause by antagonizing estradiol?
Would it have any harmful side effects? What daily dosage would be acceptable?
I thought of making him an oral solution of progesterone with melatonin, a priori in vodka because I know that apparently melatonin dissolves well in ethanol, no idea for progesterone.
I am postmenopausal 61 y, have had total hysterectomy. I take micronized progesterone capsules @300mg for my insomnia, progesterone is the only supp has helped greatly.
I have tried pregnenolone @300 mg per week, gave me adrenal surges and insomnia in the evenings .
May be daily small dose of pregnenolone supp taken in morning i should try, but progesterone capsules before bed helps great.
I wonder if anyone else postmenopausal ladies are using it long term?
 

Ildikó

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I am also on estrogen patch and 2×100mg micronised progesterone pills. Have you noticed an increase in hunger and some fat gain?
I am almost 100% sure that the estrogen causes your weight gain. Estrogen slows metabolism.
 

Ildikó

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But my estrogen is so low that I have osteoporosis. What do I do about this?
Sorry to hear that. Estrogen will not help it has quite the opposite effect as i understood from dr Peats articles.
Calcium from milk and low fat cheese, egg shell powder helps for bone health.
Please read dr Peats articles on estrogen, progesterone and menopause. He also has a lot of you tube interview, i like the ones on KMUD Ask the herb doctors.
 

FrenchKiwi

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Sorry to hear that. Estrogen will not help it has quite the opposite effect as i understood from dr Peats articles.
Calcium from milk and low fat cheese, egg shell powder helps for bone health.
Please read dr Peats articles on estrogen, progesterone and menopause. He also has a lot of you tube interview, i like the ones on KMUD Ask the herb doctors.
I have read the articles and listened to Ray Peats thoughts on estrogen. Eschewing estrogen for so many years has done nothing to help me unfortunately
 

frankmp0

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My mother is in menopause and suffers from insomnia, she has obvious signs of too high levels of estradiol (hot flashes, aggressiveness and emotional instability, insomnia?...).
Could progesterone help counter balance the problems of menopause by antagonizing estradiol?
Would it have any harmful side effects? What daily dosage would be acceptable?
I thought of making him an oral solution of progesterone with melatonin, a priori in vodka because I know that apparently melatonin dissolves well in ethanol, no idea for progesterone.

Did you ever find an answer?

Christmas is coming, and I want to get my mom some progesterone, I don't know much about it at all but my intuition tells me it will be helpful.

She took fluoxetine for a long time, has been off of it for 2 months, is multivaxxed, has brain fog+fatigue(long covid), and currently takes semaglutide
 

June

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I am following this cause I would like to know how much to give my 70 year old post menopausal mother. She doesn't have the usual hot flashes and insomnia but she generally just feels unwell with low energy. Some people say if it aint broke, don't fix it. So I'm worried about making things worse for her? Her progesterone/estrogen ratio is 25:1. Like how much progesterone is too much for someone post menopausal?
 

Ildikó

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I am following this cause I would like to know how much to give my 70 year old post menopausal mother. She doesn't have the usual hot flashes and insomnia but she generally just feels unwell with low energy. Some people say if it aint broke, don't fix it. So I'm worried about making things worse for her? Her progesterone/estrogen ratio is 25:1. Like how much progesterone is too much for someone post menopausal?
DO you mean she has got 25unit of progesterone to 1 unit of estrogen? I am in the believe that in postmenopausal women the level of progesteron is very low, this is the same in my case very low progesterone. The ovaries are not producing or only very little amount of progesterone.
I am not taking my oral 300 mg progesterone for my insomnia because my blood test showed my progesterone is going up but i do not know for how long is it safe to use this amount?
In your mothers case i think may be bringing up her metabolism with nutrition would be ideal to try first, lots of good carbs, fruit etc.
I am no expert but this is what i understood from dr. Peats approach.
 

June

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DO you mean she has got 25unit of progesterone to 1 unit of estrogen? I am in the believe that in postmenopausal women the level of progesteron is very low, this is the same in my case very low progesterone. The ovaries are not producing or only very little amount of progesterone.
I am not taking my oral 300 mg progesterone for my insomnia because my blood test showed my progesterone is going up but i do not know for how long is it safe to use this amount?
In your mothers case i think may be bringing up her metabolism with nutrition would be ideal to try first, lots of good carbs, fruit etc.
I am no expert but this is what i understood from dr. Peats approach.
Those are my exact concerns. When is the ideal moment to hold a dose? As in, will your progesterone levels stay steady at 300mg Progesterone or will it keep climbing? The 25:1 is the progesterone to estrogen ratio. They say it should be 100:1 and another site said it should be 600:1 for females. My mother is not even close to 100:1. I think diet can only do so much for someone who is at a stage in their life where they are meant to be deficient in progesterone. I wonder if she needs to be on a super high doses to get her numbers up to that ratio.
 

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