Insomnia

[Betty_Pie]

Okay I've been on hormones as of April 19th and it's been an interesting ride to say the least. Aside from the breast pain and sexual changes, I wanted to talk about my now jacked up sleep cycles. I have trouble getting and staying asleep at this point and the only thing that changed was that I'm now on estrogen and Spiro. Does anyone here have similar experiences and if so, what did you do about it? I suppose I could invest in sleeping pills? Or perhaps a belt of Nyquil before bed will help? Although it occurs to me that I'm also a trained yogi (currently on hiatus) and some Pranayama before bed might be the answer? It's certainly my cheapest option... But I digress! What say you?

[Lexi]

As an active insomniac I feel your pain! I don't get to start hormones till October sadly but, if it aggravates the issue further it may become unmanageable. 

 

I find a calming bedtime yoga routine that has helped immensely. If you're yogi it could be your body missing that connection time. 

 

Sleep aids are mostly habit forming or less than functional. Sometimes soundboarding with others stuck awake aswell can help. 

 

I fi d when I remove the "performance anxiety" it's easier. Don't worry about actually falling asleep. Instead focus on relaxing mind and body. Lay down and read a book, or watch a calming show/movie. 

 

If/when all this fails pm me and we'll shoot the breeze till sleep finds us! ?

[Adaline]

Dear Betty

 

I have always had trouble sleeping and was taking Tylenol PM to get to sleep.  I talked to my Primary doctor about this and she advised against it.  She said that it has a boomerang effect, helps you sleep one night and keeps you awake the next.  It also contains a lot of other ingredients that are hard on the liver, not something you need on HRT.  She wanted me to try melatonin, works for a lot of people but doesn’t work for me. Finally she put me on trazadone.  Has worked great.  Puts me to sleep but doesn’t leave me groggy in the morning.

 

hope this helps.

 

hugs and best wishes.

 

 

[Jani]

Welcome Betty.  HRT affects us all differently, aside from desired effects.   I take a med that does the same to me although it's not on the side effects list.  You might try cutting out sources of caffeine later in the day (coffee, tea, chocolate) which is what I do.   I'm not a fan of taking anything for sleep as it can be habit forming, plus its one more chemical in our bodies.  

 

I hope things even out for you soon.

 

Jani 

[Charlize]

Welcome to Trans Pulse Betty.  

I had a bit of trouble sleeping during early transition.  I think it may have been more an issue of the excitement caused by the changes than the medication.  We are going through puberty as well as changing gender.  That is simply a great deal to process.

I did do some breathing along with the repetition of my mantra.  I also said the serenity prayer and reminded myself that there was nothing i could do at that point except to let go and sleep.  Hopefully you will find that time more than medication will help.

You may want to post an introduction in that forum.

 

Hugs,

 

Charlize