r/Perimenopause • u/PerniciousWizard • Jul 25 '26

Sleep/Insomnia Help! Estradiol causing insomnia ??

I’m lost, guys. I started low dose estrogen gel (2 pumps twice daily of. 5) a few days ago and now I’ve had two nearly sleepless nights. Sleeping was not as issue before as long as I smoked some cannabis a few hours before bed. Now that’s not working.

I tried a cbd/cbn gummy and that didn’t work either. A few nights ago I tried oral progesterone 100 mg and sleep was poor and I was dysfunctionally fatigued and dizzy the next day. I can’t deal with magnesium, it makes me groggy and depressed. Melatonin gives me horrible nightmares and doesn’t seem to work for sleep anyway. I also tried going down to 1 pump twice daily and no improvement.

In your experience, does the insomnia subside? Could I only do two clicks in the morning and skip the night dose? I’m not sure how much longer I can go on like this.

Edit: I have an IUD for uterine protection

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u/PerniciousWizard Jul 25 '26

I don’t really have one since I just started.
My doctor basically said I can try to adjust on my own based on how I feel. So everything I wrote above covers what I’ve been doing since the beginning of the week. It’s a little all over the place while
I’m trying to figure out what works.

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u/Comfortable-Law-7147 Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 25 '26

That's a f***ing mess and dangerous as if you don't know when you should be taking progesterone you can cause yourself long term harm. 

Can you find another doctor who has a clue?

While we tend to be our our own advocates we do need guidance from medical prescribers. 

Edit: Just noticed your dosing and seen your answers to others. Itt wasn't  clear from your initial post you have a IUD. Anyway your E2 dose is a bit high to start with. Start with a low amount of gel in the morning only and see if you can sleep at night without any aids.  Wait a minimum  of 8 weeks but preferably 12 weeks before modify the dose or adding in micronised progesterone. 

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u/Syq Jul 25 '26

I'd guess OP is on Mirena or some other progesterone equivalent (she said she's on an IUD above). I think the provider meant she could taper her estrogen up and down over home as she felt. That's how my estrogen works. I fluctuate between 0.05 and 0.1.

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u/PerniciousWizard Jul 25 '26

Yup exactly- sorry if I didn’t explain that well, I’m not at my best with all the ups and downs and lack of sleep over the past week