Oral, sublingual oil based bio-identical Progesterone for sleep
by Toni
(Florida)
I've had a problem with insomnia for a long time. My sleep doctor prescribed Ativan 1 mg. for sleep and it worked perfectly for quite a while. I knew it was addictive but thought that heroine addicts and alcoholics are detoxed in four days so how bad could one little 1 mg. pill be? It stopped working and I knew if I increased the dose it would work again but also knew that having to do so meant that I was addicted. My doctor said he couldn't help me detox so I went looking on the internet for help. It took me 9 very miserable months. After the detox the insomnia was terrible. The compounding pharmacist who I worked with through out the detox suggested that I try Progesterone mentioned in my title. My detox doctor prescribed it.
I was supposed to take about 125 mg. before bed but it didn't work. The pharmacist suggested that I raise the dose to a point where it finally worked. It took 900 mg. for me to get 6 hours on uninterrupted sleep. He kept saying that it couldn't hurt me, it was natural. At first I was wiped out by mid afternoon, not sleepy, just exhausted. That eventually wore off. I would be hung over all day. When I told my PCP about the dose he couldn't believe that I was on such a high dose. I felt addicted. If I didn't take the medication I didn't sleep at all.
Research in the US didn't reveal any information about the potential for addiction but I did find articles in the UK that backed up how I was responding to the medication. I have tapered down to 625 mg. and get only 4 hours of sleep with that. Just to let everyone know, I have tried every conceivable supplement, tried acupuncture, have a Fisher Wallace so when I say that I've tried everything (including sleeping pills, anti-depressants) I've done it. I would dearly love to be free of this medication,
am slowly tapering off but it's really affecting my life. Any help from anyone would be greatly appreciated. T.O.