That sounds great! Sleeping 8 hours, I can't imagine what that's like.:( Do you use the progesterone cream nonstop? I had read somewhere to use it for two weeks and then stop for two weeks or something like that.

I take thh prpgesterone cream 21 days and then stop for seven. I can't tell you how it has made a difference in the quality of my life. I was just miserable when I stopped HRT and now I found this progesterone cream and it is a miracle..thanks to all the ladies on the sites who told me about it. God bless them. Les

Question for LynneC,

Thank-you for explaining the proper use of the progesterone cream. Test last week confirmed I am in menopause. I haven't had a period since September. I'm not really post-menopause yet, so would I use the cream as for someone with irregular periods? How much should I use? Thank-you again for your advice.

There is no "proper use of progesterone cream." Post menopausal women need no progesterone at all. Ovulating women produce their own, and perimenopausal women with irregular periods usually produce as much as they need. In cases where excessive bleeding is a problem, either prometerium or provera may be used on a short term basis. For the 100th time this product is a scam. Unfortunately people who sell the stuff don't want you to know that.

As a follow-up. maybe if you look at Lynne's "recommendations" you'll notice that every single woman who is beyond puberty falls into one of these categories. Can anyone possibly fall for nonsense that suggests that every women needs this particular form of this particular drug? Female is a disease that needs to be medicated from puberty to death?

Uh, yea. Now in answer to you, desert woman, you can't go by a "cycle", since you have had none since Sept.
So for you the answer is to start, count 21 days, then break for 7. If a period starts up before your 21 days is up, you stop then, break for 7 days, and restart.

You can play with the once or twice a day dosage to see what suits you. If you find relief with once a day, you can increase to twice a day when symtpoms worsen. If you are currently suffering badly with symptoms, you may want to start right off with twice a day. Hope this helps.

Thanks LynneC!

Note to Leigh K: I'm sure you are only trying to help, but the facts are here. So many of these women have benefitted from using the progesterone cream. A while back, I read Dr. Lee's book on menopause. He stated that after menopause women still produce some estrogen, but not progesterone, and if memory serves me correctly, he mentioned using the progesterone cream in such cases.

I think Leigh's premise is that menopause is a natural condition for which no treatment is needed, even of the the most natural and benign sort. Pregnancy is a natural condition, and so by such reasoning, no pre-natal vitamins should be recommended. However, I believe that our environment and processing of our foods has left us with less than optimal conditions for maintenance of health without some sort of supplementation even for such natural conditions as pregnancy and menopause. Infancy is also a natural condition, yet infants are routinely given a vitamin mixture to take, even if they are being nursed. I personally have taken vitamin supplements since my young adulthood, and at age 49 am in excellent health. I am grateful for helpful supplements and natural remedies with which I can maintain hormonal balance and relieve such symptoms as insomnia and palpitations.

I know this response will get me nowhere, but I had to try.

Same old paranoid nonsense one can find on hundreds of conspiracy web sites, most of which have a product to sell you to counteract the claimed difficulty. Our food is depleted and our environment is contaminated so we all need the help of the friendly "natural products" industry to make up for it.

In fact, prenatal vitamins merely produce expensive urine as do infant vitamins and other vitamin supplements. In some cases supplements of vitamins produce serious toxicity. Prenatal vitamins had to be reformulated a few years ago when it was learned that vitamin A in excess of 8000IU *including that contained in food* was linked to serious birth defects. Food is the best source of nutrient needs and it supplies it in adequate quantities if one spends the time to make sure one has a balanced diet.

There is, of course a rather distinct difference between vitamins and hormones, a distinction that frequently gets blurred in these kinds of arguments by the purveyors of "natural products." There is nothing "natural" about this otc cream. It contains drugs that have been synthesized in a lab just like prescription ones. The only difference is the quantity of drug. In the otc type, the label must state an amount low enough that the FDA has determined that it will produce no effect. That's why it's sold as a cosmetic. The danger is that many of these creams contain prescription drugs not listed on the label, progesterone in amounts in excess of that listed on the label, and often dangerous contaminants. A recent study in California found that 32% of "natural products" contained undeclared prescription drugs or other contaminants.

Finally there is no such thing as "natural and benign" treatment of anything. Anything that has the potential to provide significant benefit, has an equal potential to do significant harm. There is no free lunch.

Thanks for clearing that up, Leigh. I think I'll go my merry way taking my supplements and using my natural progesterone, however, because I'm not paranoid about a conspiracy out there falsely trying to get my money.

you know I think if it works for you DO IT!If some man or anyone else came along and took all of our HRT or creams or whatever from us there would be alot less men around because we would all probably choke him or anyone else. I say you only live as happy as you want to be, but before I had a hysterectomy I litterely thought I was going crazy, I was depressed all the time, I could not sleep, I cried all the time over nothing and it was all because my body was not producing hormone. I had a great husband and two wonderful children and at that point in my life it did not matter. I was still miserable. once I had surgery and went on HRT, my whole life changed. Leigh, do you still have hormone? and if not how did or do you cope? If you don't take anything and feel great you are one of the lucky ones, but please stop trashing someones glory when they have finally found peace of mind whether it be replacement of whatever kind. you can say whatever you want, but don't you think it is time for you to stop being so negative about everything. Dr. Phil (tell it like it is) that always on Oprah would love to get ahold of you.

Like the vast majority of women worldwide who are naturally post menopausal, my body makes the level of hormones that it requires. I'm not lucky, just normal. Interesting that you should view being positive about a drug free life as "negative."

Do I understand you correctly that you had a hysterectomy to deal with insomnia and depression?

This seems like a good place to supply a link to an article in the Washington Post today regarding the use of supplements and the effect of these on the aging process.

See:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50853-2002Jan28.html

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50853-2002Jan28.html

I haven't been here for a while, too busy with school work! I have to say that Leigh is just like a broken record. She never says anything new. I also will go along my merry way with my progesterone cream and dietary supplements no matter what she says. I know that I feel much better while using the progesterone cream so I will continue for as long as it is beneficial. Like Leslie, I am sleeping well after years of insomnia. As for supplements: I know I do not get enough calcium because I cannot tolerate dairy products well; I take the supplement with my doctor's blessing. How can that be wrong?

As for vitamin/mineral supplements for pregnant women: Doctors prescribe them because they know that most American women do not get enough nutrients from food. Just look at the national figures for compliance with the food pyramid for proof. If an individual woman feels confident that she is obtaining enough nutrients including vitamins and minerals, than she can dispense with the prenatal vitamins. Ideally the obstetritian would do a thorough assessment of the dietary intake of each woman before prescribing vitamins, but in reality, there is no time or money for that. Again, it is up to the individual woman to be knowledgable about what she needs.

Well, Anne, let's see. The same old remedy is being recommended to all comers for "all the ills that [wo]man is heir to." Unfortunately the reality is that the stuff was useless yesterday, is useless today, and will be useless tomorrow. Research supports the position that the stuff is worthless, just as research supports the position that supplements are pretty much a waste of money and may even be harmful. So nothing has changed. Only the people who get the same old same old, from the same old same old, change.

I thought that this site would not become the property of the yam scammers, who will write off the $15 USD as a business expense, until Feb 15. I guess they've already taken over.

Does that mean that after Feb. 15 we'll stop seeing your posts? I'm just lurking here, but I must say, you are getting pretty harsh with these ladies.

no I did not have surgery to sleep better. I had endometriosis and had about 3 weeks of my period a month for about two years, so therefore I became anemic and my ovaries were not producing at all. I went thru pure hell for that two years. so forget telling me no Hrt.I did not want my ovaries removed because I was only 24, but they tried everything and nothing seemed to work so I was one of the unlucky ones that had to have the surgery. I do wish you would give advice that was from experience instead of a link to somewhere, which I never read.

Apparently you don't think that going through natural menopause and being 7+ years beyond it, without taking any drugs and doing very well indeed on any marker of "health," is experience. To each her own definition of experience.

I supply links to sites so people can get information they might find useful. Again, it's your choice as to whether to read the information available on that site or not. It's not your choice to decide whether or not such information should be available/accessible.

Can anyone tell me what it is that causes some of us to lose sleep at this point in our lives? I was always a very heavy sleeper no matter what/when I ate, how I felt (emotionally or physically), how hot the room (I used to sleep under many layers, even in sweats!), no matter how much noise was made even inches from my ears. Now, I wake up at the drop of a hat... at NOTHING. And sometimes I can't get back to sleep for hours. I need to get up at 4:30am so I need to sleep a full night. After at least a few nights of poor sleep, I'm usually able to sleep a whole night and boy what a luxury that is, but that usually lasts only a night or two before have a few more nights of poor sleep.

I've started exercizing in the evening (the only time I can do it), eating at least 3 hours before bedtime, tried drinking milk, no caffeine after 9am, sleeping in a cool room (and under the fewest covers necessary), etc. I've also tried ProGest, a small dab. But I haven't noticed any improvement no matter what I do. Some nights I sleep all night, but most I wake up at least a couple times.

But what I really want to know is, how do the hormone fluxuations during this time of our life affect our sleep so much?

Great article, Leigh.

Jenn...I wish I knew too! I'm having the same experience; used to sleep like the dead, now it's a rare night when I sleep more than 4 consecutive hours. :(

Hello
Sleep ahhhhhhhhhhhh. We would all like to know how to achieve that quality sleep every night now. I have been sleeping well now. I have been off of HRT for a while and take the cream and menopausal supplements. One thing I did notice was that if I exercised after work...let's say 6 or 7pm, I could not sleep at all. I read that if you have to exercise in the pm, do it at least 4 or 5 hours before you go to bed! Impossible for me. The more strenuous it was at night, the less sleep I had. I guess it has something to do with the brain and how stimulated it got with exercise. Who knows We can never win. LOL

I read somewhere and it seems to help - wear socks to bed. Since the sweats tend to be upper body and only if I'm wearing a not 100% cotton t-shirt - the socks don't make me hot. The theory behind the article was feet warm up last and cold feet will keep you awake.

That is so true...I have to admit it, but most nights I do end up wearing socks to bed! very romantic, but although I have some night sweats, my feet are always cold, and I cannot sleep when my tootsies are cold. I sleep so much better with my socks on! Isn't that the funniest. This menopause satge is really a riot!!!!!!!!! Les

Habitual sock sleeper here. I was always a light sleeper from my youth, so I have quite a few tricks stored up now that peri-menopause has hit.

Warm up your hands and feet before getting into bed. I use a blow dryer on them for a few seconds. It will cut the time it takes to get drowsy which won't happen until extremities are warm.

I have used a white noise machine since my son was a baby. The one I have is over 20 years old and makes a noise like an air conditioner or fan. The ones they make now also have settings for the sound of rain, or the ocean. I take mine with me when I travel. If the power goes out during the night, I wake right up.

You need TOTAL darkness. I use sun blocking shades and cover the front of digital clocks. It needs to be pitch black, even when dawn is breaking, or the light will wake you.

Exercise is essential, but as another poster said, not too close to bedtime. I try to get 30-50 minutes of walking in every day rain or shine (or snow). It's an investment toward good health and well-being AND a good nights sleep.

An yes, I do use the natural progesterone cream and supplements. Magnesium is particularly helpful. Hope this helps.

So maybe its the magnesium in my calcium thats helping me sleep when i take the night time dose? Very interesting.

Drrazzle - yes. And for many of you have have the palpitations, taking magnesium at a different time than calcium is more effective, because taking them together prevents absorption.

Okay women, I am definately happy for you to be feeling better going through the change, but what about when everything is yanked away by surgery. Ovaries and such. Even natural menopausal women continue to have a little bit of there own estrogen and testosterone still creeping out, stored in body fat and released, by you thymus too. For us unfortunates ovarian removal took away those last little helps, testosterone especially. HELP HELP HELP I am too young for this. 36.

I'll be starting the cream soon, too. I'm so looking forward to it.

I love hearing about everyone's experiencs with it.

Don't love hearing from Leigh. Wonder why she wastes her time here? It's painfully obvious no one agrees with her point of view. Can you say Troll? Let it go, Leigh.

Leigh - I really do appreciate your point of view. It's just that your delivery is so abrasive and that your attitude leaves no room for discussion or respect for dissenting viewpoints. Even if your opinion is correct and your information useful and vital - we can't hear you because you attack us when you should be educating us.

If you have good information to share, then share it. Cite your sources but be fair and cite dissenting opinions. Trust that we are intelligent enough to form our own opinions and don't ever attack anyone for considering the same information and forming a diffent conclusion than you did.

My sleep has VERY much improved since my last response on Feb 3. I still wake up but now only once on most nights, and I go right back to sleep. Usually the reason I wake up now is a full bladder, but now I'm so sleepy when I wake up that I just roll over instead of get up to go to the bathroom (the problem with that is that I will just continue waking up as my bladder gets fuller and fuller, but the good thing is that it means I'm sleeping sounder and not waking up for no reason all night).

I believe the improvement is due to the sensible lifestyle changes I made: regular, daily exercise; eating healthy balanced diet and less sugar; and calcium / vitamin supplements. Prior to that, I had already increased my water intake (to about 64 ounces a day) and stopped eating within 3 hours of bedtime.

Even if you don't believe (or do believe) everything Dr. Lee says, one thing he states that is right on is that if we aren't eating right, exercising, etc. then no cream or pill is going to fix us. And any good doctor should tell us that right up front even if he/she is a strong supporter of a particular medication or cream.

It took a few months to notice the changes. And my sleep is still not the good heavy, all-night sleep I used to enjoy until I hit my 40's, but it's normal to sleep lighter as we get older.

Try making simple lifestyle changes (if you haven't already), one at a time. Just make one change for a full month before trying another one.

I used to sleep like a rock; now my sleep is constantly interrupted.