Can HcG cause insomnia?

HarryCat · May 21, 2015

I've tried various forms of TRT over the years, Androgel, injections, cream. Never got much of a libido boost from any form. Read a lot of positive info about hCG so I traveled out of state to a doctor who prescribes hCG. Since starting hCG about 6 months ago my insomnia has been getting progressively worse, I'm injecting 100IU's/day. At first I though maybe my thyroid dose was too high so I tried cutting back, but my thyroid labs came back looking pretty awful (high TSH, low FreeT4 and FreeT3), so that's not it.

The main difference between last year and now has been the addition of hCG so I'm wondering if that is the problem.

Has anyone else experienced this?

ERO · May 21, 2015

I have not experienced insomnia, but I can relate to TRT being of no help to libido whatsoever. I have been on TRT for over 4 years and my libido, although poor, was better when I had low T than it has been at anytime since. HCG in any dosing schedule makes no difference for me.

Here is a good article on insomnia though - perhaps it will help: http://www.moodcure.com/pdfs/Townsend-Letter-NNTI20article.pdf

HarryCat · May 21, 2015

ERO said:
I have been on TRT for over 4 years and my libido, although poor, was better when I had low T than it has been at anytime since. HCG in any dosing schedule makes no difference for me.

It's been 3 years since I started, but my experience has been the same as yours.

ERO said:
Here is a good article on insomnia though - perhaps it will help: http://www.moodcure.com/pdfs/Townsend-Letter-NNTI20article.pdf

Thanks for the article. Looks like it has some good suggestions.

I'm going to stop the hCG and see where I am in a week or two.

Vince · May 21, 2015

HarryCat, please keep us informed about what happens when stopping hcg and your insomnia. I was using melatonin but when I stopped "melatonin". I slept much better.

Gene Devine · May 21, 2015

In some men HCG can have a stimulating effect and one reason why it's recommended to do injections in the morning.

Nelson Vergel · May 21, 2015

I would take some melatonin (starting dose 3 mg up to 10 mg) before dinner instead of stopping the hCG.

HarryCat · May 21, 2015

Nelson Vergel said:
I would take some melatonin (starting dose 3 mg up to 10 mg) before dinner instead of stopping the hCG.

I've taken melatonin up to 4.5mg with no effect. I suppose to could try more and see if there is some threshold at which it starts to help.

The other thing is that I've had to increase my Ambien dose from 2.5mg last summer up to a full 10mg now, and even that isn't helping much.

ERO · May 21, 2015

This sounds counter-intuitive, but I read somewhere (cant find the study now) where smaller amounts of melatonin can work better than larger amounts in some folks, so I tried it and I now have better results on 1 mg than I ever did on 3 mg or 5 mg. I have been taking 1 mg now for a year and it works well now where before it did not.

HarryCat · May 22, 2015

Well, it may not be the hCG, at least not directly. I just got my latest labs back and my E2 is up to 40 using the Quest Ultrasensitive test. They say it should be less than 29.

My doc has prescribed me 0.1mg anastrozole trouches to take 3 times a week. I'll try that and see how it goes.

I also wonder if this is why the daily Cialis isn't working as well as it used to.

HarryCat · Jun 2, 2015

Looks like the main reason for my insomnia was low ferritin, (<50), which made it difficult for my body to use the thyroid meds I'm taking. I started taking ferrochel last week and I can now tolerate my thyroid meds better and am sleeping better.

Unfortunately my retinopathy (CSR) is acting up so I need to try to stop all TRT and Cialis. I'm going to need to wait a month and have my retina scanned again to see if it stabilizes. I just hope I don't crash too hard.

CoastWatcher · Jun 2, 2015

HarryCat said:
Unfortunately my retinopathy (CSR) is acting up so I need to try to stop all TRT and Cialis. I'm going to need to wait a month and have my retina scanned again to see if it stabilizes. I just hope I don't crash too hard.

Wishing you the best...