Waking every night . 3am every morning

[nippy]

Hi I want if anybody could point me in the right direction at looking at trying something that may help me.. awake every night / morning 3 a.m... I have followed all the Google advise don't use your phone get the right temperature for the room don't drink coffee alcohol.. I am getting 5 hours if that have broken sleep.. once I wake it can take me an hour or more to get back to sleep then I wake up shattered. I take 150mg a week of testosterone E. Recently had a full blood panel done and thyroid is fine.. any pointers guys??

 

[Sean Mosher]

Do you crash or get tired in certain parts of the day as well?
Feel better later in the evening, etc.....
If so, I'd take a look at cortisol and revisit thyroid.
I had issues waking up in the middle of the night when those were off.
And just because your doc says it's fine doesn't necessarily mean it is.
Hopefully you have a more interventional type of doc.

 

[nippy]

Do you crash or get tired in certain parts of the day as well?
Feel better later in the evening, etc.....
If so, I'd take a look at cortisol and revisit thyroid.
I had issues waking up in the middle of the night when those were off.
And just because your doc says it's fine doesn't necessarily mean it is.
Hopefully you have a more interventional type of doc.

Thanks for the reply. I can crash later in the day but I also still feel very tired on a night and like to sleep or will not off while watching television. Here are the last tests from September for thyroid . The Tsh levels

 

[Sean Mosher]

TSH doesn't look bad but at this point based on what you've said I'd prob order a full thyroid panel including RT3 as well as a 4 point salivary cortisol test.
Maybe some others can chime in as well if they've experienced a similar issue and what they did to resolve it.

 

[DixieWrecked]

Check out magnesium threonate. That stuff has worked wonders for my sleep.

 

[Phil Goodman]

Check out magnesium threonate. That stuff has worked wonders for my sleep.

What dose do you use? I ordered some after Andrew Huberman recommended it along with apigenin and theanine as an amazing sleep stack but haven’t opened it yet. I might pick up some theanine today and pair the two to see how it goes.

 

[DixieWrecked]

I take one of these https://www.amazon.com/Life-Extensi...jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

and 1 of these https://www.amazon.com/Source-Naturals-Magnesium-Supplement-Production/dp/B000GFJJKQ/ref=sr_1_9?crid=1LHJM0S2VLIVL&keywords=magnesium+malate&qid=1643657660&sprefix=magnesium+malate,aps,129&sr=8-9

If take too much magnesium I'll be tired the next day

 

[Phil Goodman]

I take one of these https://www.amazon.com/Life-Extensi...jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

and 1 of these https://www.amazon.com/Source-Naturals-Magnesium-Supplement-Production/dp/B000GFJJKQ/ref=sr_1_9?crid=1LHJM0S2VLIVL&keywords=magnesium+malate&qid=1643657660&sprefix=magnesium+malate,aps,129&sr=8-9

If take too much magnesium I'll be tired the next day

Thanks. The top one(Life Extension) is the same one I have. I notice that it lists 3 as a single dose. Do you take 1 as in a single pill or 3(which would be one full dose)? I also take the Life Extension Magnesium which is 500 mg(mix of magnesium oxide, citrate, and succinate).

 

[sammmy]

Drop the testosterone to 100mg/week and see if insomnia improves. There are many threads here about TRT causing insomnia, which resolves after stopping TRT.

The usual recommended "sleep hygiene" and supplements do not work for organic insomnia like yours. Gabanergic supplements such as L-Glutamine (5g) or NAC (500mg) work - they seem to increase GABA levels in the brain.

Another option is to try prescription zolpidem (generic Ambien).

 

[DixieWrecked]

Thanks. The top one(Life Extension) is the same one I have. I notice that it lists 3 as a single dose. Do you take 1 as in a single pill or 3(which would be one full dose)? I also take the Life Extension Magnesium which is 500 mg(mix of magnesium oxide, citrate, and succinate).

I only take 1 pill of each. So 1/3 dosage of each. The threonate relaxes my mind and the malate relaxes my body. It's a good combo. I learned about the threonate from huberman as well. I can't handle the oxide or citrate. Messes up my stomach.

 

[nippy]

Drop the testosterone to 100mg/week and see if insomnia improves. There are many threads here about TRT causing insomnia, which resolves after stopping TRT.

The usual recommended "sleep hygiene" and supplements do not work for organic insomnia like yours. Gabanergic supplements such as L-Glutamine (5g) or NAC (500mg) work - they seem to increase GABA levels in the brain.

Another option is to try prescription zolpidem (generic Ambien).

Thanks for that... What about talking GABA would that help ?

 

[nippy]

Drop the testosterone to 100mg/week and see if insomnia improves. There are many threads here about TRT causing insomnia, which resolves after stopping TRT.

The usual recommended "sleep hygiene" and supplements do not work for organic insomnia like yours. Gabanergic supplements such as L-Glutamine (5g) or NAC (500mg) work - they seem to increase GABA levels in the brain.

Another option is to try prescription zolpidem (generic Ambien).

Thought I should also say. I get very warm at night. Partner says I'm like an oven. Duvet has to be pulled off and must have my feet out to cool down . I read that Hematocric levels can increase at night ... I know my last blood panel showed slightly higher red cells

 

[Phil Goodman]

Thanks for that... What about talking GABA would that help ?

There seems to be mixed thoughts on whether it can cross the blood-brain barrier when taken directly. I’d say it’s so inexpensive that it wouldn’t hurt to try, and I tend to think that it would help. Earlier I referenced Andrew Huberman, and his suggested stack for sleep is magnesium threonate, apigenin, and theanine. I generally recommend adding one thing at a time so that would still be my suggested approach here, but he says they have a synergistic/compounding effect which really helps when stacked.


That being said, I would also recommend the advice above about lowering your dose. TRT can really wire up the nervous system, and if you’re getting hot flashes at night it could indicate a hormonal issue. I know a lot of people here(myself included which I try to refrain from) always want to solve a problem by adding a solution in the form of a supplement or action to their routine. But if something is off with your body you should listen to it and try to figure out what it is instead of trying to cover it up or add yet another ingredient to the ever-growing list. Perfect example is anti-depressants or painkillers. If you’re depressed it’s probably because of your lifestyle, diet, job, etc. Instead of taking a pill you should work to fix your life first. Same with painkillers. If you’re doing something that keeps you in pain then shutting down the pain signals may bring relief but in the long run will be worse for you than resolving the issue at its core. And yes, I know people deal with chronic pain or chemical imbalances so those drugs can be literal life-savers in some situations, but I think too many people jump to the quick fix first. So yeah…to avoid even more ranting/rambling…try slowly dropping your dose down and see if it helps resolve the issue. It’s quite possibly just a case of you mr body going “hey man, we’re not made to deal with these levels…especially at night”.

 

[Coconutz]

Ever try CBD or THC? I personally just try to avoid any pharmaceuticals now. Long time ago I took ambien to sleep. That shit makes you withdrawl woth zero sleep when you stop taking it. At least for me it did.

 

[nippy]

Ever try CBD or THC? I personally just try to avoid any pharmaceuticals now. Long time ago I took ambien to sleep. That shit makes you withdrawl woth zero sleep when you stop taking it. At least for me it did.

Tried CBD but doesn't do anything..

 

[nippy]

There seems to be mixed thoughts on whether it can cross the blood-brain barrier when taken directly. I’d say it’s so inexpensive that it wouldn’t hurt to try, and I tend to think that it would help. Earlier I referenced Andrew Huberman, and his suggested stack for sleep is magnesium threonate, apigenin, and theanine. I generally recommend adding one thing at a time so that would still be my suggested approach here, but he says they have a synergistic/compounding effect which really helps when stacked.


That being said, I would also recommend the advice above about lowering your dose. TRT can really wire up the nervous system, and if you’re getting hot flashes at night it could indicate a hormonal issue. I know a lot of people here(myself included which I try to refrain from) always want to solve a problem by adding a solution in the form of a supplement or action to their routine. But if something is off with your body you should listen to it and try to figure out what it is instead of trying to cover it up or add yet another ingredient to the ever-growing list. Perfect example is anti-depressants or painkillers. If you’re depressed it’s probably because of your lifestyle, diet, job, etc. Instead of taking a pill you should work to fix your life first. Same with painkillers. If you’re doing something that keeps you in pain then shutting down the pain signals may bring relief but in the long run will be worse for you than resolving the issue at its core. And yes, I know people deal with chronic pain or chemical imbalances so those drugs can be literal life-savers in some situations, but I think too many people jump to the quick fix first. So yeah…to avoid even more ranting/rambling…try slowly dropping your dose down and see if it helps resolve the issue. It’s quite possibly just a case of you mr body going “hey man, we’re not made to deal with these levels…especially at night”.

Thanks for that.... The hard situation is I used to be on antidepressants which killed my libido.. I went to the doctor's with low libido and they advised me to start trt after my testosterone results came back low ish... I started trt while on antidepressants and none of the doctors told me that the libido can be killed by antidepressants. So I was taking trt to try boost my libido and taking antidepressants which killed the libido... obviously now I know this but I'm taking trt which has stopped my own production. I tried to slowly reduce it last year and came off TRT and went through 6 months of hell .. never felt so down and desperate...so now back on it hoping to figure it all out. . .. apart from the sleep and the dead libido im good... I think the antidepressants have effected me long term. ... A few months back I went from IM injections to sub q and I had the most amazing week ever. I spoke to some people on a Facebook group who said that changing injection sites and style from IM to sub q changes the way the Testosterone is absorbed and I had s dopermine week. I felt amazing I felt like me . I had libido and was chilled I was happy ... It lasted a week ..

 

[Willyt]

I saw on another thread you were on 75mg per week. Why didn’t you stay the course? We’re you getting the same 3am awakenings on the lower dose?

 

[nippy]

Yes I've played from. Low to higher amounts . Always waking... Always given it 12 weeks each time before I changed amounts

 

[sammmy]

Thanks for that... What about talking GABA would that help ?

I've tried GABA and it didn't help. Also, it is an actual ACID and may give you stomach ache.

L-Glutamine, 5-10g in a cup of water, a few hours before or right before going to bed works best. It relaxes the body and allows for deeper sleep. It doesn't help with falling into sleep but it doesn't sound like you have that problem.

 

[nippy]

Thanks for that. Def up for trying it .