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Is It Safe To Take Effexor When Suffering From Insomnia And Hot Flashes?
hello. i am a 57 year old female post-menopausal with two historical pregnancies (children now aged 31 and 30) who has been experiencing hot flashes and some insomnia for a couple of years. i have been taking a compound called biest (1.5mg 2x daily) for the past two years. i just saw a new physician who was "shocked" to learn that i hadn't been prescribed progesterone to complement the biest. so now i will be taking 200mg of progesterone daily.
my doctor also prescribed effexor ER 37.5mg daily for the insomnia. this puzzles me as it seems to me to be an anti-depressant which is likely to cause insomnia... what do you think?
my doctor also prescribed effexor ER 37.5mg daily for the insomnia. this puzzles me as it seems to me to be an anti-depressant which is likely to cause insomnia... what do you think?
Wed, 29 Jan 2014
Hi,
Welcome to HCM,
Regarding your progesterone, there are two schools of thought. To give progesterone or not, depends on various criteria, and doctor's choice. For you, starting progesterone could help you in inducing sleep also, besides avoiding endometrial hyperplasia ( Reason your Doctor was shocked)
Strangely Effexor can help you in getting sleep as well as it can cause insomnia in few patients. So what you are saying is correct. In my opinion, if your insomnia is not affecting your routine during day time, you may wait for a month to see the effect of progesterone. At the same time you do some life style changes to get proper sleep. if it do not help then you may consult your Doctor again, and discuss the benefit and side effects of the medicine.
Hope, this answer will be useful to you.
Dr H Hamdani
Welcome to HCM,
Regarding your progesterone, there are two schools of thought. To give progesterone or not, depends on various criteria, and doctor's choice. For you, starting progesterone could help you in inducing sleep also, besides avoiding endometrial hyperplasia ( Reason your Doctor was shocked)
Strangely Effexor can help you in getting sleep as well as it can cause insomnia in few patients. So what you are saying is correct. In my opinion, if your insomnia is not affecting your routine during day time, you may wait for a month to see the effect of progesterone. At the same time you do some life style changes to get proper sleep. if it do not help then you may consult your Doctor again, and discuss the benefit and side effects of the medicine.
Hope, this answer will be useful to you.
Dr H Hamdani
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