If my main meno symptom wasn't chronic and debilitating insomnia, I possibly would never have started HRT, because I could live with the hot flushes, but I couldn't live without sleep. I probably never would have been put into the position of having to research or become aware of the benefits of estradiol, so maybe, in a way, it was good that I did have to start using HRT.
However.... and it's a big however…. because of my continued issues with progesterone, recently I have been wondering just how long I will continue using HRT. I have always said that I would use estradiol for as long as I can, but faced with the dilemma of whether I also want to deal with progesterone I have to honestly say I have no idea how long I will continue to use it.
I am now probably close to 4 years post-meno, and 55 years old, so I wonder if insomnia will continue to be, or is still, a major issue for me. If insomnia becomes less of a problem, maybe I will opt to live with other symptoms and stop using HRT altogether. Or perhaps the other option is to maybe only need to take a very low dose of estradiol which could either mean I won't have to bother about the progesterone, or maybe only need to use it a couple of times a year.
It's all theory at the moment, because I'm not going to try reducing my estradiol dose until later this year anyway, but if I'm lucky perhaps I can do with a lower dose than the 50mcg patch I currently use. I will also be either reducing my working hours or retiring altogther in the next couple of years, so perhaps I will be better able to deal with the symptoms if I don't have the added stress of working.