TRT and sleep fragmentation?

[thestruggle]

This is how i am too, although not on TRT but mostly blast and cruise but sleep was always shit. I suspect Reta made it even worse.

Have you measured morning cortisol? Sorry if you mentioned already. With my guessing I'd say it's cortisol related. For me ashwagandha didn't help but haven't tried to megadose it. Emodin is the most potent for cortisol but still, you need to be careful not to crash it because you'll end up feeling like trash with zero cortisol.

I'm falling asleep fine, first couple hours are in point but then constant wake ups and twisting and turning start occurring.

Oh, I also pin Reta. That's also a contributer to higher RHR and lower HRV, but not sure about the fragmentation. Do you dose reta evenings or mornings?

 

[thestruggle]

Most of CBTi, except for stressing about sleep onset) I already do. I follow a before bed process that calma me down, and it is reflected in my sleep stress levels. However, 2h-3h, stress starts to rise causing sometimes hot flashes even in cool room, and sometimes nightmares, waking me up.

Last night I had an exceptional sleep. Went to bed 1130 and woke up 0630. Straight. Such a bliss.

Evening before spent 3h in hot springs which is not the luxury of everyday life.

Interestingly the subjective sleep quality I talked about here sucks in terms of objective stress levels that I looked at just now.

Feeling tired and low at 4pm, after only a light workout in the morning.

 

[Eddie.]

Oh, I also pin Reta. That's also a contributer to higher RHR and lower HRV, but not sure about the fragmentation. Do you dose reta evenings or mornings?

1mg 3 times a week in the mornings. I thought trying it pre bed it seems pointless based on the half-life.

 

[thestruggle]

1mg 3 times a week in the mornings. I thought trying it pre bed it seems pointless based on the half-life.

I moved it from mornings to evenings to workaround post injection fatigue that was affecting my performance.

My 14d CGM data showed a significant below 70mg/dl BG levels, especially during sleep. Unsure how it affects the sleep quality.

 

[Ateam2023]

I moved it from mornings to evenings to workaround post injection fatigue that was affecting my performance.

My 14d CGM data showed a significant below 70mg/dl BG levels, especially during sleep. Unsure how it affects the sleep quality.

Thise nocturnal hypo events in the middle of the night cause your cortisol to spike and therefore , awakening earlier or more fragmented sleep, i started eating a bowl of oatmeal and 8 oz of milk before bed and that kept me from having low bg events in the middle of the night according to my cgm.

 

[Eddie.]

Thise nocturnal hypo events in the middle of the night cause your cortisol to spike and therefore , awakening earlier or more fragmented sleep, i started eating a bowl of oatmeal and 8 oz of milk before bed and that kept me from having low bg events in the middle of the night according to my cgm.

This is something I've read too as well, some guys eat carbs with a little fat before bed to prevent glucose from dropping too much. I just can't see how this will work if you want to pin HGH before bed too, this is the only reason i haven't tried it yet.

 

[thestruggle]

Thise nocturnal hypo events in the middle of the night cause your cortisol to spike and therefore , awakening earlier or more fragmented sleep, i started eating a bowl of oatmeal and 8 oz of milk before bed and that kept me from having low bg events in the middle of the night according to my cgm.

I read that, too. As liver is suppressed it fails to respond quickly to low BGs. Takes time. I tried to keep it stable, however no matter what I eat, I fail to achieve a stable BG over 8h period. Cottage cheese mixed with oats and honey for example. 2-3h max. drop.

Also it works against my HRV, GHRPs.

 

[Ateam2023]

This is something I've read too as well, some guys eat carbs with a little fat before bed to prevent glucose from dropping too much. I just can't see how this will work if you want to pin HGH before bed too, this is the only reason i haven't tried it yet.

Thats why i like a.m. dosing , im fasted and dont ingest carbs for 2 hrs, im only on a low Trt doses atm and 3 ius which is keeping my igf1 @260+ so im not hurting hormonaly , im just to banged up to be doing any respectable doses, just going through the motions till i get my shoulders fixed, fml

 

[thestruggle]

Thats why i like a.m. dosing , im fasted and dont ingest carbs for 2 hrs, im only on a low Trt doses atm and 3 ius which is keeping my igf1 @260+ so im not hurting hormonaly , im just to banged up to be doing any respectable doses, just going through the motions till i get my shoulders fixed, fml

I think am dosing is best if high intensity/explosive training is not on the regimen. Wish you good recovery.

 

[thestruggle]

Will see if adding 25mg micronized pregnenolone will help with my sleep quality:

Post in thread '"Holistic" TRT protocol: DHEA and Pregnenolone?'

Nov 1, 2025

Starting today, I’m adding micronized pregnenolone (25 mg) in the morning alongside my 12.5 mg micronized DHEA to see if I can restore some of the upstream hormone and neurosteroid activity that TRT alone can’t replace.

DHEA had clear boosts to my cognitive clarity, mood, but my sleep quality is still suffering.

I'm hoping replenishing precursors like pregnenolone and its metabolites (progesterone, allopregnanolone), could may be contribute to GABA balance and overall neuroendocrine function.

I’ll report back on my response over the next few weeks in terms of energy, focus...

• thestruggle

• 

 

[Eddie.]

Will see if adding 25mg micronized pregnenolone will help with my sleep quality:

Post in thread '"Holistic" TRT protocol: DHEA and Pregnenolone?'

Nov 1, 2025

Starting today, I’m adding micronized pregnenolone (25 mg) in the morning alongside my 12.5 mg micronized DHEA to see if I can restore some of the upstream hormone and neurosteroid activity that TRT alone can’t replace.

DHEA had clear boosts to my cognitive clarity, mood, but my sleep quality is still suffering.

I'm hoping replenishing precursors like pregnenolone and its metabolites (progesterone, allopregnanolone), could may be contribute to GABA balance and overall neuroendocrine function.

I’ll report back on my response over the next few weeks in terms of energy, focus...

• thestruggle

• 

10mg made me feel like i've had a lobotomy. Zero emotions, i had to smile or laugh for about 3 days lol. Never touching it again. I've tried simple and micronized, mornings and evenings. Each attempt failed. With DHEA i'm cool though..

 

[thestruggle]

10mg made me feel like i've had a lobotomy. Zero emotions, i had to smile or laugh for about 3 days lol. Never touching it again. I've tried simple and micronized, mornings and evenings. Each attempt failed. With DHEA i'm cool though..

Fuck, am scared now. How long did you run it as a trial?

 

[Eddie.]

Fuck, am scared now. How long did you run it as a trial?

For 4 days and i've tried it 3 times. Usually the second day starts hitting, i can't see a reason to push through from the moment it makes me feel like shit. Unfortunately in my country and in most EU countries you can't test pregnenolone, only DHEA so i have no clue where my levels are. Some say it raises progesterone and that's why it makes you calm and blunt but from my experience so far i have no issues running progestogenic compounds like nandrolone and tren.

Just start it and you'll see how it goes, if you quit it you return to baseline in like 1-2 days so no big deal. 25mg though i think it's too much for a starting dose.

 

[thestruggle]

Taking 25mg micronized pregnenolone for 3 days has significantly improved my sleep quality and reduced fragmentation. I naturally dropped zolpidem. However, dose or timing was not right. I experienced daytime sleepiness after the first day. Felt good to be able to sleep, and rest finally.

For me, Pregnenolone has apparently had strong GABAergic effects, and has probably raise progesterone levels. Labs results pending.

—

Right after stopping, sleep fragmentation returned and I had to fallback to zolpidem.

Stopped after 3 days, reduced dose to 10mg non-micronized, and moved it to evening. Seeing no effect yet. Formulation change, or too low of dosage.

 

[endtropy]

How is your temperature regulation? I ended up getting a cheap bed chiller. First I started sleeping shirtless, than tossed the comforter, than was down to just a think top sheet and still finding it hard to keep my temperature regulated which was disrupting my sleep. I wasn't about to drop 5k on a 8sleep, I didn't think the "bedjet" approach would work for me (just air flow), so I tried one of the super cheap evaporative chillers you can find on amazon and temu for for 100-200 bucks. You can't set an exact temp, your room can't be super hot or humid to begin with, but if your room is reasonably temperature regulated they work well enough. With the chiller I am back to sleeping under a regular sheet and comforter. I never wake up to being hot and having sweaty sheets or pillows. Not saying temperature is your issue but I found once I got my hormones dialed with TRT and therapies, I became a MUCH warmer sleeper

 

[thestruggle]

How is your temperature regulation? I ended up getting a cheap bed chiller. First I started sleeping shirtless, than tossed the comforter, than was down to just a think top sheet and still finding it hard to keep my temperature regulated which was disrupting my sleep. I wasn't about to drop 5k on a 8sleep, I didn't think the "bedjet" approach would work for me (just air flow), so I tried one of the super cheap evaporative chillers you can find on amazon and temu for for 100-200 bucks. You can't set an exact temp, your room can't be super hot or humid to begin with, but if your room is reasonably temperature regulated they work well enough. With the chiller I am back to sleeping under a regular sheet and comforter. I never wake up to being hot and having sweaty sheets or pillows. Not saying temperature is your issue but I found once I got my hormones dialed with TRT and therapies, I became a MUCH warmer sleeper

Thanks for sharing.

I struggled with this and had to separate my bed from my partner due to temperature issues.

I tried bedjet but it has stupid design. 8sleep is just too pricey. Tried cooling sheets. Overall, no single thing worked, but I realized I should sleep naked and in a uncomfortably cool room even in autumn/winter seasons to not be disrupt.

I realize a majority lf temp regulation problem is due to e2 fluctuations. Too much AI, crash, hot flash.

What type of chiller are you referring to?