Sixty-one years old and I feel like I need to say this loudly because nobody seems to talk about it: my last period was eight years ago. Eight years. And I still wake at 2am most nights like clockwork, lie there for an hour or so with my brain doing its worst, then fall back into the kind of half-sleep that leaves me feeling like I've been chewed up by morning. I stopped HRT about three years back, joint conversation with my GP, felt right at the time, no regrets. But I genuinely assumed the sleep thing was a hot flush thing and once the flushes went it would sort itself out. Reader, it did not sort itself out. What has helped, or at least what I think has helped because honestly who can tell anymore, is the strength training I started last year. Two sessions a week at a local gym, nothing dramatic. I went partly because I'd read enough about bone density to frighten myself before a GP appointment, and partly because a friend dared me to. Turns out I quite like it. Sleep is not fixed but I feel less fragile during the day which makes the rubbish nights slightly easier to absorb. I've also been making more of an effort with protein since my daughter kept sending me articles about muscle mass in older women. Eggs most mornings, bit of Greek yoghurt, actually thinking about it rather than just grabbing toast. Whether it's doing anything measurable I couldn't say but it feels like doing something sensible at least. Got a GP review coming up and I want to ask properly about bone and heart stuff, long-term picture, not just a five-minute brush-off. Writing it down here so I remember I'm allowed to ask. Anyone else still in the thick of sleep issues this far out? Would genuinely love to know it's not just me. x