Posted by KaraS on November 14, 2004, at 15:40:20
In reply to Re: DHEA for motivation » KaraS, posted by JLx on November 14, 2004, at 9:33:16
> > I'm considering taking a small amount of DHEA for motivation. I'm thinking it might also help a little with hot flashes. I'm worried about taking hormones at all but I could really use the boost right now. I'm also worried about it causing my uterine fibroids (which have shrunk way down) to start growning again (not to mention problems with acne). I am thinking of taking it for a short while only. The last time I was tested my levels were low. Any thoughts?
>
> I took 25 mg of DHEA daily for years as part of a herbal women's formula, not really knowing what I was doing. I discovered it had really helped my mood when I accidentally bought the kind without DHEA. I also tried another brand's herbal mix that also didn't have DHEA and that didn't do a thing for me. That was all before I started supplementing with magnesium. Magnesium deficiency exacerbates DHEA deficiency, is my understanding.
>
> A good article from Life Extension:
>
> "The DHEA Debate:
> A critical review of clinical and experimental data"
> http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2004/mar2004_cover_dhea_01.htm
>
> The interview with Suzanne Sommers in an issue of the LEF mag is interesting too. She has been taking bio-identical natural hormones throughout her breast cancer treatment. Gotta admire her courage to fly in the face of conventional wisdom for that. http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2004/oct2004_cover_somers_01.htm
>
> I've been taking a quarter of a 50 mg tablet when I remember which is probably only 1-2 a week. I'm thinking now that I might try upping it to 25 mg or maybe even 50 mg a day again, for a month at least, see how that feels. I didn't realize that fish oil caused acne until someone here mentioned it so now I wonder if I mistook some fish oil acne for DHEA acne. I don't notice any effect from the small amount I've been taking.
>
> It may have really helped me with hot flashes all those years as I haven't been particularly bothered by them. I was having them at night for a very short while but I didn't pay attention to what I was doing differently -- could have been the no DHEA time.
>
> I haven't read "Discover Your Menopause Type" but I ran across this site recently. http://www.yourmenopausetype.com/questionaire/mtq.html I wish I had before I tried natural progesterone after reading lots about it, as this indicates I wasn't in a low progesterone state. It's a little hard to answer some of those questions as they imply a state of wellness before perimenopausal type symptoms that I didn't really have! "More depressed"...more depressed than when?? ;)
>
> JLThanks, JL
That was fascinating reading. I don't know that I agree with everything Suzanne Summers said but I also admire her quest for answers and her refusal to follow the traditional course. She turned out to be anything but a dumb blonde! I came away from the first article thinking that DHEA was a good way to go. I came out of the second article thinking how critical it is to be tested and get all hormones in the body balanced. As soon as I have health insurance, I'm going to do that. There are some excellent doctors around where I live who have a great combination of traditional and holistic backgrounds.
I took the test and I scored low on estrogen and testosterone but ok on progesterone. Like you, I wonder how accurate my results are. My depression, though always present, varies at times in terms of degree, and has for my entire adult life regardless of menopausal issues. I laughed when you wrote "More depressed"...more depressed than when??" Exactly!
On the whole, though, I think it might be worth trying a little bit of DHEA. It metabolizes to estrogen and testosterone if I'm not mistaken so perhaps it won't create too much of an inbalance by taking it (or at least it may not make any inbalances worse). I like that it also plays a beneficial role with regard to the thyroid, immune function and insulin sensitivity - all major issues for me. (My luck I'll take it and it will do wonderful things for me but it will bring back my acne problems and I'll give it up.)
I tried a small dose of 7-keto DHEA a couple of years ago but it did absolutely nothing for me. I didn't even notice increased energy as it is purported to create. After taking it for about 6 weeks it started to make me feel sick. At any rate, it didn't provide the estrogen or testosterone so the regular DHEA will probably be a completely different experience.
I'll let you know how I'm doing on the DHEA once I start it. (I may wait until after I've tried the selegiline + DLPA though). Let me know how you fare with increasing your dosage and taking it regularly. As for the acne from fish oil, that doesn't seem to be a side effect that the majority of people get. The ones who did report that side effect were all women though (if I remember correctly). I am going to increase my fish oil dosage a little and see what happens. After all of those posts about fish oil and acne, I remembered that many years ago I saw a holistic doctor who put me on a lot of fish oil - very high quality stuff - and I didn't develop that acne. It was only later in my own trials (several of them) with fish oil and flax seed oil that I developed that problem. Perhaps the stuff I have now won't have that effect. I probably should try increasing dosage at a different time than the DHEA otherwise I won't know which (or both?) is causing the acne if I get it. I guess I'll have to balance my need to function immediately with my need to know what is working.
I may also increase my calcium and magnesium. I'm currently taking about 333 mg. of calcium a day with about half of that amount of magnesium oxide (I'm just finishing up the old stuff I had). To that I've been supplementing with 125 mg. of magnesium taurate. Now I think I'll go to about 500-667 mg. of calcium and I'll take about an equivalent amount of magnesium - some in taurate form and the rest in citrate or malate form. I think I'll try that for a while and then eventually try 1000-1200 mg. of calcium though I'm conflicted as to whether I really need that much. Your posts (if I'm not mistaken) suggested that a 1:1 ratio is probably better than the current thinking of 2:1 cal to mag. In that case, do you think that 1000-1200 of magnesium a day is ok to balance the calcium with?
Anyway, thanks again for posting those articles and about your experience with DHEA.
Kara
poster:KaraS
thread:415592
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20041108/msgs/415862.html