What can help my menopausal blues?
Q:
I’m 53, and since my periods stopped, I’ve felt more and more down in the dumps. A friend who noticed how blue I’ve been told me taking DHEA worked like magic to lift her mood. Should I try it?
A:
Mood dips after menopause are very common. In fact, a recent study in the journal Maturitas found that being postmenopausal increases women’s risk of low moods by 35 percent. The reason: Estrogen enhances the activity of the feel-good brain chemical serotonin, so when production of the hormone drops off, mood can drop as well. And while dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), a hormone the body uses to make other hormones, can increase estrogen levels and lift mood, I don’t advise taking it without a doctor’s supervision since supplementing with DHEA only helps if your levels are low. Plus, it can increase testosterone and produce side effects like excess hair growth and a deepened voice.
That said, there are other natural strategies that can brighten your mood. First, try taking 20 mg of black cohosh twice daily. The herb has been shown to reduce persistent sadness or hopelessness by 30 percent within one month, and by 48 percent after two months. I also suggest getting more vitamin D since deficiencies in the vitamin, which the body produces when sunlight strikes skin, have been shown to raise the risk of depression by 35 percent. And 46 percent of women suffer from D shortfalls in the summer. To shore up your D levels, try spending at least 15 minutes outdoors a day (without sunscreen) and supplementing daily with 2,000 mg of D3.
But if these strategies don’t improve your mood within a month, see your health-care provider. She can check your DHEA levels to determine if supplementing is right for you, as well as advise you on other treatments.