Stress, Menopause, and DHEA questions
A client of mine emailed me this inquiry about stress and hormone issues recently and I thought it would be helpful to share my response.
She says,”I went off milk for a while and started drinking almond milk – I seem to muscle test okay for it – but the last week or so I have felt warm on and off throughout the day and tired. I seem to be testing for 2 adrenals and 2 wild yam. I take the Pantothenic Acid and have been taking the l-Lysine as I wasn’t sure what was going on. I do have the occasional sneeze attacks but feel like my eyes are heavy for some reason – I’d say allergies but can’t say since we really haven’t been here long enough. It’s been like this the heavy eyes for a couple of weeks or more and the feeling warm on and off last two weeks I’d say. Please let me know what you think. ”
My response: I think I would add 3 evening primrose oil after checking you, and remember that licorice root is key for anti-histamine stability. The almond milk isn’t quite as high in fat as the dairy and you need plenty to make your hormones. It’s also helpful for immune response…which is also fat dependent. Do you want me to send you a flower essence as well??
Her: Okay so I’ll continue with the adrenal support @ 2 and the wild yam @ 2 – continue the l-lysine and the panothenic acid. I stopped taking the licorice root – hmmm not sure why – lol and will add the evening primrose. I needed that reminder about the fats for my hormones. I am now using half milk and half almond milk in my shakes – got to thinking about it (I over think things sometimes! lol) and remember that nuts will cause me to have a breakout on my hand if I eat too many so wasn’t sure if that was contributing. I need to place a NS order so I’ll add evening primrose and continue the rest? licorice root? and YES to a flower essence and please let me know what I owe you!!! Thanks a million Kim. You don’t know how good it feels to be able to go to you and get these scans done/advice, etc. When are you coming up this way? We need a retreat to happen!!!!
Kim – an added note that I didn’t think of – I was taking 25mg of DHEA – I have been told since that I may have been taking too much – it is what they said when I was on the bio-identitcal hormones and did all the blood work. Anyway – I’ve been off of it for about 3-4 weeks and wondering if that did attribute. Ordering today if possible – let me know if adrenal support, wild yam, pano acid and evening primrose is all i need to order….licorice root still have some. Thanks a bunch kim!
Me: That could be the bulk of the issue!! If your glandular system is properly supported (which the supplements you tested for are intended to do) then your body should be making enough DHEA. As you know, I am not a huge fan of “bio-identical” hormones. In the first place, I don’t believe we can duplicate anything in the body. Beyond that, hormone levels can and should fluctuate on a daily (hourly!) basis. The adrenals, liver, and thyroid gland are also factors in hormone health and taking a female hormone substitute doesn’t address those organs. Taking any one hormone will affect levels of many others. The basic premise that we need to keep our hormone levels the same as we age seems counter-intuitive to me; would you like to be pregnant in your 50’s or 60’s? If not, there is not a reason, in my opinion, to attempt to artificially replicate hormone levels appropriate to that function. I have an inherent belief that we were correctly designed, and that artificially high hormones are necessary for us to be well as we age and pass into menopause.
