DHEA and Adrenal Imbalance
That being said, if you’ve been taking a DHEA enhanced product — don’t worry! Just call your doctor or medical practitioner and ask to get your hormones tested — then you will know how to proceed.
How we test for DHEA at our practice
Saliva adrenal profiles can also be used to look at DHEA along with cortisol levels. If I suspect adrenal imbalance, hormonal imbalance or a DHEA irregularity in a patient, I often order is an adrenal panel. Using blood tests, I check estradiol in the follicular phase (usually days 3–9 of a menstrual cycle); progesterone in the luteal phase (days 14–28); DHEA-S; and both free and total testosterone levels. I like to see estrogen, progesterone, and DHEA in the upper quadrant of normal.
What many traditional medical practitioners consider normal is a little low in my opinion. I think there are many women who fall just shy of the bell curve in either direction, but still in the range of “normal” by current standards, who have legitimate health problems. And when such women go to a conventional practitioner feeling awful – they are told that there’s nothing wrong.
But I don’t just go by the numbers. I always look at how a woman is feeling; what demands she’s placing on her body — particularly her adrenals — and her emotional state. Sometimes a woman can test normal by conventional standards and still need a slight, temporary boost.
What if you need DHEA?
If tests indicate the need for DHEA supplementation, I start patients off with as little as 1-5 mg, under the tongue, two times per day. It’s possible to slowly up the dosage if further tests warrant it, but I find I rarely need to use more than 10–12 mg sublingual per day — a physiological dose. We do not suggest any woman exceed 25 mg per day if capsule forms are used.
I use only pharmaceutical-grade DHEA compounded by a reputable pharmacy. That way I can be confident that what I’m prescribing is actually what the patient will get. The kind I use comes in liquid sublingual drops — I prefer them to tablets. If your doctor is unaware of a reliable compounding pharmacy in your area, log in to the International Academy of Compounding Pharmacists website to access their referral service.
Once a patient is taking DHEA, I closely monitor how she is metabolizing the hormone through regular tests and face-to-face check-ups. Many women don’t need to take DHEA for an extended period of time — once our bodies return to balance and we make lifestyle changes, we’re usually more than capable of making what we need.
Many of my patients in menopause who are taking bioidentical hormones also take DHEA to promote a good overall balance and vice-versa. DHEA can be a great bridge through menopause. Again, once balance has been restored and symptoms even out, most women produce enough DHEA on their own.
Which brings me to the point I most want to make about DHEA — it’s connection to joy.
The best way to make more DHEA: cultivate joy
As I said before, DHEA is just one small part of a much larger picture — one that you can exert considerable influence over. Our bodies produce DHEA all the time. And it’s possible to measurably boost your body’s own production of DHEA naturally.
Some studies show that people with a positive outlook actually create a self-sustaining cycle of DHEA production: they produce more DHEA, which may affect their levels of serotonin (the happy neurotransmitter; for more about this, see our articles about antidepressants), which in turn gives them a better outlook — which ups DHEA and so on.
One proven way to boost levels of DHEA naturally is to find ways to cultivate joy in your life. This can mean different things to different people but overall there are some common threads when weaving this web of joy:
- Connection: Human beings are social creatures — we like companionship. Connecting with family and friends in a healthy, loving way is one of the best joy-makers around. Or think long and hard about what you like to do for pleasure and reach out. Join a local class or group that shares your interest.