17 replies to this topic

[Logan]

So day 2 taking DHEA and both times I dosed it, one 5mg in the morning and one 5 mg in the afternoon. Each time shortly after dosing, I felt very sleepy and laid down on the couch and took a quick nap.

Anyone else experience this?

[stephen_b]

I've been taking 50 mg and I don't notice a thing, but ymmv.

[pycnogenol]

I've never felt sleepy from DHEA and I've been taking it for years.

[Logan]

Weird, I just started thyroid medication 3 weeks ago so maybe it's that. Who knows.

[Logan]

Do you mind if I ask the two of you how old you are. I know one of you is in their 40s.

I'm thinking at 37, 10mg of micronized DHEA should be enough.

Pycnogenol, how long did it take before you really started noticing a difference in the way you feel?

Stephen b, how long have you been taking DHEA?

[pycnogenol]

Pycnogenol, how long did it take before you really started noticing a difference in the way you feel?

It took only about 5 days for me to start noticing the positive effects of DHEA. A mere 10 mg does the trick.

Earlier this year, I stopped taking DHEA for about a month to see what would happen and my overall mood
plummeted so I resumed taking it immediately. I always take DHEA the same time every morning which is
7:00 AM.

At your age, I would think that 10 mg and maybe even 5 mg would be helpful but of course you never
know until you try it out.

I also take the terrific aphrodisiac herb Mucuna Pruriens (also known as "velvet bean" or "dopa mucuna")
occasionally and that really helps my libido. I take it around the noon hour - no later than that for me as it can
cause insomnia.

Edited by pycnogenol, 12 July 2010 - 12:08 AM.

[Logan]

Pycnogenol, how long did it take before you really started noticing a difference in the way you feel?

It took only about 5 days for me to start noticing the positive effects of DHEA. A mere 10 mg does the trick.

Earlier this year, I stopped taking DHEA for about a month to see what would happen and my overall mood
plummeted so I resumed taking it immediately. I always take DHEA the same time every morning which is
7:00 AM.

At your age, I would think that 10 mg and maybe even 5 mg would be helpful but of course you never
know until you try it out.

I also take the terrific aphrodisiac herb Mucuna Pruriens (also known as "velvet bean" or "dopa mucuna")
occasionally and that really helps my libido. I take it around the noon hour - no later than that for me as it can
cause insomnia.

Mucuna Puriens has L-Dopa in it right? Doesn't L-Dopa have potential health risks? Does Mucuna make you feel better in general?

Besides mood, what else did you notice with DHEA?

Do you find that splitting the dose and dosing twice a day with DHEA is better than just taking it in the morning? Or do you do just fine with one morning dose?

Do you know what the half life of DHEA is? Even if it has a fairly short half-life I wonder if the effects last beyond it's half life, I'm sure they do. I know a few people mentioned taking it 2 times a day to maintain steady blood levels.

Edited by morganator, 12 July 2010 - 12:25 AM.

[pycnogenol]

Mucuna Puriens has L-Dopa in it right? Doesn't L-Dopa have potential health risks? Does Mucuna make you feel better in general?

Besides mood, what else did you notice with DHEA?

Do you find that splitting the dose and dosing twice a day with DHEA is better than just taking it in the morning? Or do you do just fine with one morning dose?

Do you know what the half life of DHEA is? Even if it has a fairly short half-life I wonder if the effects last beyond it's half life, I'm sure they do. I know a few people mentioned taking it 2 times a day to maintain steady blood levels.

It does indeed contain l-dopa; I take it rather infrequently. This herb makes me motivated and helps with libido.

With DHEA, pretty much mood enhancement. I only take one 10 mg capsule in the morning. I don't split it up. Not sure about the half-life.

[Logan]

Mucuna Puriens has L-Dopa in it right? Doesn't L-Dopa have potential health risks? Does Mucuna make you feel better in general?

Besides mood, what else did you notice with DHEA?

Do you find that splitting the dose and dosing twice a day with DHEA is better than just taking it in the morning? Or do you do just fine with one morning dose?

Do you know what the half life of DHEA is? Even if it has a fairly short half-life I wonder if the effects last beyond it's half life, I'm sure they do. I know a few people mentioned taking it 2 times a day to maintain steady blood levels.

It does indeed contain l-dopa; I take it rather infrequently. This herb makes me motivated and helps with libido.

With DHEA, pretty much mood enhancement. I only take one 10 mg capsule in the morning. I don't split it up. Not sure about the half-life.

Thanks man, I might try mucuna puriens one day. Hopefully I noticed something significant from DHEA soon.

[Logan]

O.k. another weird one. I have noticed in the past 2 days that my armpits are very red and irritated. It's as if I was out on a body board all day in the ocean and my armpits were seriously chaffing. I have been fairly inactive lately so I know it was not any physical activity that spurred this on. Of course I'm wondering if DHEA could have anything to do with it. This is something I should discuss over at M and M as well. Many more people taking DHEA over there.

[pycnogenol]

I have noticed in the past 2 days that my armpits are very red and irritated. Of course I'm wondering if DHEA could have anything to do with it.

In all the years I've been taking DHEA this has never happened to me. What brand of DHEA are you taking? Just curious.

[FunkOdyssey]

I have noticed in the past 2 days that my armpits are very red and irritated. Of course I'm wondering if DHEA could have anything to do with it.

In all the years I've been taking DHEA this has never happened to me. What brand of DHEA are you taking? Just curious.

That's usually caused by an allergic reaction to your deoderant. Maybe the supplemental DHEA is antagonizing cortisol which was keeping a negative reaction to your deoderant at bay. That's a stretch but it's the only way I can possibly imagine a DHEA connection.

Edited by FunkOdyssey, 12 July 2010 - 03:24 PM.

[stephen_b]

Stephen b, how long have you been taking DHEA?

Not long, since the beginning of May of this year, after my blood results came in.

[Logan]

I have noticed in the past 2 days that my armpits are very red and irritated. Of course I'm wondering if DHEA could have anything to do with it.

In all the years I've been taking DHEA this has never happened to me. What brand of DHEA are you taking? Just curious.

That's usually caused by an allergic reaction to your deoderant. Maybe the supplemental DHEA is antagonizing cortisol which was keeping a negative reaction to your deoderant at bay. That's a stretch but it's the only way I can possibly imagine a DHEA connection.

I can see that being a possibility. Man they are sooooo red. I had been using the same deoderant for 2 weeks before this happened. It's an all natural deoderant with tea trea oil and lavender and a bunch of other things. It smells great and works great. Maybe I should try another deoderant and see if the redness and tenderness goes away.

[FunkOdyssey]

I can see that being a possibility. Man they are sooooo red. I had been using the same deoderant for 2 weeks before this happened. It's an all natural deoderant with tea trea oil and lavender and a bunch of other things. It smells great and works great. Maybe I should try another deoderant and see if the redness and tenderness goes away.

Yeah I think its the deodorant and not related to DHEA at all if you've only been using this deodorant for 2 weeks. It might have taken a good 7-10 consecutive days of using it for that reaction to begin. The natural ones that are full of different herbs and oils aren't necessarily any easier on the skin and probably contain more allergens.

[Logan]

I can see that being a possibility. Man they are sooooo red. I had been using the same deoderant for 2 weeks before this happened. It's an all natural deoderant with tea trea oil and lavender and a bunch of other things. It smells great and works great. Maybe I should try another deoderant and see if the redness and tenderness goes away.

Yeah I think its the deodorant and not related to DHEA at all if you've only been using this deodorant for 2 weeks. It might have taken a good 7-10 consecutive days of using it for that reaction to begin. The natural ones that are full of different herbs and oils aren't necessarily any easier on the skin and probably contain more allergens.

Yep I was thinking the same thing. It was an odd coincidence though.

I guess I'm a bit paranoid about taking anything that is a hormone, even my thyroid medication.

Have you noticed a difference in the way you feel since taking DHEA?

Also, this is totally off topic, how are you doing on LDN? I'm assuming you're still taking it. I am interested in trying LDN in hopes that it will somehow synergize with whatever SSRI or antidepressant I end up on and simply help me feel better in general.

[FunkOdyssey]

I can see that being a possibility. Man they are sooooo red. I had been using the same deoderant for 2 weeks before this happened. It's an all natural deoderant with tea trea oil and lavender and a bunch of other things. It smells great and works great. Maybe I should try another deoderant and see if the redness and tenderness goes away.

Yeah I think its the deodorant and not related to DHEA at all if you've only been using this deodorant for 2 weeks. It might have taken a good 7-10 consecutive days of using it for that reaction to begin. The natural ones that are full of different herbs and oils aren't necessarily any easier on the skin and probably contain more allergens.

Yep I was thinking the same thing. It was an odd coincidence though.

I guess I'm a bit paranoid about taking anything that is a hormone, even my thyroid medication.

Have you noticed a difference in the way you feel since taking DHEA?

Also, this is totally off topic, how are you doing on LDN? I'm assuming you're still taking it. I am interested in trying LDN in hopes that it will somehow synergize with whatever SSRI or antidepressant I end up on and simply help me feel better in general.

I am paranoid too, except my paranoia is directed at anything that potentially suppresses cellular immunity. I axed a whole swath of drugs and supplements recently because of this and LDN was one of them to go. The researcher who discovered LDN insists it is not immunomodulatory as is commonly thought and is just straight up immunosuppressive. I've posted about this in much more detail on M&M if you search posts by my name and "naltrexone".

I don't think a healthy person would be affected negatively by it but I am not taking any chances. Bihari, the late physician who pioneered its clinical use never saw any utility in it for Lyme. Some of the more adventurous LLMD's are experimenting with it but are seeing mixed results (~50% response rate). Its probably most helpful in patients with autoimmunity secondary to Lyme, which is a problem I'm fortunate not to have.

I did get up to 4.5mg LDN for a few months straight and it didn't seem to do much of anything noticeable anymore once I had fully adjusted to the higher dose.

[Logan]

Hey thanks man, maybe I will hold off on LDN for now and just see if I can get back to feeling normal with other meds/supplements.