I just started taking dhea 25mg. I felt like i was in one huge anxiety attach all day long since an hour after I took it. I took the pills to my kinesiologist t(muscle tester for lack of a more elaborate description) to be tested. It turns out I only need about 8mg instead of 25mg. I am so grateful for him. I always take any herbal or well anything I am going to put into my body to him first to get checked and see if my body actually wants it and in what strength. Just thought I would pass that on.   Shelley

elley, This info is very much appreciated. I have been using a compounded natural Bio-identical progesterone 4% and DHEA 2% creme for 3 weeks now and have found my hot flushes and anxiety have decreased in both frequency and intensity. I will be returning to my Dr. next week to give her my report. She will  increase the % of either and or add other naturally compounded hormones, depending on how I am feeling. I must say this is all very exciting stuff if one does'nt want to use synthetic HRT.  I would like to hear from others using  DHEA. and how it worked - or not,  for them. Jimi.

(Edited by jimi at 7:43 pm on April 7, 2003)

Jimi & Elley,I had my DHEA levels tested and the results came back very low.  My dr prescribed 5 mg capsules, but that dose made me feel wired for sound (Elley, I can definitely relate to what you say about feeling like you were having a huge anxiety attack. I did NOT enjoy it!)  The dr lowered the dose to 2.5 mg & it's better, but I still feel jittery for about an hour after I take it.  I'm sensitive to a lot of meds though, so tend to do better on lower doses than the average person might.  

I took it because I was having a lot of trouble with memory, motivation, attention span, and difficulty dealing with stress.  My libido had also faded to nothing.

Overall, I think it's helping. I seem to be able to focus better than I was, and can make myself stick to a task until it's complete.  My interest in sex  has increased a little, though it's still not what it was.  I also see improvement in the way I'm handling stress -- I don't feel like I'm going to have a meltdown every day.

I don't like that buzzy feeling I get right after I take the pill (it's like I've had waaaaayyy too much caffeine), but if I'm careful when I take it, I can manage.  

I also use progesterone cream (don't recall what the % is), and Revival too.  

I had my DHEA level rechecked last week but haven't got the results back yet.

Do you plan to keep using it indefinitely?  I've read some things that say to keep taking it, but other books say to use it only until testing shows that DHEA levels have risen back into normal range.