Women's Menopause Health Center  September 15, 2006 Newsletter.

 

 

Menopause Depression Studies.

 

What is the cause of depression? Depression is a biological illness believed to be caused by changes in brain chemistry. Physical or emotional stress can trigger the biological changes that occur in depression and the menopause years are full of stresses.

Hormonal changes can trigger such changes in brain chemistry, especially in women who are already prone to depression. Estrogen interacts with chemicals in the brain that can affect mood and less estrogen can increase the risk of depression.

In fact, two recent federally funded studies show a woman's risk for a first bout with depression rises sharply as she approaches menopause. One study measured hormone levels in 231 Philadelphia-area women over eight years while the other followed 460 Boston-area women for six years. The Philadelphia study was sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine while the other study was sponsored by the Harvard School of Medicine.

The studies came to a number of conclusions: a woman's chances of falling into depression grew as her hormones changed; women with a history of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) were more likely to experience depression when they neared menopause; and, women nearing menopause were nearly two to five times as likely to develop symptoms of depression as women who hadn't yet experienced changes in their menstrual cycles.

The studies were published in the April 2006 issue of Archives of General Psychiatry and looked only at women with no prior history of depression. The women were in the 30 to 40 years of age range when the studies began.

One of the doctors who was the co-author of the Harvard Medical School study recommended that women who develop depression get treatment in the form of talk therapy, antidepressants, and possibly hormone therapy.

Although your primary care physician may prescribe medication for depression to help ease the symptoms of depression, these medications have many adverse side effects. Bothersome side effects include nervousness, insomnia, restlessness, diarrhea, and sexual problems. There are also serious side effects like violent behavior and potentially fatal side effects to these medications like suicidal tendencies.

We here at the Women's Menopause Health center always recommend trying a natural approach first (and giving it about 60 days to work as natural treatments work at curing the problem rather than masking it). The first treatment we recommend is following the natural ways to control hot flashes. Many of the doctors involved in the study speculated that the depression could be caused by lack of sleep due to hot flashes. (Click here for home remedies for hot flashes.)
(Click here for herbal remedies for hot flashes.)

We also carry a wonderful completely natural, homeopathic anti-depressant called deprex. Deprex is a scientifically advanced and highly effective complex of natural antidepressants. The Deprex formula is designed to safely provide nutritional support for moderate to severe depression and possible mood imbalances.

Unlike prescriptive antidepressant medications, Deprex is an all-natural alternative that provides the necessary dietary precursors to complement the body's ability to potentiate the production of serotonin, which plays an important part in mood regulation. Deprex also increases serotonin and norepinephrine activity while reducing negative cortisol secretion - all without adverse side effects.

 

Here's the link to the reprint of the article I promised you last month about the Wyeth petition to stop compounding of bioidentical hormones. Click here.
 

September Menopause Food Recipe: "Depression Lifting" Tuscan-Style Linguine.

September Bath and Body Recipe: Chocolate Lip Gloss.

September Exercise Tip:  Beginner's Guide to Feldenkrais Method® Lessons

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For more information about the Women's Menopause Health Center, visit us at http://www.womens-menopause-health.com