Dehydroepiandrosterone, more commonly known as DHEA, is basically a supplemental hormone. According to the National Institutes of Health, it's often used to treat disorders of the adrenal gland as well as some cases of depression and lupus. By supplementing this hormone, your body is better able to create other hormones that may replace deficient hormones, stabilize mood and reduce the progression of disease. While women who are prescribed this medication benefit from its use, there's also the potential for certain side effects and interactions.
Benefits
With disorders of the adrenal gland, the most obvious benefit of synthetic DHEA is hormonal balance. According to the Mayo Clinic, the adrenal gland is responsible for DHEA hormone production. When you suffer from an adrenal insufficiency, your body actually lacks an adequate amount of this hormone, resulting in symptoms like muscle weakness, joint pain, low blood sugar, loss of appetite, depression and irritability. By administering a synthetic form of DHEA, your hormone levels come back into balance, lessening symptoms of the condition.
With depression, supplemental DHEA can actually improve your condition. There seems to be a link between high levels of cortisol and clinical depression. By administering DHEA, the increased ratio of DHEA to cortisol seems to stabilize mood, according to a study by the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California. Patients were given 30 to 90 mg of supplemental DHEA, and most showed an improvement in their depressives state when the ratio of DHEA to cortisol increased.
With lupus, women have about 50 percent less DHEA in their systems than those without the disease, according to the Food and Drug Administration, or FDA. Much like adrenal insufficiencies and depression, supplementing this hormone can decrease symptoms of the condition, such as fatigue, weight loss, joint pain, stiffness, shortness of breath and chest pain. It may also reduce the chances of complications like kidney damage; pleurisy, which is lung inflammation; myocarditis, which is heart inflammation;, memory problems; and bone loss.
Side Effects
As with almost any medication, there is the potential for women to suffer side effects while using DHEA. One of the more troubling involves the overproduction of the male hormone, resulting in hair loss, facial hair, acne, abnormal sweating and deepening of the voice. It may also cause fatigue, headache, nausea and insomnia as well as changes in mood and emotions. Sometimes, it may also cause you to develop high cholesterol and even high blood pressure, increasing your risk of heart disease, heart attack and stroke.
Interactions
It's also possible that this synthetic hormone may adversely interact with certain medication you're taking to treat another condition. Normally, your doctor would be aware of all prescription drugs you're taking, but make sure to discuss your medical history at the time of your visit.
Surprisingly, dehydroepiandrosterone can increase the levels of certain medication in your bloodstream, changing the way in which a drug acts on your body. According to the National Institutes of Health, anti-coagulants and anti-platelets may increase the risk of clotting when used with this synthetic hormone. Heart medications may affect the rhythm of your heart. Even blood-sugar levels can spike from its use.
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