Posts Tagged "depression"

Move over, red clover

Posted by Liz on Dec 11, 2009 in depression, herbal medicine | 1 comment

There’s interesting news on the red clover front.

Although red clover may have questionable value when it comes to hot flashes (the verdict is still out with regards to whether or not it is effective) researchers are now saying that this isoflavone may be useful for reducing depression and anxiety in menopausal women.

In a study published in the online edition of Maturitas journal, over 200 menopausal women received 2-80 mg red clover capsules or sugar tablet for 90 days, took a break, and then were assigned the opposite medication for another 90 days. The researchers measured anxiety and depression at the study’s start, at 90 days and at the study’s completion.

Taking red clover reduced total anxiety and depression by as much as 77%, compared to declines following placebo (which overall, declined about 21%). This decline could likely be attributed to what is known as the placebo effect, in which some an improvement is perceived to be real.

About red clover

Red clover is a perennial whose flowers have long been dried and used therapeutically in complementary medicine. It’s a known source of calcium, chromium, magnesium, niacin, phosphorus, potassium, thiamine, and vitamin C. Researchers have studied its utility in heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis and of course menopause. Herbalists also use red clover topically for eczema, psoriasis and other rashes. Although most people tolerate red clover very well, it has been associated with headache, nausea and rash. Animals who graze on large amounts of red clover have also become infertile. It can also interfere with certain drugs that are metabolized by the liver and can enhance the effects of estrogens, birth control and blood thinners.

Should you take red clover for anxiety and depression? The verdict is early but it is looking promising. As always, peak to a licensed, knowledgeable practitioner before using red clover with any regularity for any condition.

Got sleep?

Posted by Liz on Oct 9, 2009 in sleep disturbance | 0 comments

How many nights do you lie awake, staring at the clock and just hoping for a wee bit of shut-eye?

If you are like many women in peri- or post-menopause, the answer is probably “a lot.” However, data presented at last month’s North American Menopause Society Annual meeting show that sleep problems do not change uniformly across menopause, which is why addressing them effectively can be difficult for some women.

Researchers examined the sleep patterns and symptoms of 286 women who participated in the Seattle Midlife Women’s Health Study. All participants completed daily menstrual calendars, which were used to track their experiences across the menopausal transition and rate the severity of all symptoms. For five years, they also provided the researchers with first-morning urine samples so that estrogen, fallopian stimulating hormone, and stress hormones could be measured.

The result? Depending on your sleep pattern, the relationship to certain factors changed. For example, nighttime awakening was mostly associated with age, being late in the menopausal transition (before moving into full-blown menopause), early menopause, hot flashe, depressed mood, joint pain and stress. Early morning awakening was associated with age, hot flashes, depressed mood, anxiety, joint pain, stress, and lower estrogen/higher FSH levels. On the otherhand, difficulty falling asleep was associated with menopausal symptoms in general, stress, and lower stress hormone levels.

However, regardless of whether women were having trouble falling asleep, awoke several times during the night or awoke in the early morning hours, sleep disruption was consistently associated with hot flashes, depression and stress.

In light of these findings, the researchers concluded that interventions to improve sleep might be more effective if they were targeted and focused, for example, towards night-time awakening and hot flashes, or difficulty falling asleep and depression, rather than clustered under the category of “sleep disruption” without examining exacerbating factors.

Of course, the greater implication here is that sleep-associated disorders during the menopause do not fall under the “one size fits all” approach and are better treated with individualized therapy. This is not to say, however, that certain interventions, like yoga or acupuncture can’t help address the cluster of sleep issues, hot flashes and stress, etc. Still, it’s best to consult with your practitioner before embarking on your own approach to solving the sleep woes. Personally, I find that I will be awake for hours in the nights preceding my menstrual period, regardless of the use of herbs, exercise or meditation. It just “is.” Yet, I’m glad to know there might be a better approach to addressing my specific woes.

What about you? What are you doing to get sleep?

Wednesday Bubble: blame it on…

Posted by Liz on Sep 23, 2009 in emotions, estrogen, menopause, women's health | 4 comments

I was struck by the following story that appeared two weeks ago on the BBC:

“Woman’s Death Blamed on Menopause.”

“A woman who refused to take hormone replacement therapy died while suffering a menopausal episode, an inquest had heard. Margaret Drew…was killed when she walked out of her family home on to a nearby railway line and was hit by a train…There is no trigger to this at all, except hormones making her do things that she normally wouldn’t do, Dr. Carlyon [Cornwall Coroner) concluded…”

Menopause. The silent killer. Oh really?  Drew’s husband claims that his wife was “delightful, lovely and friendly” 99% of the time; the other 1% she’d become “totally irrational.” Yet, she refused to try HRT, he says. On the day of her suicide, he said that his wife was “clearly angry about something.”

Something.

Obviously, the conclusion is that that the “something” is hormones. This reminds me of vintage advertising copy that conveys the simple message that a pill a day can cure all that ails, wipe away the tears, mood swings and instability so that women can “transition without tears” (or better yet, without killing themselves).

Notably, a search in the National Library of Medicine’s PubMed database turned up only one recent study specifically dealing with suicide ideation across reproductive stages. In it, researchers compared data in 8,794 women, and found an increased risk of thinking about suicide among women during perimenopause, not before or after entering menopause. These findings remained after controlling for risk factors such as anxiety and mood disorders. HOWEVER, the researchers noted that the study design did not allow them to form any definitive conclusions about the specific reasons for thinking about suicide.

Another search yielded information that the risk for a major depression increases during perimenopause, primarily as the direct result of vasomotor symptoms. The same does not hold true for women before menopause begins or once they enter menopause. Note that while major depression is a risk factor for suicide, not everyone who is depressed will actually kill themselves.

So, are hormonal fluctuations the sole cause of such deep unhappiness that women want to kill themselves?

Interestingly, just a week after the menopause/train suicide story hit the interwebz, a rather controversial set of data also emerged: since 1972, women’s overall level of happiness has dropped. These findings held true regardless of child status, marital status and age. Researcher Marcus Buckingham, writing in the Huffington Post, said that women are not more unhappy than men because of gender stereotyping and related attitudes, due to working longer hours or because of the inequality of housework/responsibilities at home, but rather, the hormonal fluctuations of menopause may be to blame. What’s more, he leaves us hanging so we’ll tune in for part two of the piece to learn the true cause of our declining happiness or better yet, read his book (which evidently guides women through the process of finding the true role that they were meant to play in life).

Importantly, reactions to this study (and various pundits’ assessment of it) have been mixed. One of the most poignant comments I’ve read asks the question “how is happiness measured? What does it mean?”

I have no idea what caused Mrs. Drew to walk into a train two weeks ago and kill herself. Perhaps she was depressed. Clearly she was suicidal.

I have no idea why research shows that women are less happier than they were three decades ago.

However, is menopause the cause? Don’t these conclusions only serve to perpetuate societal myths that menopause is a disease that requires treatment? That as women, our attitudes, belief systems and actions are hormonally-based and driven? That we are hysterical beings who need guidance on how to find our way and fulfill our dreams, realize our paths, but only if we calm down?

Feeling angry? Blame it on menopause. Unhappy? Blame it on menopause. Not realizing your dreams? Blame it on menopause. Overworked, overstressed, undervalued? Blame it on menopause.

Blame it on menopause.

I don’t know about you but I’m tired, tired of hearing that menopause is not the symptom but the disease.

There’s no time like the present to burst this bubble.

Wednesday Bubble: “Severe depression? Apathy? Psychomotor retardation?” How about a bennie?

Posted by Liz on May 11, 2009 in emotions | 0 comments

Every now and then, a post deserves a second viewing. This week, I’m bursting the bubble on more vintage advertising. Nothing like an upper for the mid-week blues, right?

“In the severe depressions of the menopause, marked by apathy and psychomotor retardation…”just use a bennie. You’ll be speeding through your day in no time! (And will probably lose that extra weight too!)

Really! What WERE they thinking?!

Soy-ta interesting….

Posted by Liz on Jan 30, 2009 in herbal medicine | 1 comment

A new study suggests that a key component of an isoflavone found in soy, confers significant improvements in mood-related symptoms in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women who lack the ability to produce this component on their own. The component, which is called S-equol, is involved in the metabolism of an isoflavone known as daidzein.

In this study, which appears  in the online edition of the journal Menopause, researchers randomly and blindly assigned 134 women to daily placebo, 10 mg of equol daily or 10 mg equol three times a day. All study participants also completed questionnaires at the study’s start and after the completion of the study on menopausal symptoms and moods. Additionally, they underwent physical exams and urine testing.

The results showed that women taking equol experienced significant declines in all menopausal mood symptoms except depression (although compared to women who were assigned placebo, the decline in depression was significant).

Overall, women taking equol showed significant declines in tension-anxiety and fatigue, and improvements in vigor scores. No side effects were noted, except for a rash in one woman taking equol.

These data suggest that supplementation with S-equol may help to improve mood-related symptoms in peri- and post-menopausal women. What’s more, the team concluded that equol supplementation may offer a promising alternative to estrogen therapy.

Sorta interesting, right?!