What to do about weight gain after a hysterectomy, and a supplement taken for depression. Carrie Lazarus has more in this week's Doctor on Call.
Our first Doctor on Call question comes from a Syracuse viewer who writes, "I had a hysterectomy in my 40s and since then, I have gained a substantial amount of weight. I cannot take any hormone replacement therapy because of my family history of cancer. So what do women do who can't take HRT to lose weight more easily?"
Well, we talked to a doctor who specializes in medical weight loss, and she had a couple of things to offer. First of all, she said you should be checked for insulin resistance, because if that's the case for you, there is medicine that you can go on that will help you take off some weight.
But generally speaking, once a woman goes through menopause, she needs to cut her calories by 500 a day or increase her activity by that much. That's because your metabolism slows down after menopause. Those cuts will just help you maintain weight. If you want to lose weight, you're going to have to cut more than 500 calories and increase your activity level.
Our next question is about a supplement. This viewer asks, "Is there any proven benefit to taking SAM-e for depression?" Well SAM-e is one of those supplements where there is some research that shows it can work.
A number of studies have shown that SAM-e worked as well as any anti-depressant medicines for partial relief of depression. The bad news is that the dosage was pretty high, and would cost you about $50 a week to take as much SAM-e as you would need to relieve your depression.
It is not known if lower doses would give you the same result.
If you have a question for the Doctor on Call, send us an email to familyhealthcast@9wsyr.com.
