High Cortisol Question

I got my test back from the Doctor and it was showing high Cortisol. He wants me to go to a endocrinologist to run more test. No insurance, so I guess I am supposed to rob a bank or something for a specialist and those kinds of test.

I realize stress can cause high cortisol, but I was under the impression that most Fibromyalgia patients had low cortisol.

Every single thing I take, pain meds, Klonopin, Baclofen muscle relaxer, Valerian to help me sleep, should be slowing down the Hypothalmic Pituitary Axis.

Every time in the past that I have been treated that the real problem was depression and put on anti-depressents that speed up the HPA, I felt like I was going to explode.

Anybody else had Cortisol test, and could you tell me what it came down to, high or low or normal.

Sounds like a big fat catch 22 and vicious circle. High Cortisol damages the Hypothalmus. Hypothalmus controls Pituitary. Pituitary controls adrenals. Adrenals kick out more cortisol, not just doing more damage to the Hypothalmus, but fatigueing the adrenals, which would make them fluctuate wildly on their own.

Did the book you read have any best approuch ideas to stabilizing, or at least partialy repairing as much of that cycle as possible?

On my own personal experience for this, I can say that I currently have more brain fog and dizziness type feelings now then I have ever had and I have not been on any anti-depressents for several years. I preaty much lost my ability to focus at all for months about a year and a half ago when I was sitting house bound for almost 2 years.

The best focus and sense of balance and lack of anxiety I have had was after being put on 100 milligrams of Elavil and 20 milligrams of Paxil for a year straight. But it was not while I was on the drugs that I felt mentaly good. It was after coming off them, from being on them a extended period of time. While I was on them for that year, I would sleep 12 hours a night, sit on the porch with my head swimming the first 20 minutes in the morning, be very fatigued out and unfocused most of the day, and yet stressed at the same time, come into focus in the evenings, take my pills and wash and rinse the next day. After about a year, I came off the Elavil first, then the Paxil, then finaly the Klonopin and my focus and memory and balance were all good for months. My days would cycle back and forth between feeling normal energy and total fatigue.

So, it looks to me like the Elavil and Paxil worked to whatever extent to repair the Hypothalmus, but the side effects of the year of repair work were so bad it was hard to tell if it was good or bad. The only reason I went on that level of drugs was I was on the verge of a second major depression breakdown. But after I came off of them, and the side effects were gone, mentaly I felt near normal for quite awhile, and my pain level was down both while on the drugs, and for quite sometime after coming off.

The big downside of the whole deal was that the repair work that had been done lasted a few months, and then within about 2 months of slow slide, I was in worse shape then when I started.

So, as far as the brain is concerned, it looks repairable to me, but the current types of drugs they use, in dosages that would actualy get the job done make us feel a whole lot worse fatigue wise, and are cranking up the fatigued adrenals even more, a long time before the Hypothalmus is getting to whatever degree, functioning better.

Maybe the exception to that is Cymbalta. I haven't tried it. I have a prescription for it sitting at the Pharmacy. Its supposed to do what Elavil did without the nasty side effects. I keep thinking about going and getting that prescription, but OMG is it expensive without insurance.

Basicaly, I am in that position that allot of people get into where the last thing I want at this point is to feel even worse, and if I go and pay out almost 250 dollars for a anti-depressent that makes me feel worse, or messes up my sleep even more, I am going to be a very unhappy camper.

Hey there!

 

Well, you and I are on the same path here. That book I read mentioned that there wasn't much that could be done for the HPA axis.  They did mention adding GABA (neurontin)to the pill regime. So I tried it and it's working.  The drug suppresses the peripheral nervous system which is what gives us all our pain.  I've noticed a marked improvement with my pain since ramping up the dose to 600mg every night.  That is still a very low dose.  You can go as high as 2700mg/daily.  Neurontin is also used as an anti-seizure med, which might be why it's so effective.  It might be working on the part the of the brain that the glands are in. 

 

I'm also on Zoloft.  The "poodle" SSRI.  I was on the "pitbull" Paxil many years ago and couldn't tolerate it.  Made my depression even worse.  Zoloft seems to be a good alternative for me.  So far! 

 

It's the vicious cycle you talk about with the HPA axis. If we could figure out a way to fix that miscommunication, we might have a cure for Fibro. We can only pray about it!

 

Cheers,

Ginny

 

Oh, I haven't tried enzyme therapy for my Lupus.  Never heard about it actually.  I've been very fortunate that the meds I'm on, have made the disease very quiet.  My biggest problem these days is my Fibro.  If it's not one it's the other! 

Grail what have your symtpoms been?

GABA overload sounds about right. I took 3 days off in a row and have been laying around. These medications really load up on me if I am not moving around everyday and detoxing some back out. No pain though WOOHOO! I think these 3 days off in a row kicking back while I take the same amount of medications I take on days I am moving around and drinking lots of water and detoxing stuff out has showed me where most of this is coming from. DRUGS!

Choice A: Live in a load of chronic pain and stress and anxiety. Choice B: Go around with a head full of cotton trying to figure out where I misplaced my brain.

Well, I gotta stagger outside for a bit and come fall back into the bed. Tomorrow starts my days on at work. Its going to take the whole first day just to detox off the overload from these 3 days.

Edit: Oh, and get to edit your post allot too.

Thank you Kitkat67 and Ginny. I will reconsider the Cymbalta. I don't know how that is going to effect sleep though. 4 milligrams of Klonopin barely puts me out anymore.

You know, when I made that post last night I was so out of it all day it was unreal. I was absolutely sure it was drug buildup in the blood. 20 minutes after that post, 75 percent of it totaly cleared up, and I was in pain, and I was clearer this morning then usual. I did absolutely nothing different. Makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Its almost like a light switch turning off and on. The symptoms are almost like feeling anywhere from a little drunk sometimes, to totaly plastered, and then for no apparent reason, its almost gone, and then for no apparent reason, it comes back.

Way back when, before I had to turn to usng medications, I would be this way every morning for about an hour. Now it hits me to some degree all day, and some days I feel like my brain is functioning on a pint of jack daniels in me all day. The weird part of it is that the pain cycles are tied to it. When I am totaly out of it, I feel no pain. When I am even partialy clear, I am in pain, usualy the chest pain from the ribs and sternum. And although I swore last night it was drugs, what made no sense was that just about the time it magicaly cleared up on me, I took my night time medications and it, the drunk brain and balance thing didn't come back, but the pain meds didn't work either. So I took the Klonopin, gave up for the night and let it put me to sleep.

I would say the symptoms at their worst are probably exactly what it would feel like if you took a significant night time dose of a benzodiazepene, like Klonopin, a 5 milligram Opiate, like tramadol, vicodin, or percocet, a muscle relaxer and neurontin all at the same time. The problem is this never completely wears off. Not even when I was taking nothing at all. Just walking around will make me feel this way.

This actualy started on me, except for the morning thing, after they originaly put me on Amitriptelene, Paxil and Klonopin. After I had been on them for a year I went to work at a exhausting job and cold turkeyed the Amitriptelene, then the Paxil, then the Klonopin over a period of about 3 weeks and the symptoms of this disapeared.

One time they gave me Talwin and just one dose, and I took nothing else, and it knocked me out for 14 hours straight and when I woke up I had most of the symptoms listed on the overdose list, was barely able to focus, labored breathing, slurred speech, staggering, and had to have my daughter drive me to the emergency room.

Kinda makes me wonder if I don't possibly have obstructive, or central Apnea or both. If its central Apnea, that might explain the difference in how I wake up some mornings semi clear, and other mornings in a staggering fog on the same doses of medications at the same times. I take a pile of stuff that should be knocking me out for the night, and still I wake up 3 to 5 times a night for no reason, I am wiped out and go right back to sleep. I have even caught myself snoring in my throat, while I am laying there totaly awake. And the fact I used to feel like this in the mornings for an hour or so when I was not on any drugs. I have a APAP that cost me a grand and I can't sleep with the thing. But I did not get a sleep study with it, I just went to the sleep Doctor and he looked in my throat and said its preaty tight and wrote a prescription for a auto adjusting machine. I tried useing it, but I can't get into deep sleep on it.

This whole thing just makes me want to go GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!

Hi, Pyttap, and welcome!  It was after a Prednisone dosepack that I started with my pain.  I really can't answer your question about cortisol.  This would be a great question for your doctor.

 

Be sure to check out the Fibro 101 thread...the second thread on the forum.  There are links to great information about fibromyalgia.  Perhaps some of your questions can be answered there.  There is a list of symptoms, a link to good stretching exercises that really do help, malic acid/magnesium supplements for pain and fatigue that do help some members, and some other goodies.  So be sure to check it out.

 

I'm so glad you found us and joined in.  Read back posts, the Fibro 101 thread, and ask questions.  We will try to answer them to the best of our ability.  You have come to a good place.  We have great members with good ideas to help you live a full and enjoyable life with fibromyalgia.  The bonus is that we really do care about one another.  So, welcome, and I hope to hear more from you soon.

 

Sherrine

Hi Julie,

 

I take 600 mg of Gabapentin every night.  I find that if I take it around 7pm, I'm really sleepy 3 hours later.  I can't take that stuff during the day. I'd be a dizzy, dopey mess!  It sure does work though.  I missed my dose Tuesday night and I paid for it big time on Wednesday. I find that when my Fibro is flaring, I don't sleep well. Even with the Gabapentin.  Fibro blows.

 

Interesting about your CRP and ESR. Neither are usually found to be elevated in Fibromyalgia. Both are indicators of inflammation.  Fibro isn't an inflammatory disorder.  However, both are always elevated in people with Lupus or RA.  Have your doctors ever mentioned Lupus to you?  What other symptoms do you have?