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How are you treating your adrenals?

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Posted 10/9/2015 2:24 PM (GMT 0)
Hi-

I have severe adrenal fatigue and I was wondering what others are doing to help heal their adrenals. 

Currently I'm taking desiccated adrenal (Standard Process), Vitamin C, B vitamins, and was thinking about taking licorice root.

Is there anything else I can do to help? Ashwaghanda gives me issues so I can't take that.

Posted 10/9/2015 2:45 PM (GMT 0)
Hey there,


Do you know if you have high cortisol or low cortisol? It will make a difference in your treatment plan. You can have a saliva test done if you haven't already (I know, that means more waiting for results. Seeing your cortisol levels throughout the day is a cool thing to know, though).

Dessicated adrenal could* be too stimulating if your adrenal fatigue is severe. It works well for mild adrenal fatigue.

There are other herbs, but some increase cortisol while others decrease it. So again, I wouldn't invest too much into herbs until you know more.

In the mean time, how much sleep are you getting? No amount of herbs can replace good sleep. If you're cortisol is high (like mine sometimes is), then magnesium and B6 before bed can help you stay asleep. More potent would be the addition of magnesium, or GABA. But the less sleep aids you need, the better.

Also, what is your diet like? I find that eating soon after waking can make my day. I also eat a LOT of carbs in comparison to other Lyme patients. I do blood work once a month or every other month, so I am very up to date what is going on in my blood - I have made a correlation (more than once) between low-carb diets and hypothyroidism. I eat more carbs and my T3, T4, TSH and FT3 normalize.

That is of course a case of n=1, but there are credible research sources that support this, as well. Be careful with what you read online; there are a lot of health "gurus" and there seems to be case studies to support every claim.

As for the other supplements you mentioned, Vitamin C can help - a natural source such as Camu C can be easier to stomach than absorbic acid. B vitamins are great as long as they are bio-available forms (in case you have any methylation problems such as the MTHFR mutation, it is just safer to spend the extra money here). Licorice is very controversial, so I cannot confidently comment on this one.

Check out yessington.itsnotjustlyme.com for some info on how adrenal fatigue works. http://itsnotjustlyme.com/chronic-infections-mean-chronic-stress-adrenal-exhaustion-at-a-glance/
Posted 10/9/2015 3:12 PM (GMT 0)
Yes- I had my cortisol and hormones tested on the 18th day of my cycle through Dutch Labs. This was a summary of results:

1. Estrogen is lower than it should be given your age.
2. Progesterone is within normal limits, but it’s not as strong as we should see.
3. Testosterone is too low.
4. DHEA is within normal limits but trends to the lower side of normal.
5. Melatonin is low.
6. Adrenal output is within normal limits but is off when it comes to proper timing.

My diet is very clean, organic, no dairy, no sugar, and very little gluten. I tend to eat higher protein, lower carb...but I've also noticed I feel and sleep much better when I eat more carbs.

My sleep is horrible. Recently, I've been waking up w/ hot flashes the week prior, during and after my period. I was experimenting w/ low dose pregnenalone which has given me more energy during the day but has done nothing for the hot flashes.

I don't think my Integrative med doctor understands how severe my adrenal fatigue is, and I think it needs to be addressed first before I start trying to mess w/ my hormones.

I am also wary of taking the adrenal dessicate, and know licorice is controversial. I just don't know what to do!?!

You seem very knowledgeable about all this- thank you for your input. What do you think I should do based on my results? I could you email you my adrenal report.
Posted 10/9/2015 3:31 PM (GMT 0)
I also had hormones tested right after my period, and my progesterone was super low. I'm thinking my adrenals are "stealing" progesterone to make cortisol and causing the imbalance/hot flashes.
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