Anyone treat adrenals?

I was diagnosed with adrenal fatigue with a saliva coritsol test. It was lower than normal at all four times of the day, but not completely flat-lining.

I treated with adrenal cortex for 2 months, and re-tested. No change.

My doc then put me on Cortef. I've been on it for about 6 months now, and haven't noticed any difference in symptoms, so I'm now starting to ween off it.

Not sure how helpful this is.

I've played around with the dosage, but generally have been somewhere around 20 - 25 mg per day, split up between 4 doses (wake-up, noon, late afternoon, and a tiny bit before bed).

I'm on the brand name Cortef.

My symptoms are/were: chronic headache, tinnitus, severe weakness in my leg muscles, tingling in hands, rapid heart rate.

At this point I don't have any other plans for treating. I haven't retested because I've been on the medication, but after a few months of being off it, I might retest. I'm not sure what the point would be though.

Ya those are just my main symptoms, not specific to any infection.

The reason I treated adrenals was because of test results not because of symptoms.

Thought maybe there was a connection and maybe I'd feel better with proper functioning adrenals.

i should add that I'm still treating adrenals at this time, while treating Lyme. It's all vitamins and roots.

I am doing my 4 point test today we will see. My doc wanted me to treat with supplements without me knowing if I actually had a deficiency, and with the advice of some people on here, I decided to do the test before treating it to see if I actually had adrenal fatigue.

Purrrsiankitty said...
I am so tired and it just doesn't let up. ...
All I wanted to ask is, have you been diagnosed, if so, how advanced and what was used to treat?
Thanks🙂

PK, If I recall correctly you were planning a CT scan back in February? Did you do this, and if so how did the iodine make you feel?

If you dont mind me asking, please bring us up to speed on what tests have you done between then and now?

How was the rest of the endocrine system performing? What thyroid tests did you have?

Were any results outside of the 'normal' range?

What is your detox regimen and how far along are you?

I can tell you what I did to recover the adrenals and thyroid, it was almost completely natural and my energy levels are great and brain fog is gone, but I need to know your response to determine what would or wouldnt be appropriate in your case.....

I just came across some of the info and backtracked
so far we have :

Purrrsiankitty said...

on gradual increased dosages of naturethroid. Top dose was 113.75.

last blood work done very recently has me at reverse t3 12 (range 8-25)
T4 free .80 (range .56-1.64)
T3 free .41 (range (2.7 - 4.31)

After reviewing my blood work she put me on a trial reduction to 97.5.

Any other results?

I treated with adrenal complex for awhile but really just noticed minor improvement. I think my most noticeable improvement was when I went on Famvir (antiviral) for 6 months. I noticed my fatigue came back some when I went off. My eyes get very heavy and I'm whipped by 2/3 pm. Definitely not as bad as it was initially when I couldn't stay awake around noon.

What are your viral levels like? Have you tried things like monolaurin or l-lysine? I had no side effects from Famvir and overall felt it was a good drug. Just hate being on drugs long term.

One thought - before I loose it (LOL!) - since you felt better after having iodine - be sure your thyroid is doing well. Thyroid and adrenal issues *can* go hand in hand. They did for me.

My adrenals crashed about 3 years ago now and took my thyroid with it. I went to an Endo - the best one in the area - discovered he was an idiot as he wouldn't even consider testing of any sort, but wanted me in surgery right away to correct something that wasn't even wrong with me. Left him with a piece of my mind...

I finally found a MD in my area that specializes in thyroid issues and won't take insurance for the same reason many LLMD's won't, and she tested me by blood first thing in the morning. I asked her about using the blood tests only - and she said she had learned how to use them since insurance would easily pay for the blood tests. Still not sure how accurate she could be - but I went along with it, as things were pretty bad.

According to her - and I later confirmed that it was true with my own research - I was only one step above an Addison's crisis by the time I got to her - nearly 11 months after it started. She started me on Standard Process brand adrenal cortex and Armour thyroid. It took a few weeks to begin to feel a difference, but it was working! There simply is no way to explain how deep the exhaustion goes when you are struggling with serious adrenal issues - not in my experience anyway.

After about 6 months though, I had plateaued in my progress, and she wouldn't listen to me. She kept blaming it on my diet (did strict food journals and several different diets) - nothing helped and nothing changed. I was still very limited on how much sleep I was getting and the quality of sleep seemed to be no where near what I really needed to recover.

Finally, we had words, and I fired her over her office politics, and a few days realized that I had just cut off my med supply! LOL! Total panic set in for a few hours, but I remembered using an over the counter homeopathic remedy for thyroid and adrenals previously, when I was being treated for Lyme and company the first time around - so I went back to them only using a higher dose and I started Ashwagandha a few weeks later.

This ended up being the best thing I could have done! I have made good progress in my healing since leaving that office - the only problem is I don't have the means to run tests now, so I watch my symptoms very closely. Right now it's easy to see that I just need to hold steady on what I"m doing because things are improving so well, and when the time comes, I'll have to bite the bullet and save the money to do the testing to know when I'm stable enough to come off of the supplements and herbs that I'm taking.

I also take other herbs that are known to help support the adrenals - even though I take them for other reasons - like Licorice, ginger, and Gingko Bilboa.

I know there is another lab that you can order these tests from - and I"m sure someone will be along that actually remembers which one that is, but here is the one that I can remember to order your own lab tests from: www.truehealthlabs.com/Stop-the-Thyroid-Madness-STTM-Recommended-Test-Panels-s/1947.htm?searching=Y&sort=5&cat=1947&show=100&page=1

Purrrsiankitty said...
I am so tired and it just doesn't let up. I have a spit test to repeat. The first one was done early in treatment. It was pretty good, but I now have so many adrenal symptoms.

I don't want to get into the low dose hydro/cortef discussion, I've done exhaustive research on this subject.

I'm also aware that over suplimenting can do more harm than good. At any rate, I need to be off most suppliments before testing. So I'm off for now, will test next Sunday and ship Monday.

Now that you guys got all that..
All I wanted to ask is, have you been diagnosed, if so, how advanced and what was used to treat?
Thanks🙂

Hi,

I took a saliva test and all 4 results were terribly low. I have secondary adrenal insufficiency so my ACTH is also low. I'm on hydrocortisone for life. I hope you will be able to recover your adrenal function!

In 2013 a 24-hour cortisol test showed my cortisol rising super high from 2 a.m. to 2 p.m. then dropping VERY low the rest of the day. In the next 1.5 years, due to heavy stress and aging, my cortisol flat-lined. I was virtually bed-ridden, couldn't do anything except creep to my PC daily to do a little research.
I used Dr. James Wilson's adrenal quartet, IN ADDITION to some potent thyroid meds (classified as supplements, but very potent, WITH a lot of T3). That combination REALLY helped me for about 7-8 months. For the time that I took the adrenal supplements with those thyroid supplements, I was able to get off the bed, finish doing all the work necessary to put our house on the market, deal with the real estate agent, and get our house sold.
AFTER about 7-8 months, I began having SEVERE dizziness. Couldn't even walk. I contacted Dr. Wilson's office and got a consult with one of his assistants. They advised stopping the thyroid supplements/meds, which I did.
The dizziness DID stop.
BUT, about a month later, the dizziness started again, BAD. At that time, I STOPPED using the adrenal quartet. Seemed like my body had gotten all it could out of the adrenal supplements. After that, I DID use hydrocortisone for about a month, then stopped it.
SO - I would say my experience with adrenal supplements was good.
I then went on to discover my root cause is lyme.

Nascent iodine supplementation was responsible for recovery of my endocrine system.

PK, you felt better after receiving iodine which indicates a possible deficiency.

Iodine is the only essential element in the halogen group. The other halides we consume Fluoride, Chlorine, Bromine, are competitive for your body's iodine receptors and known toxins.

Iodine was the only halide that was ever meant to latch on to these receptors but the others are more competitive and crowd out this essential element.

Our bread provided much of the iodine in our diet until 1972 when the FDA mandate that Bromine replace iodine as a bread conditioner. Much of the world followed the FDA recommendation.

This was sold as a safety move to the public and iodine declared dangerous based on one medical journal publication and was then replaced permanently with a substance we have no doubts about it being toxic, Bromine. If it says brominated on the ingredient label, dont eat it.

We have become iodine deficient ever since.

This ranks up there with the 'silver amalgam' deception and it would have devastating effects on our overall health.

I recommend reading "The Iodine Crisis" by Lynne Farrow for some insight into this and how it has effected our overall health.

But before you run out and supplement I have to warn you that the detox of the other halides can be a bit harsh so you may get a little worse before getting better.

There are forms of iodine that are so strong and designed to be toxic, so research before acting.

Reading the book dispels many of the myths and misinformation even doctors have been sold with regards to iodine.

There is some info here
http://iodineresearch.com/
but the book is well written and worth every cent.

Going on the principle that food is always your best medicine, I recommend consuming more seaweed daily prior to attempting any supplement strategy because even the supplements that are designed to be safe are very potent. Supplementation took 2 months for improvement and 3 for endocrine issues to heal.

It was the only known natural supplement to treat a painful epididymal cyst that I was diagnosed with so this is how I ended up traveling down that road.

'Nori' is the seaweed paper that provides the edible outer wrapper to cooked sushi is a tasty and excellent source in its natural form. You can search it on amazon or go to your local oriental food store.

There are other benefits to consuming seaweed daily. Kale is a less preferred option. Little else even comes close as there is a huge gap down and then cranberry has a little, as does yogurt, and baked potato.

It takes longer to get better through food, but the detox is less harsh than supplementation.

Remember you are likely detoxing for decades of consumption of the toxic halides so supplementation by food sources is the safest and least harsh way.

You would have to make provisions to remove the other halides Fluoride, Chlorine, Bromine from your diet altogether or else it cant help. This may mean no more bread or make your own. Difficult but worth it.

If you are on thyroid medication, consult your doctor, but understand much like Traveler's Endo there are not properly educated on the subject and have been fed propaganda in med school and the medication will also negate the benefits.

I am sorry to say that Bromine in our bread, Fluoride and Chlorine in our water, is one of the many things that have been done intentionally to keep us needing doctors, and paying into the medical system.