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Question on hydrocortisone

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Posted 8/24/2018 6:01 PM (GMT 0)
Hey there,

My doctor started me on hydrocortisone after testing my vortisol levels a year ago. I've been taking 7,5 mgs each morning and 5 mgs at lunch. More recently I've started treating for lyme and Co with antibiotics. I'm now wondering if I still need the hydrocortisone, but was advised to not retest it since it would entail stopping the drug while still treating with abx.

I'm still a little worried about taking it, because if my adrenals aren't fatigued anymore it would mean I'm getting too much cortisol in my blood, which would be an added stressor to my body. Does anyone have any experience with this? I know the dose isn't super high, it's just a replacement dose, but still I'm worried that it could be the cause of waking up feeling like a zombie haha. Or that could just be the lyme...
Posted 8/24/2018 6:15 PM (GMT 0)
I didn't know you had to stop the cortisone to test for your levels?

I would ask your Dr. if you can taper to a little bit lower dose....and see how you feel... maybe do 5 mgs twice daily...and if you feel fine....(after an adjustment period) then maybe in a couple months reduce it slightly again.

No harm in lowering one of the doses a tad...is there?

I'm not sure if it's causing the zombie feeling in the morning. Did you have that prior to the cortisone replacement?
Posted 8/24/2018 7:00 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Girlie,

Thanks, that's actually a pretty good idea. I think I'll try taking a slightly lower dosage for a couple of days smile. I don't know why mg doctor didn't think it's a good idea to stop taking the meds during treatment, I guess because if I really do need them it wohld maybe compromise my immune system in some way?
Posted 8/24/2018 8:06 PM (GMT 0)

Lizzy62 said...
Hi Girlie,

Thanks, that's actually a pretty good idea. I think I'll try taking a slightly lower dosage for a couple of days smile. I don't know why mg doctor didn't think it's a good idea to stop taking the meds during treatment, I guess because if I really do need them it wohld maybe compromise my immune system in some way?

Are you able to reduce a tad without your Dr. - I guess you could take the 5 mg twice daily?
I'm not advocating you do this without Dr. consent... (my disclaimer)

But can't you test while on the meds? How long do you need to be off them to test?
Posted 8/24/2018 10:58 PM (GMT 0)
My doctor has advised me to take hydrocortisone while on my treatment as well. Blood cortisol levels might not be accurate while on abx but saliva cortisol test should still be somewhat accurate. The reason why my LLMD put me on it is because one of the abx I take I rifampin which tends to exhaust your cortisol levels. Here's what Dr. M said about it on the July 2015 Townsend Letter:

"Rifampin, a cytochrome P450 inducer, causes a more rapid metabolism of sterol hormones and can lead to severe symptoms where a Herxheimer-like reaction is juxtaposed with a condition of depleted adrenals and low cortisol. This can put the patient into adrenal crisis with greatly amplified symptoms including severe pain and hemodynamic instability. This reaction may be mistaken for a Rifampin allergy and therapy stopped. Thus, withdrawal of a useful drug may result in a lost opportunity to treat and lead to treatment failure."

Happy healing!
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