anyone tried adrenal cortex?

Been having anxiety. Sometimes it feels like I cant turn off. I def handle stress very poorly. I do not, however, have fatigue or low energy.

Someone suggested that its a cortisol problem and I try ACE (adrenal cortex extract). I'm curious if anyone has had good results from this?

But more importantly, wouldnt this RAISE my cortisol levels? Wouldnt that cause more anxiety/inability to turn off?

I'm a bit unclear as to how raising cortisol helps me calm down. I mention that i dont have fatigue because I'm not sure this is adrenal fatigue (low cortisol) so much as an overabundance of cortisol? In that case ACE would be contra-indicated, and I'd do better w/ an adaptogen like ashwaghanda?

I've not spent much time bio-hacking neurotransmitters and stress hormones, probably something I'll delve into next, so curious for anyone's insight.

Also, anyone try holy basil? Was looking into trying that, seems to really help reduce anxiety.

I tried Dr. Wilson's Adrenal Rebuilder, which I'm not sure made much difference, but I did keep it at a very low dose because I was worried about it being overly stimulating. My LLMD reassured me that the supplement (at least the one I took) contains no hormones or stimulants, just the compounds a body can use to create its own.

My body was making average amounts of cortisol, but low amounts of other hormones, so cortisol was performing the functions of others, giving me symptoms of low cortisol. (This is why cortisol testing in isolation isn't very helpful.) I was told that when levels are low for any hormone, bodies can react with great sensitivity to the bits that are being made, so it might seem like a high level when it's really quite low. Super obnoxious.

Ashwagandha has been helpful for me, but it's to the point that I feel terrible if I stop taking it. It's been many years.

I have unusual reactions to some other adaptogens, even to just one drop. Eleuthero gives people energy but makes me sleep. Holy basil makes people sleep but makes me agitated. Rhodiola chills people out but makes me extremely irritable. I think adaptogens are very cool, I just caution people to start slowly in case they have one of these paradoxical reactions due to sensitivity from being low on one or more hormones.

dcd2103 said...
I'm a bit unclear as to how raising cortisol helps me calm down.

Because of the negative feedback effect. More cortisol will reduce your adrenaline.

If you don’t have histamine or thyroid issues did you try lemon balm tea? It will drop your bp some, but I have low bp and I could handle it. It also broke biofilm for me... but not a crazy amount. The histamine is why I couldn’t stick with it. Or did you at least try magnesium? Ancient minerals magnesium spray is all I can tolerate at present.

Post Edited (Bailey) : 7/31/2021 12:07:07 PM (GMT-6)

Years ago I took some combo supplement of rhodiahla ashwaghanda and schisandra. I had no idea what I was doing back then and was hardier. It was sort of just sold to me through some pyramid scheme that I was confused about because my doc had handed me their card and I thought they were like a medical professional he recommended.

Anyways, I had like a brief period of adjustment going on and off them (one day) where I felt things shifting. Compared to now I was totally fearless trying things back then and I didn’t have scary consequences to think about.