Re:How to take HC

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

I will start by telling you what I was told & what what happened to me when I started. I was told (by a private doctor) to take 10mg first thing & 5mg at lunchtime. I quickly went thyroid toxic (or dump depending on where you come from) which was caused by the armour I had been on for some time but the T4 in it could not convert properly to T3, but suddenly did. Anyway I felt absolutely awful & then had to gradually build up from 5mg first thing to then 5mg first thing & 5mg lunchtime to 10mg first thing , 5mg lunchtime & eventually needed to include an evening dose (get a bit shaky as my body needed it) - this took at least a month for me. I needed the armour too much to be able to stop taking it, & so the slowly slowly approach with the hc was necessary. The evening dose becomes necessary as by taking 10mg first thing your body stops producing as much cortisol as it would have done as it is relying on the drugs.

Now I take 7.5mg first thing as soon as I open my eyes with half a glass of raw goats milk (cannot take on empty stomach or pains), 5mg or 2 isocort at 12 or 1pm, 5mg or 2 isocort 5 to 6pm, and 2.5mg as I get into bed at night (again w milk). The bedtime dose not only helps sleep but also helps to make sure that I do not wake up depleted and so I feel better in the morning. HC always has to be taken w food/milk & so the middle doses I sometimes substitute isocort as I find that I can take this on an empty stomach, but if I am feeling shaky I would always take the hc instead & also I would never take isocort late in the day as this stops me sleeping.

What made your GP suggest that you start HC? My GP says that he does not understand anything about it and so wil not prescribe it "without a treatment plan" from an expert.

Val

I am soon going to start taking Hydrocortisone and wanted to ask youall how I should take it. My GP instructed me to take 7.5mg in the morning and 5mg at lunchtime. I have 2 issues with this: (1) This seems a high dose to startoff on. Surely I should start with 2.5mg for a few days, then 2.5mg atbreakfast and lunch, then after a week add another 2.5mg, etc. Also(2) Should I not be taking the HC at 3 or 4 intervals during the day -8am, 12pm, 4pm and maybe 8pm? Instead of just at lunch and breakfastas advised?

[Guest guest]

Hi Bella & Val,

You have both confirmed what I read myself (in Peatfield's and

Teitelbaum's books) that dosing gradually is the best way.

I will start tomorrow on 2.5mg and hopefully after 3 weeks I will be

up to the full dose as advised by my GP.

I am not sure why my GP was willing to prescribe HC. He didn't give it

to me straight away - only after the adrenal saliva test, 24 hour

urine adrenal test, and the 0800 Free cortisol test. Maybe I am lucky

he is one of the few doctors that recognises the adrenal connection.

If I continue to feel fatigued in a few months, I might have to look

into T3 or Armour. Hopefully it won't come to that.

Thank you both for your time and help,

lol

paul