Val - bad constipation after 5 days of IC-wean (26mg cort->20mg), coupled with insomnia (after nap 4 hours earlier)?

[Guest guest]

Val and everyone else

Has anyone else had relatively bad constipation when doing a

IsoCort wean? I say relatively because I (fortunately) have no idea

how bad constipation can get.. I have been been awake but not tired

(high cortisol?). Although I took a nap for about 45-60 minutes

about 8PM yesterday, I think because of hyperglycemia or something

else related to the diabetes (insulin creation or the autoimmune

process). BG when I woke up was not high - only 78, but it could

have been pushed down by endogenous insulin. So this could have

screwed up the cortisol rhythm by pushing it low, then it shoots up

4-5 hours later around midnight. Fatigue related to the diabetes is

not new to me - I think it's either extreme sensitivity to

hyperglycemia (comes on around 100-110), or a fatigue reaction to the

autoimmune attack, or otherwise related to the autoimmunity - as is

the case in so many AI conditions.

Anyway, I was feeling completely fine and then I got really

constipated all of a sudden. Temperature had been really low (96.4

about 3 AM) but had risen to 97.2 (about 4 AM). My pulse was also

low (50-65, my normal is about 85, although that dropped to around 80

when I was on more cortisol), and I felt a bit flushed and felt like

I was going to vomit. I don't think the pulse felt weak, although it

was hard to tell as it was slow.

I stress dosed 2 IC, then drank some salt water (about 1/4 tsp in

8oz), which seem to make things better (no sea salt, just normal

sodium-[chloride/iodide/fluoride??? Do they fluoridate SALT??]) BG

was 78, but I took 1.2g glucose anyway (I have NO idea how much that

will raise me - my " glucose ratio " went crazy and unstable along with

the AF I think) - probably to 80-something.

I still felt constipated, so I stress-dosed another pill IC, and

took a normal dose of my antidepressant (75 mg Wellbutrin and 1 mg

Ativan) - I hadn't taken any more than 1 or 2 doses yesterday (my

normal is 3), and took more salt-water (about half as much salt this

time). I have had issues with constipation and diarrhea related to

antidepressants before, but usually with seritonin modulators

(Wellbutrin is dopamine-norepinephrine, although it supposedly

creates secondary serotonin effects, Ativan is a GABA-A receptor

sensitizer). This stress-dose might have partially destroying my

" progress " in the wean - although having the adrenals shut down would

not exactly count as progress.

Now I feel fine - the constipation disappeared for some reason,

although I did void the bladder. Pulse feels like it's about 70-75.

I've been at 20mg cortisol (4/3/2/1 pills ic), down from 26mg

(5/4/3/1) for 5 days now. Ironically, I was going to go down to the

next level Val gave me (4/2/2/0) today (well - LATER today). Now I'm

not sure, especially since I may have screwed things up with the 3-IC

stress-dose. It's *really* odd that the constipation just

disappeared. Some effect on the muscle systems of the colon?

Why is salt important with AF? I thought Na/K balance was

maintained by the mineraloid hormones. Are they affected by ACTH

too, and thus subject to the same disruption as the glucocorticoids?

I haven't been on any kind of increased-salt intake since starting

the IC, with no apparent ill-effects or salt-cravings. (of course,

the endocrine system loves to hide things from us until it's almost

too late.. Annoying system!)

Am I right in thinking that if the insomnia was/is due to high

cortisol, that at least means that the HPA is capable of creating it,

which is a good thing?

" In other news " , my copy of Jefferies book just came today, along

with my own copy of Shoman's Living Well with HypoT.. I'm thinking

of forcing my Mom to read both (or at least skim). Especially as I

think she might be hypoT as well. AND my grandmother - hey, I had to

get the bad HLA gene from somewhere

Thanks,

Jim