Re:Kate

[Guest guest]

Adrenal exhaustion, outside of a [known] thyroid condtion, could it also be due to a period of high stress?

Adrenal Fatigue is produced when your adrenal glands cannot adequately meet the demands of stress. The adrenal glands mobilize your body's response to every kind of stress (whether it's physical, emotional or psychological) through hormones that regulate energy production and storage, heart rate, muscle tone, and other processes that enable you to cope with the stress. Whether you have an emotional crisis such as the death of a loved one, a physical crisis such as major surgery, or any type of severe repeated or constant stress in your life, your adrenals have to respond. If they don't, or if their response is inadequate, you will experience some degree of Adrenal Fatigue.

In Adrenal Fatigue your adrenal glands function, but not enough to maintain your normal, healthy homeostasis. Their output of regulatory hormones has been diminished by over-stimulation. This over- stimulation can be caused either by a very intense single stress or by chronic or repeated stresses that have a cumulative effect. © 2002 Adrenal Fatigue

You can go to www.adrenalfatigue.org for more info on it.

I think under stress, your body releases Cortisol and if this continues, depletes it and exhaustion sets in. Am I right?

People with adrenal fatigue cannot tolerate stress and will then succumb to severe stress. As their stress increases, progressively higher levels of cortisol are required. When the cortisol level cannot rise in response to stress, it is impossible to maintain the body in optimum stress response. Cortisol also helps to normalize blood sugar, vaso-constriction, immune system suppression and anti-inflammatory responses.

The adrenal glands are controlled via the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. There is an existing negative feedback loop that governs the amount of adrenal hormones secreted under normal circumstances. For example, the HPA axis adjusts cortisol levels according to the body's need via a hormone called Adrenal Corticotrophic Hormone (ACTH) that is secreted from the pituitary gland in response to signals from the hypothalamus. When the ACTH binds to the walls of the adrenal cells, a chain reaction occurs within the cell. This leads to the release of cholesterol where it is manufactured into pregnenolone, the first hormone in the adrenal cascade. After this, cortisol is released into the blood stream where it travels in the circulatory system to all parts of the body and back to the hypothalamus, where it is measured. This completes the negative feedback loop. Cortisol and ACTH are not secreted uniformly throughout the day. They follow a diurnal pattern, with the highest level secreted at around 8:00 a.m. in the morning after which there is a gradual decline throughout the day. Episodic spikes during the day can also occur when the body is stressed or when certain foods are taken. The cortisol level is at its lowest between midnight and 4:00 a.m. -http://www.drlam.com/A3R_brief_in_doc_format/adrenal_fatigue.cfm

I read abit about DHEA but from what I understand, best to take in low doses and for just a few days at a time? That this helps the adrenals?

DHEA is a natural steroid and precursor hormone produced by the adrenals.

Dehydroepiandrosterone, or DHEA, is a steroid hormone synthesized from cholesterol and secreted by the adrenal glands. The adrenals are walnut-sized organs located right above your kidneys. The average adult makes about 25 mg of DHEA per day (some more, some less) with dwindling production as we get older. Men at all ages have more DHEA than women.

Natural DHEA production is at its highest in your twenties: by the time we reach seventy we only make about 20% of the DHEA we had when we were young. A decline in DHEA with the passage of time is clearly what nature intended — and as far as we know, a healthy process. This is only one of the major reasons we don’t recommend self-prescribing DHEA through over-the-counter products.

Another reason is that DHEA is a very powerful precursor to all of your major sex hormones: estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. (Its molecular structure is closely related to testosterone). -www.womentowomen.com/adrenalfatigue/dhea.asp (they also have some info on dosing I believe). According to one site I found, pregnenolone is "one hormone that you cannot get too much of. What the body does not need, it excretes very quickly." Although I DO NOT KNOW if that is true... might want to look into that. To me, any excess hormone can be bad. What my kidney specialist told me was that a lot of adrenal supplements have steriods in them and can damage your kidneys over prolongued use (more than a month at a time). Personally to me, quality of life is better than quantity.. but I did find out after taking the adrenal pills I take that they did help me and I was able to quit them after a month and let my body adjust and take them when needed although I don't take them every day.

I take a good multi-vit, supplement with Calcium, occasionally with extra C & Magnesium but would you recommend anything else that helps boost the system?

I certainly think that a good multi-vitamin can help you. Many people are under nourished and do not get enough fruits or vegs in their diet and because of that our bodies are lacking vital forms of nutrients. Multi-Vitamins give us that. When looking for a good multi vitamin, you should look for one that is in a dark bottle (plastic or glass), that is not past its experation date and that is productive to your age range and lifestyle. For instance, if you're 30, you don't want a 50+ multi-vitamin. You DO however want a multi that has calcium, zinc, b-complex, potassium (careful if you have kidney probs) vitamin C and all of the other 'standard' vitamins. There are studies done that will show you the effectiveness of vitamins and whether or not they actually do have their 'proclaimed' dosage amounts and I don't remember the name of the company that does it but you should be able to contact the FDA or look online.

The extra calcium and magnesium won't hurt you, a good cal/mag mix can help work as a muscle relaxant and is beneficial during periods, muscle strain, etc. I would definitely make sure you take a good sublingual B-Complex along with your multi vits. B-complex is needed for good concentration, memory, etc. it also helps to boost adrenals naturally AND is rumored to help in thyroid function (probably because of the adrenal connection). I make sure to take all of my multis at night before bed so they do not interact with my thyroid medications. DO NOT TAKE A MULTI VIT OR CAL/MAG SUPPORT WITH YOUR THYROID MEDS, especially NATURAL. The calcium will bind with the thyroid hormones and flush out of your system. Make sure you take a full glass of water with your vitamins because it will allow them to break down easier. Oh, Vitamin E and Fish Oil is good for thyroid also. Fish Oil is good for your heart because of the Omega 3s and 6s and a few others that are probably in there too lol. Vitamin E can be taken internally (geltabs) or can be rubbed on cuts to help heal quicker and/or fingernails for added growth.

If I recall, you mention drinking lots of water. Outside of the usual reasons: why is that?

When you have a lot of allergies like I do, water can help your body rid itself of the reaction sooner. Especially with food allergens. It takes up to 72 hours for food to digest through your body. During that time ANYTHING you are allergic to won't absorb properly into your body and you'll start craving the needed vit/mineral. Example: I am allergic to milk so I will crave dairy for calcium/vit D. The more water you drink, the easier your body will be able to flush out harmful allergens. Water also aids in proper kidney/bladder function. Remember, you should be able to read through your urine, although... I don't recommend trying it.

For people that are hypo, we for some reason have an easier time becoming dehydrated and our bodies do not always work properly. For instance, we'll be dehydrated, but have 5-15 lbs of water weight at any given time LOL. This happens to me especially when my adrenal levels are off. My face swells and I look like I gained 20lbs overnight.

Water also helps our bodies to stay lubricated and moving. I think the reason why hypo people have thicker blood is because we are dehydrated... that's my personal theory, but if our bodies are say 70% (give or take) of water, we need it to come from somewhere. Now... about water... if you drink it all at once, it will just flush out of you. Water must be sipped steadily over time. Think of it like a dry sponge and dunk the dry sponge into water... the excess drips out. Get the idea? Slow & steady wins the race. You can also use fruit juice IF you don't use the high fructose variety. No sugar added is best for your kidneys and if you are drinking fruit juice, make sure it's something that will give you multiple advantages like pomegranite juice or v8, not kool-aid . You'd be surprised how many people think kool-aid is good for you LOL.

I hope those ideas help and if I can help in other ways, just let me know.

/med

Re: It's a long one.....

,Adrenal problems: I've read a great deal these past months and honestly, haven't retained all the information. Adrenal exhaustion, outside of a [known] thyroid condtion, could it also be due to a period of high stress? I think under stress, your body releases Cortisol and if this continues, depletes it and exhaustion sets in. Am I right?I read abit about DHEA but from what I understand, best to take in low doses and for just a few days at a time? That this helps the adrenals?I take a good multi-vit, supplement with Calcium, occasionally with extra C & Magnesium but would you recommend anything else that helps boost the system? If I recall, you mention drinking lots of water. Outside of the usual reasons: why is that?As for my neck, I did post a message here, inquiring about a nodule (recent finding), pictures included. No response as of yet. Truthfully, yes...it appears minor. I have seen goiters and well...wow! However yet, am wondering if what I have, has had something to do with how my neck has felt. I think I will save that (pertaining to my neck and how it's felt this past year) for another post, later. I'll try to be brief but my guess is, it'll take more time than I have at the moment. I have had only my TSH tested. First two, I was aware of. Here they are:08/05: 1.54 01/06: 1.19 (shortly after, I began feeling worse and anxious)and the one I was clear on, taken 08/06: 2.1 I am going to ask about a fT3 and fT4. In August, my new doctor did check my neck, non-extended without swallow and he didn't note anything verbally. I wasn't aware of my neck (the picture) then, so didn't mention it. Of course.~Kate> > >> > > Hi,> > > > > > I am coming to the thyroid boards to figure out what is going on > > > with me. I am hoping you guys can help me out. This is long - > > > > > > After reading several thyroid boards and talking with Pam from > > > another board, I realized my thryoid could be the reason I was > > > feeling so crappy. I was tired in the morning after getting out > > of > > > bed, I was having to read things over and over and sometimes even > > > then what I was reading wasn't registering. Reading my recipes, > I > > > would have to look at an ingredient at least 5 times to remember > > > what I was going to the cupboard for. Constipation on and off. > > No > > > energy. I get confused easily. Did I say no energy! LOL I > had > > > been losing weight over the last year with lower carbs. > > Sometimes > > > I get a feeling of fullness in my neck. > > > > > > So last July I went to the family dr to get my thyroid tested. I > > am > > > taking 112 mcg Synthroid. My labs came back with these > > readings. > > > (Which I posted back then for advice.) Oh and I knew what labs > to > > > ask for thanks to Pam! > > > > > > TSH 1.676 0.35 - 5.50> > > > > > FT4 1.4 0.8 - 1.8> > > > > > FT3 2.6 2.3 - 4.2> > > > > > Anti-thyroid peroxidase 45 <35 iu/ml> > > > > > My dr told me I was normal. No problem with thyroid. I asked > her > > > if I had Hashimoto's. She said no that number meant that my > > thyroid > > > was inflamed. > > > > > > So I made an appt with another dr - an endo, > > > > > > In the meantime I went back to my family dr for my yearly pap. > > She > > > doubled my estrogen dose and added estrace. > > > > > > So things started happening. I got very constipated. I started > > > falling asleep in the afternoon. I gained some weight without > > > changing my eating habits. Less energy than before. Fingers > > > getting cold. Hair is drying out. More brain fog. Dry skin > > > (haven't had dry elbows for a long time.) BUT I had my appt > with > > > an endo, so I was hoping for some help. Went to my endo last > > > Thursday. She took one look at my latest labs and didn't want to > > do > > > anything. So I told her about my new symptoms and the fact my > > > estrogen had been doubled so maybe that was causing some problems > > > too (binding). She sat back down, the whole time she is holding > > her > > > head up on her hand (maybe she has a thyroid problem?) Anyway, > > she > > > did do more blood work and I had a sonogram. Haven't got the > > > sonogram results back yet. But here is the lab work from last > > > Thursday.> > > > > > TSH 1.0 0.34 - 5.60> > > > > > FT4 0.72 0.58 - 1.64> > > > > > FT3 2.8 2.4 - 4.2> > > > > > I ONLY got the frees done because I asked her to do it. She was > > > going to do a TSH and total 3. > > > > > > So I got the call from the nurse saying my thyroid is normal. > > > > > > I have an appt with another endo, that IS recommended by one of > > the > > > thyroid boards. However, is he going to look at these 2 labs and > > > say I am normal? I also have an appt with Dr. Jane Murray, but > > not > > > until next February!!! She is one of the drs that is supposed > to > > > look at the "whole" of you and doesn't take insurance but you can > > > turn it into your insurance. > > > > > > Anyway, if you are still reading this, Thank You!!! But can you > > > tell me what you see with my lab results? My fingers are so > cold > > > that I am shaking while I am typing. I am trying to get on > > Armour, > > > but the 2 drs I saw say no. It would give me a heart attack and > > the > > > 2nd dr said no it could cause boneloss since I am going to be 50 > > > years old. > > > > > > I will end this now and hopefully I will hear from all the people > > I > > > get on the boards to read everyday (so yeah, I lurk! I also > > read > > > all the links that are posted so I am trying to understand all > > this.)> > > > > > Cindy> > >> >>