Guest guest Posted February 20, 2005 Report Share Posted February 20, 2005 Hi All, I'm sorry that I don't post more often and I barely have time to read the posts. I switched to digest just so I could still be on the group but not have my mail box get too full. Anyway, I have a question or two about adrenal fatigue. When I joined this list in September I learned a whole lot about how that goes hand in hand with thyroid stuff and I immediately began taking some adrenal glandulars. They didn't seem to work for me though and I got some cortef which seemed to work wonders. I am taking 20mg of it a day and have been doing great on it until very recently. It seems that the adrenal fatigue symptoms are coming back again and I am not sure why. Has this happened to anyone else? And if so, what did you do? Is it okay to go up again for the cortef? I thought I had read that you couldn't take any more than 20 mg. Next time I get some adrenal support, I am going to try Isocort to see how that works for me. This is what else I am on: 6 grains Armour (not a typo); 20 mcg of cytomel, allergy meds (allegra and rhinocort). nexium, and a bunch of vitamins/minerals separately since I can't take a multivitamin (am I the only one that get sick from those?): iron (2x/day), b-complex, c, calcium, zinc, selenium, DHEA 7 keto (I was breaking out with the regular DHEA) anc CoQ 10 for now. I think that I am thyroid resistance or I just don't convert the free t4 into free t3 very well because I was still feeling like crap and added the cytomel. And when I started feeling better I started working out every day again like I used to, even up to the point where I could start my kickboxing classes once a week again. And I am starting to feel the adrenal fatigue set in again, I have the shakes, really sore muscles and joint and a bad headache that doesn't seem to go away. I know that I still need to add some more cytomel because my free t3 is still low, but am I stressing my adrenals by doing so? I'm not going to do any changes or additions any time soon though. Did I mess myself up by starting to work out again? I really hope I haven't messed up with the work outs, I was feeling so great. And, between the medication and my being able to work out and get up and move even at home, I have managed to lose 30 pounds. So back down to 160 and 130 is my goal. So that is good....but this week that I haven't been able to work out because of the adrenal symptoms, I have felt terrible. UGH! Okay...before I continue blabbering endlessly, does anyone have any suggestions or insight? I am on digest so you can email me directly, otherwise I will be able to check back in a few days. Hugs, Deb (in Chicago) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 20, 2005 Report Share Posted February 20, 2005 Hi there Deb in Chicago! You know, when you said that adrenal fatigue goes hand-in-hand with hypothyroid, I hope you and everyone understands that yes, adrenal fatigue can accompany hypothyroid, but MANY folks here do not have adrenal fatigue.........and do not need adrenal support. So...with that mini lecture said--LOL--are you sure you had adrenal fatigue? Did you pupils give you an indication? Or did you do a 24 hour adrenal test? Or were their obvious adrenal fatigue symptoms? Also, are you sure it's " adrenal fatigue " symptoms that you are feeling? If you free T3 is still low, what you could be feeling is the result of the thyroid resistance.......thus the need for more Armour or Cytomel. Janie > Anyway, I have a question or two about adrenal fatigue. When I joined this list in September I learned a whole lot about how that goes hand in hand with thyroid stuff and I immediately began taking some adrenal glandulars. They didn't seem to work for me though and I got some cortef which seemed to work wonders. I am taking 20mg of it a day and have been doing great on it until very recently. It seems that the adrenal fatigue symptoms are coming back again and I am not sure why. Has this happened to anyone else? And if so, what did you do? Is it okay to go up again for the cortef? I thought I had read that you couldn't take any more than 20 mg. Next time I get some adrenal support, I am going to try Isocort to see how that works for me. > > This is what else I am on: 6 grains Armour (not a typo); 20 mcg of cytomel, allergy meds (allegra and rhinocort). nexium, and a bunch of vitamins/minerals separately since I can't take a multivitamin (am I the only one that get sick from those?): iron (2x/day), b-complex, c, calcium, zinc, selenium, DHEA 7 keto (I was breaking out with the regular DHEA) anc CoQ 10 for now. > > I think that I am thyroid resistance or I just don't convert the free t4 into free t3 very well because I was still feeling like crap and added the cytomel. And when I started feeling better I started working out every day again like I used to, even up to the point where I could start my kickboxing classes once a week again. And I am starting to feel the adrenal fatigue set in again, I have the shakes, really sore muscles and joint and a bad headache that doesn't seem to go away. I know that I still need to add some more cytomel because my free t3 is still low, but am I stressing my adrenals by doing so? I'm not going to do any changes or additions any time soon though. Did I mess myself up by starting to work out again? > > I really hope I haven't messed up with the work outs, I was feeling so great. And, between the medication and my being able to work out and get up and move even at home, I have managed to lose 30 pounds. So back down to 160 and 130 is my goal. So that is good....but this week that I haven't been able to work out because of the adrenal symptoms, I have felt terrible. UGH! > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 20, 2005 Report Share Posted February 20, 2005 Hi there Deb in Chicago! You know, when you said that adrenal fatigue goes hand-in-hand with hypothyroid, I hope you and everyone understands that yes, adrenal fatigue can accompany hypothyroid, but MANY folks here do not have adrenal fatigue.........and do not need adrenal support. So...with that mini lecture said--LOL--are you sure you had adrenal fatigue? Did you pupils give you an indication? Or did you do a 24 hour adrenal test? Or were their obvious adrenal fatigue symptoms? Also, are you sure it's " adrenal fatigue " symptoms that you are feeling? If you free T3 is still low, what you could be feeling is the result of the thyroid resistance.......thus the need for more Armour or Cytomel. Janie > Anyway, I have a question or two about adrenal fatigue. When I joined this list in September I learned a whole lot about how that goes hand in hand with thyroid stuff and I immediately began taking some adrenal glandulars. They didn't seem to work for me though and I got some cortef which seemed to work wonders. I am taking 20mg of it a day and have been doing great on it until very recently. It seems that the adrenal fatigue symptoms are coming back again and I am not sure why. Has this happened to anyone else? And if so, what did you do? Is it okay to go up again for the cortef? I thought I had read that you couldn't take any more than 20 mg. Next time I get some adrenal support, I am going to try Isocort to see how that works for me. > > This is what else I am on: 6 grains Armour (not a typo); 20 mcg of cytomel, allergy meds (allegra and rhinocort). nexium, and a bunch of vitamins/minerals separately since I can't take a multivitamin (am I the only one that get sick from those?): iron (2x/day), b-complex, c, calcium, zinc, selenium, DHEA 7 keto (I was breaking out with the regular DHEA) anc CoQ 10 for now. > > I think that I am thyroid resistance or I just don't convert the free t4 into free t3 very well because I was still feeling like crap and added the cytomel. And when I started feeling better I started working out every day again like I used to, even up to the point where I could start my kickboxing classes once a week again. And I am starting to feel the adrenal fatigue set in again, I have the shakes, really sore muscles and joint and a bad headache that doesn't seem to go away. I know that I still need to add some more cytomel because my free t3 is still low, but am I stressing my adrenals by doing so? I'm not going to do any changes or additions any time soon though. Did I mess myself up by starting to work out again? > > I really hope I haven't messed up with the work outs, I was feeling so great. And, between the medication and my being able to work out and get up and move even at home, I have managed to lose 30 pounds. So back down to 160 and 130 is my goal. So that is good....but this week that I haven't been able to work out because of the adrenal symptoms, I have felt terrible. UGH! > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 20, 2005 Report Share Posted February 20, 2005 Deb I am not an expert, but I would say that you may need to cut back on one, some or all of what you are taking. Sometimes too much of a good thing can cause the same problem as too little. Sheila Sheila Bliesath StarGate Travel Phone: For more information on travel or becoming an agent info@... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 20, 2005 Report Share Posted February 20, 2005 How about taking Adrenal support? I will check the ingredients in my ADRII for adrenals and see if it is dessicated bovine adrenals, or what is in it. Like nurtures like. Tish from what I know about supplements, glands, etc. I would say you have done a very good job at describing, from a common sense point of view, what could be the problem. LOL coming from what was, for you, probably a hard earned educated point of view. Found it . . . each tablet of ADRII contains: Pantothenic Acid (d-calcium pantothenate) 200 mg. Vitamin (ascorbic acid) C 225 mg. Vitamin B-12 (cobalamin) 375 mcg. Minerals Potassium (chloride) 50 mg Non-Medicinal Ingredients Adrenal Concentrate 50 mg. Sorbitol 10 mg. Suggested Adult use is 3 tablets per day. But it may require more then that depending on the person, or less. They contain no sugar, starch, coloring, no flavor or perservatives. No milk, no wheat, no gluten, no corn, so soy, and no yeast. Sheila *********** REPLY SEPARATOR *********** I think I can tell you what might be happening. First, don't raise your Cortef or whatever adrenal you are on anymore. You have by now reduced your own adrenal output by at least half and have shrunk the gland. The healthy human adrenal makes 35 to 40 mg of cortisol a day. Long-term use of cortisone will lead to an adrenal gland that can only make 15 to 20 mg a day. Of course hypothyroidism shrinks the gland too. Your adrenals don't need to make more because you provide it in pill form. The adrenal gland is much like a muscle and if you don't use it, it gets weak. Sheila Bliesath StarGate Travel Phone: For more information on travel or becoming an agent info@... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 20, 2005 Report Share Posted February 20, 2005 How about taking Adrenal support? I will check the ingredients in my ADRII for adrenals and see if it is dessicated bovine adrenals, or what is in it. Like nurtures like. Tish from what I know about supplements, glands, etc. I would say you have done a very good job at describing, from a common sense point of view, what could be the problem. LOL coming from what was, for you, probably a hard earned educated point of view. Found it . . . each tablet of ADRII contains: Pantothenic Acid (d-calcium pantothenate) 200 mg. Vitamin (ascorbic acid) C 225 mg. Vitamin B-12 (cobalamin) 375 mcg. Minerals Potassium (chloride) 50 mg Non-Medicinal Ingredients Adrenal Concentrate 50 mg. Sorbitol 10 mg. Suggested Adult use is 3 tablets per day. But it may require more then that depending on the person, or less. They contain no sugar, starch, coloring, no flavor or perservatives. No milk, no wheat, no gluten, no corn, so soy, and no yeast. Sheila *********** REPLY SEPARATOR *********** I think I can tell you what might be happening. First, don't raise your Cortef or whatever adrenal you are on anymore. You have by now reduced your own adrenal output by at least half and have shrunk the gland. The healthy human adrenal makes 35 to 40 mg of cortisol a day. Long-term use of cortisone will lead to an adrenal gland that can only make 15 to 20 mg a day. Of course hypothyroidism shrinks the gland too. Your adrenals don't need to make more because you provide it in pill form. The adrenal gland is much like a muscle and if you don't use it, it gets weak. Sheila Bliesath StarGate Travel Phone: For more information on travel or becoming an agent info@... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 21, 2005 Report Share Posted February 21, 2005 > Where did you get the information that low dose cortef therapy will shrink the adrenal glands? _________________ Wiliam Mck Jeffries " Safe Uses of Cortisol " He gives a chart on how much adrenal function will be lost on varying doses of cortisol given long enough. He gives 20 mg a day as resulting in a 60% loss of your own adrenal function. Same sort of thing happens to the thyroid. It will become weak on thyroid replacement. It's the old addage, use it or loose it. The gland is the size it needs to be to have enough cells to produce the amount of hormones needed. Lots of studies have shown that the adrenal gland shrinks under excess stress or lack of use. The biggest researcher on this is Hans Seyle. The more you use it, the larger it gets, the less, the smaller it gets. Excess stress beyond the cpacity of the gland damages cells and reduces it's function. Low circulating thyroid does not provide enough stimulation to the gland and it will become smaller and loose hormone storage capacity. The adrenal gland is very dynamic and adapts to varying demands as long as they are not excessive. So, the loss of 60% of function is not permanent and with care the adrenals can return to normal in the vast majority of people. Those that get stuck on adrenal support or cortisone therapy are those that have extreemly sensitive pituitary/hypothalamuses and they become reluctant to return to normal function when steroids are discontinued and those with autoimmune diseases and other more permanent damage. So, a very few people will not be able to get off cortisone. Some practitioners recommend an every other day program to try and force the pituitary/hypothalamus back into action if the person is uable to build back up their gland by slow reduction of cortisone. So, in this situation, you do one day on cortisone and one day off. It is not fun, but it will go further toward getting the brain back in action. Tish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 21, 2005 Report Share Posted February 21, 2005 Thanks for the info do you know if Dr. Jeffries says anything about if taking cortef 3 x a day or most of it earlier in the day has a less suppresive act then taking it 4 x's a day? Or does he state that cortef 4x a day is the only way to go. Sorry for all the questions but can't afford to buy the book > > > > Where did you get the information that low dose cortef therapy > will shrink the adrenal glands? > _________________ > Wiliam Mck Jeffries " Safe Uses of Cortisol " He gives a chart on how > much adrenal function will be lost on varying doses of cortisol > given long enough. He gives 20 mg a day as resulting in a 60% loss > of your own adrenal function. Same sort of thing happens to the > thyroid. It will become weak on thyroid replacement. It's the old > addage, use it or loose it. The gland is the size it needs to be to > have enough cells to produce the amount of hormones needed. Lots of > studies have shown that the adrenal gland shrinks under excess > stress or lack of use. The biggest researcher on this is Hans Seyle. > The more you use it, the larger it gets, the less, the smaller it > gets. Excess stress beyond the cpacity of the gland damages cells > and reduces it's function. Low circulating thyroid does not provide > enough stimulation to the gland and it will become smaller and loose > hormone storage capacity. > > The adrenal gland is very dynamic and adapts to varying demands as > long as they are not excessive. So, the loss of 60% of function is > not permanent and with care the adrenals can return to normal in the > vast majority of people. Those that get stuck on adrenal support or > cortisone therapy are those that have extreemly sensitive > pituitary/hypothalamuses and they become reluctant to return to > normal function when steroids are discontinued and those with > autoimmune diseases and other more permanent damage. So, a very few > people will not be able to get off cortisone. Some practitioners > recommend an every other day program to try and force the > pituitary/hypothalamus back into action if the person is uable to > build back up their gland by slow reduction of cortisone. So, in > this situation, you do one day on cortisone and one day off. It is > not fun, but it will go further toward getting the brain back in > action. > > Tish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 21, 2005 Report Share Posted February 21, 2005 Thanks for the info do you know if Dr. Jeffries says anything about if taking cortef 3 x a day or most of it earlier in the day has a less suppresive act then taking it 4 x's a day? Or does he state that cortef 4x a day is the only way to go. Sorry for all the questions but can't afford to buy the book > > > > Where did you get the information that low dose cortef therapy > will shrink the adrenal glands? > _________________ > Wiliam Mck Jeffries " Safe Uses of Cortisol " He gives a chart on how > much adrenal function will be lost on varying doses of cortisol > given long enough. He gives 20 mg a day as resulting in a 60% loss > of your own adrenal function. Same sort of thing happens to the > thyroid. It will become weak on thyroid replacement. It's the old > addage, use it or loose it. The gland is the size it needs to be to > have enough cells to produce the amount of hormones needed. Lots of > studies have shown that the adrenal gland shrinks under excess > stress or lack of use. The biggest researcher on this is Hans Seyle. > The more you use it, the larger it gets, the less, the smaller it > gets. Excess stress beyond the cpacity of the gland damages cells > and reduces it's function. Low circulating thyroid does not provide > enough stimulation to the gland and it will become smaller and loose > hormone storage capacity. > > The adrenal gland is very dynamic and adapts to varying demands as > long as they are not excessive. So, the loss of 60% of function is > not permanent and with care the adrenals can return to normal in the > vast majority of people. Those that get stuck on adrenal support or > cortisone therapy are those that have extreemly sensitive > pituitary/hypothalamuses and they become reluctant to return to > normal function when steroids are discontinued and those with > autoimmune diseases and other more permanent damage. So, a very few > people will not be able to get off cortisone. Some practitioners > recommend an every other day program to try and force the > pituitary/hypothalamus back into action if the person is uable to > build back up their gland by slow reduction of cortisone. So, in > this situation, you do one day on cortisone and one day off. It is > not fun, but it will go further toward getting the brain back in > action. > > Tish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 21, 2005 Report Share Posted February 21, 2005 Jeffries found that his patients did best 4 times a day. Cortisol only lasts in the system about 4 hours and so that is why they do it that way. But, I have read medical textbooks written on the adrenal glands and you are right that taking most of it in the morning is less suppressive your your own glands and pituitary/hypothalamus. This is maybe in part because the adrenals need to make double the cortisol in the morning than throughout the rest of the day. So, in a way you are suppressing not as much of total output in the morning and then by evening you are using all your own function, since you aren't taking it then. Whereas if you divide it up into 4 doses, by evening your 5mg dose might be all of your needs for that time of the day and so the gland is making nothing in the afternoon. I don't know the answers and don't think anybody else does either. Studies done with Prednisone have found that it is less suppressive of the adrenals than cortisone. It could be because it is typically taken in the morning or because is is so different from human cortisone that is has less of the effect of turning off the pituitary/hypothalamus. Adrenal problems are so complicated and not well understood. I went and did a lot of research to try and figure out how to heal mine and get them back to working without help about a year ago. I found so little on how to restore the gland to full function. Nobody is researching this. It is very hard and time consuming. I think. It's no easy task to get of them. I have been reading posts of Crohns disease sufferers and their difficuties with Prednisone and getting off of it. Some people do it fairly well and others have a lot of suffering to get there. Then once you get off, you are going to be limited for some time as the gland slowly builds capacity back up. Anyway, if you go to a university library and read up on the adrenals, you will see right away that researchers find that how people respond to getting off cortisone therapy is hugely variable. Tish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 21, 2005 Report Share Posted February 21, 2005 Jeffries found that his patients did best 4 times a day. Cortisol only lasts in the system about 4 hours and so that is why they do it that way. But, I have read medical textbooks written on the adrenal glands and you are right that taking most of it in the morning is less suppressive your your own glands and pituitary/hypothalamus. This is maybe in part because the adrenals need to make double the cortisol in the morning than throughout the rest of the day. So, in a way you are suppressing not as much of total output in the morning and then by evening you are using all your own function, since you aren't taking it then. Whereas if you divide it up into 4 doses, by evening your 5mg dose might be all of your needs for that time of the day and so the gland is making nothing in the afternoon. I don't know the answers and don't think anybody else does either. Studies done with Prednisone have found that it is less suppressive of the adrenals than cortisone. It could be because it is typically taken in the morning or because is is so different from human cortisone that is has less of the effect of turning off the pituitary/hypothalamus. Adrenal problems are so complicated and not well understood. I went and did a lot of research to try and figure out how to heal mine and get them back to working without help about a year ago. I found so little on how to restore the gland to full function. Nobody is researching this. It is very hard and time consuming. I think. It's no easy task to get of them. I have been reading posts of Crohns disease sufferers and their difficuties with Prednisone and getting off of it. Some people do it fairly well and others have a lot of suffering to get there. Then once you get off, you are going to be limited for some time as the gland slowly builds capacity back up. Anyway, if you go to a university library and read up on the adrenals, you will see right away that researchers find that how people respond to getting off cortisone therapy is hugely variable. Tish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 22, 2005 Report Share Posted February 22, 2005 Deb, I am also on adrenal treatment (coming off right now). What is happening is you added exercise to your schedule. When you do this, you must take more Cortef to counter react the extra stress you are putting on your body when you workout. Any stress will burn the 20mg easily. A normal person gets 30-40mg a day so you can see how you would burn through 20mg on a stressful day. I have had this happen many times. If I take vacation and don't increase, I will crash about 3 days after coming off vacation. Most will say to try to add 5mg extra when working out to help. It may take more. I find that I can only take about 15min of exercise right now. I have been on treatment for a year and I'm now coming off treatment which has been a little tough. I had a bad crash last week (I have only cut 5mg out so far) due to attending a party the night before. The next day I felt like I had the flu...vomiting and severe muscle fatigue. These are the first symptoms for a crash for me. Just realize that when you do anything extra you have to take extra Cortef. There are draw backs to that in that it will rob your body of calcium and you will have muscle waisting occur. 20 mg is the most you should take on a normal day. This is a psychological dose and if you exceed this for too long, it can cause side effects you do not want. I hope this helps. Be well... LaCretia > > >Hi All, > >I'm sorry that I don't post more often and I barely have time to read the >posts. I switched to digest just so I could still be on the group but not >have my mail box get too full. > >Anyway, I have a question or two about adrenal fatigue. When I joined this >list in September I learned a whole lot about how that goes hand in hand >with thyroid stuff and I immediately began taking some adrenal glandulars. >They didn't seem to work for me though and I got some cortef which seemed >to work wonders. I am taking 20mg of it a day and have been doing great on >it until very recently. It seems that the adrenal fatigue symptoms are >coming back again and I am not sure why. Has this happened to anyone else? > And if so, what did you do? Is it okay to go up again for the cortef? I >thought I had read that you couldn't take any more than 20 mg. Next time I >get some adrenal support, I am going to try Isocort to see how that works >for me. > >This is what else I am on: 6 grains Armour (not a typo); 20 mcg of >cytomel, allergy meds (allegra and rhinocort). nexium, and a bunch of >vitamins/minerals separately since I can't take a multivitamin (am I the >only one that get sick from those?): iron (2x/day), b-complex, c, calcium, >zinc, selenium, DHEA 7 keto (I was breaking out with the regular DHEA) anc >CoQ 10 for now. > >I think that I am thyroid resistance or I just don't convert the free t4 >into free t3 very well because I was still feeling like crap and added the >cytomel. And when I started feeling better I started working out every day >again like I used to, even up to the point where I could start my >kickboxing classes once a week again. And I am starting to feel the >adrenal fatigue set in again, I have the shakes, really sore muscles and >joint and a bad headache that doesn't seem to go away. I know that I still >need to add some more cytomel because my free t3 is still low, but am I >stressing my adrenals by doing so? I'm not going to do any changes or >additions any time soon though. Did I mess myself up by starting to work >out again? > >I really hope I haven't messed up with the work outs, I was feeling so >great. And, between the medication and my being able to work out and get >up and move even at home, I have managed to lose 30 pounds. So back down >to 160 and 130 is my goal. So that is good....but this week that I haven't >been able to work out because of the adrenal symptoms, I have felt >terrible. UGH! > >Okay...before I continue blabbering endlessly, does anyone have any >suggestions or insight? I am on digest so you can email me directly, >otherwise I will be able to check back in a few days. > >Hugs, > >Deb (in Chicago) > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 22, 2005 Report Share Posted February 22, 2005 Deb, I am also on adrenal treatment (coming off right now). What is happening is you added exercise to your schedule. When you do this, you must take more Cortef to counter react the extra stress you are putting on your body when you workout. Any stress will burn the 20mg easily. A normal person gets 30-40mg a day so you can see how you would burn through 20mg on a stressful day. I have had this happen many times. If I take vacation and don't increase, I will crash about 3 days after coming off vacation. Most will say to try to add 5mg extra when working out to help. It may take more. I find that I can only take about 15min of exercise right now. I have been on treatment for a year and I'm now coming off treatment which has been a little tough. I had a bad crash last week (I have only cut 5mg out so far) due to attending a party the night before. The next day I felt like I had the flu...vomiting and severe muscle fatigue. These are the first symptoms for a crash for me. Just realize that when you do anything extra you have to take extra Cortef. There are draw backs to that in that it will rob your body of calcium and you will have muscle waisting occur. 20 mg is the most you should take on a normal day. This is a psychological dose and if you exceed this for too long, it can cause side effects you do not want. I hope this helps. Be well... LaCretia > > >Hi All, > >I'm sorry that I don't post more often and I barely have time to read the >posts. I switched to digest just so I could still be on the group but not >have my mail box get too full. > >Anyway, I have a question or two about adrenal fatigue. When I joined this >list in September I learned a whole lot about how that goes hand in hand >with thyroid stuff and I immediately began taking some adrenal glandulars. >They didn't seem to work for me though and I got some cortef which seemed >to work wonders. I am taking 20mg of it a day and have been doing great on >it until very recently. It seems that the adrenal fatigue symptoms are >coming back again and I am not sure why. Has this happened to anyone else? > And if so, what did you do? Is it okay to go up again for the cortef? I >thought I had read that you couldn't take any more than 20 mg. Next time I >get some adrenal support, I am going to try Isocort to see how that works >for me. > >This is what else I am on: 6 grains Armour (not a typo); 20 mcg of >cytomel, allergy meds (allegra and rhinocort). nexium, and a bunch of >vitamins/minerals separately since I can't take a multivitamin (am I the >only one that get sick from those?): iron (2x/day), b-complex, c, calcium, >zinc, selenium, DHEA 7 keto (I was breaking out with the regular DHEA) anc >CoQ 10 for now. > >I think that I am thyroid resistance or I just don't convert the free t4 >into free t3 very well because I was still feeling like crap and added the >cytomel. And when I started feeling better I started working out every day >again like I used to, even up to the point where I could start my >kickboxing classes once a week again. And I am starting to feel the >adrenal fatigue set in again, I have the shakes, really sore muscles and >joint and a bad headache that doesn't seem to go away. I know that I still >need to add some more cytomel because my free t3 is still low, but am I >stressing my adrenals by doing so? I'm not going to do any changes or >additions any time soon though. Did I mess myself up by starting to work >out again? > >I really hope I haven't messed up with the work outs, I was feeling so >great. And, between the medication and my being able to work out and get >up and move even at home, I have managed to lose 30 pounds. So back down >to 160 and 130 is my goal. So that is good....but this week that I haven't >been able to work out because of the adrenal symptoms, I have felt >terrible. UGH! > >Okay...before I continue blabbering endlessly, does anyone have any >suggestions or insight? I am on digest so you can email me directly, >otherwise I will be able to check back in a few days. > >Hugs, > >Deb (in Chicago) > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 22, 2005 Report Share Posted February 22, 2005 Well said Tish! LaCretia > > >I think I can tell you what might be happening. First, don't raise >your Cortef or whatever adrenal you are on anymore. You have by now >reduced your own adrenal output by at least half and have shrunk the >gland. The healthy human adrenal makes 35 to 40 mg of cortisol a >day. Long-term use of cortisone will lead to an adrenal gland that >can only make 15 to 20 mg a day. Of course hypothyroidism shrinks >the gland too. Your adrenals don't need to make more because you >provide it in pill form. The adrenal gland is much like a muscle and >if you don't use it, it gets weak. > >So, what I think the problem is that when you do excercise, you need >another 10 mg of cortisol or maybe a lot more if it is vigorous >excercise. But, now that you are on cortisone and have an adrenal >gland that can only do half of what a healthy one can do, you are >running yourself down to empty with the activity because the glan >can't keep up with demand. > >The heatlhy human adrenal stores 3 weeks worth of hormones for >things like excercise, illness and stess. But, with long term >steroid use and hypothyroidism (untreated), the adrenal gland looses >it's storage capacity for these extra things. So, adrenal support >tends to limit you in how much activity or stress you can handle. >So, if you raise your cortef dose you are just going to lower your >capacity for extra even more. So, what I think is happening is that >since you are feeling better and now doing a lot more activity, you >are depleting your adrenals on occasion and this results in a kind >of crash afterwards that can last up to a few days depending on how >much you overdid. > >So, adrenal support makes you feel better overall and makes it >possible to get your thyroid dose up to where you need, but it >limits you in how much extra activity and stress you can do. The >gland does not have normal capacity for strenuous exercise and other >stresses. > >The best solution, now is to start to get off the cortione slowly >and to try to build your adrenals back up to normal. You may have to >slow down on the excercise for a while to do this and be careful >about activities that go too far. > >The other solutiion is to medicate for your excercise. In other >words take extra cortisol about 20 minutes before strenous >excercise. My former doc used to use 10 mg before he went to the >gym. I need about 7 mg for excercise. What you are doing with this >is supplying enough cortisol so as not to deplete your adrenals and >crash from the activity. It's kind of a guessing game how much you >need for this. Everybody is different. > >But, really, if you want full function back, you will need to work >of the cortef. Every person is different and some can do it over a >month or so, and others need 8 months. It is not easy and this is >the downside of adrenal support. > >Another solution is to break up your excercise into short sessions >and do three sessions in the day. This will not overtax the adrenals >and will give them time to recover before you do it again. > >Tish > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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