ADRENAL FATIGUE, SYMPTOMS- AFFECTS 10'S OF MILLIONS

[Gaby]

Nora Gedgaudas includes a chapter on Adrenal Fatigue in her book "Primal Body, Primal Mind". As a specialist in neurofeedback, she has some interesting experiences worth sharing. Including what she calls "adrenal dysregulation" which can lead to adrenal fatigue:

Among the most common modern-day afflictions, both diagnosed by holistic practitioners and undiagnosed, is what is known as adrenal exhaustion. This is brought about by chronic or severe stress; chronic exposure to foods that trigger sensitivity reactions; exposure to electro-magnetic frequency (EMF) pollution from cell phones, cordless phones, Wi-Fi routers, and other electronic sources; and especially excess dietary; carbohydrate and blood sugar dysregulation. Adrenal stress, dysregulation, and exhaustion can leave you feeling completely worn out and depleted and can greatly interfere with normal sleep patterns. The symptoms of low adrenal function are varied, depending upon severity and individual factors. They commonly include:

• trouble staying asleep
• being a "slow starter" in the morning
• afternoon fatigue
• feeling run down or overwhelmed
• cravings for salt and sweets
• experiencing dizziness when standing up too quickly

Adrenal dysregulation can also include adrenal "hyperfunction" (not to be confused with Cushing's disease), which can eventually also lead to some stage of adrenal exhaustion. Among common symptoms of adrenal hyperfunction are:

• feeling constantly stressed out
• trouble falling asleep
• irritability and anxiety
• high blood sugar levels
• tending toward weight gain under stress
• excess perspiration or perspiring, even while inactive (in normal temperatures)
• waking up tired, seemingly no matter what

[...]

Individuals with chronic stress or dysglycemia may exhaust the adrenal cortex's ability to produce adequate amounts of cortisol, which results in what can be termed adrenal exhaustion. Because leptin rules the endocrine roost, as it were, and insulin stands firmly second in command, the adrenal hormones, adrenaline and cortisol are next in the line of authority over your moods, energy, and well-being. The health of your thyroid depends upon the health of your adrenals. In fact, no thyroid issue can ever fully resolve or significantly improve with¬out the restoration of adrenal health.

Women must depend on healthy adrenals to ease the transition of menopause. Exhausted adrenals are unable to take the "baton" from the ovaries, as they are supposed to at this time, to continue producing needed hormones. If your adrenals are shot, that transition called menopause can be pure hell. Women with healthy adrenals at menopause barely even notice anything has happened, which is how it is supposed to be. Hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms are not remotely normal simply because they are commonplace.

Your adrenals are often the first obvious casualty of blood sugar dysregulation {high carb diets}. Stymied adrenal function can lead to chronic feelings of stress or being overwhelmed, fatigue, weight gain, insomnia, mood disor¬ders or instability, headaches or migraines, and eventually thyroid prob¬lems. (Down the road, problems with sex hormones can develop, too, via an endocrine metabolic phenomenon known as the pregnenolone steal). You will never correct a problem with your thyroid or sex hormones without first correcting adrenal imbalance. And in order to correct that, of course, you must determine and address your main adrenal stressors and address issues around insulin and leptin.

Common adrenal stressors can include blood sugar dysre_g_ulation (the big one), chronic use of stimulants, chronic high levels of EMF exposure, chronic infections, food sensitivity issues, prolonged life stress or chronic trauma, chronic lack of adequate sleep, and excessive exercise.

Apart from excess dietary carbohydrates and lifestyle issues, the next most common cause of adrenal problems is easily food_senstivities. (See chapter 28, "What about Food Allergies and Sensitivities?") Consuming food substances to which you are sensitive will automatically generate a stress response in the body that involves both cortisol and insulin. Even if your diet is low carb or low cal, it is possible to gain undesirable weight and generate systemic inflammation if you are chronically eating foods to which you are sensitive.

There are several vicious cycles that can be commonly generated from adrenal dysregulation and these are difficult to correct. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis can become dysregulated, leading to many other hormonal problems. The hippocampus of the brain (found at the temporal lobes, just above the ears), which is needed for emotional and neurological stability, short-term memory, and memory consolidation, among other things, can begin degenerating as the result of excess cortisol saturation and excess excitatory activity, which can be from chronic stress, EMF pollution (a topic covered in part 3), not getting enough sleep, excess dietary carbohydrates, and food sensitivities. Also, the gastrointestinal tract can develop impaired regenerative capacity and mucosal erosion as the result of either insufficient or excess cortisol levels, which can lead to leaky gut syndrome, allergies, immune system vulnerabilities, and food sensitivities, among other things. The popular use of progesterone creams can also easily create or exacerbate cortisol excesses.

Excess leptin and insulin surges generated by chronic carbohydrate consumption can get this problematic adrenal ball rolling in no small way and create a self-perpetuating nightmare.

Suffice it to say, it ain't pretty. These vicious cycles can unravel anyone.

[...]

(Note: Efforts to support adrenal recovery may be entirely futile with, individuals who are anemic. The presence of anemia must first be ruled out or properly addressed when seeking to support adrenal issues.)

[...]

When addressing adrenal issues, always first consider the endocrine chain of command and be aware that in order to correct imbalances, you must always look first "upstream" and consider what may have caused the initial imbalance in the first place. Modern conventional medicine practitioners, often even holistic medicine practitioners, are quick to micro-manage hormonal issues that they are willing to recognize by prescribing hormone replacement. (Note that medical doctors tend not to recognize adrenal imbalances that are not an actual, full-blown, rare condition such as Addison's disease or Cushing's disease.) Even bioidentical hormone replacement can be extremely problematic when used in this way. This is not to say that bioidentical hormone replacement is never necessary, but it also shouldn't necessarily always be the first step in resolving imbalances. Interrelationships with other hormones must also be carefully considered.

Look to the source. Go to the foundations first—always.

 

[Gaby]

In Detox and Healing, the idea of using hydrocortisone in physiological doses for adrenal support is put forth. Here is a synthesis of the protocol, which is posted earlier and in other threads. But FWIW:

- Start with 2.5 mg (a quarter of a 10-mg tablet or half of a 5-mg tablet) per day between 6 and 8 am for one week.
- Increase the dose to 5 mg per day between 6 and 8 am if you saw no positive response with the lower dose for one week.

- Increase the dose to 10 mg per day between 6 and 8 am if you saw no positive response with the previous dose for one week

- Maintain your dose of 10 mg in the early morning and add 5 mg at noon if you saw no positive response with the previous dose for one week.

- Maintain your dose of 10 mg in the early morning and 5mg at noon, add 5 mg at 4pm if you saw no positive response with the previous dose for one week.

If at any point you experience carbohydrate cravings, experience bloating or insomnia, feel hyper, or have any other negative symptoms, either stop or reduce the dose. This is not meant to be a permanent therapy, you can stop this protocol a few days after you feel better, regardless of the dose you were taking. In case of illness or trauma or physical stress, you can take hydrocortisone again with double the dose.

Hydrocortisone is the chemical form of the cortisone your adrenal gland produces. The average daily production of hydrocortisone in your body is about 30 to 40 mg. If you have adrenal insufficiency (low adrenal function or adrenal fatigue), you may be producing much less and have symptoms as a consequence. By supplementing your low production with 5 to 20 mg of hydrocortisone, your body's supply becomes normal and symptoms should promptly disappear.

The misunderstanding with this low dose hydrocortisone protocol stems from the use of high-dose cortisone therapies like prednisone, medrol, etc. With such high doses there are significant side effects such as high blood pressure, osteoporosis, Cushing syndrome, immune supression and so forth. But these effects have absolutely nothing to do with low-dose hydrocortisone treatment. In fact, the reason why most doctors are reluctant to prescribe it is because the dose is way too low in order to make any difference whatsoever. Keep in mind that mainstream science is completely ignorant about adrenal fatigue. The low doses we are talking here is even much lower of what your body normally produces, even if your adrenal’s output of hydrocortisone is normal. High-dose mainstream treatment of cortisone is several times your body’s daily output, that is, 60 to 300 mg of hydrocortisone per day. So if someone tells you that you are crazy for being in cortisone because it has serious side effects, you can reassure them that you are taking below levels of physiological doses of what your body already produces. Remember, it is not prednisone, it is hydrocortisone. 5 mg of hydrocortisone is the same as about 1 mg of prednisone. Fludan.com sells hydrocortisone in powder form which you can then weight with a scale for mg, such as a jewel scale. If you are unable to get a hold of hydrocortisone, you can use low dose progesterone cream to support adrenal function.

Keep in mind also that the best test to see if you will benefit from this therapy is the trial one, that is no lab test will be able to tell you with acccuracy if your adrenals need a boost. People who have negative tests often benefit from low dose hydrocortisone therapy.

Sydney McDonald Baker, author of Detox and Healing says he got his info from an old book called "Safe Uses of Cortisone" by William Mck. Jefferies, MD. I found today a review of this last book which I will post here FWIW. Notice how the influenza virus is so infectious by impairing our production of cortisol. I wonder if viruses in the near future will be deadly because of this mechanism:

_http://www.townsendletter.com/Nov2012/booksafeuse1112.html

Safe Uses of Cortisol
by William Mck. Jefferies, MD
Charles C. Thomas Pub. Ltd., 3rd edition
©2004; paperback; $46.95; 208 pp.

Safe Uses of Cortisol, 3rd edition,saved my life. It authoritatively corrects a major error in the training and common knowledge of modern medical doctors. Cortisol, like every other hormone, diminishes with age, and most people can benefit from cortisol replacement therapy. Jefferies's book documents how replenishing this hormone, contrary to current medical thinking, can have wondrous therapeutic effects, especially in those of us with adrenal insufficiency.

When patients with adrenal insufficiency are treated according to these principles, they can live perfectly normal, healthy lives. In some respects, they seem to be healthier than many persons without adrenal insufficiency in that they often appear to have more energy, less fatigue, and a greater resistance to at least some types of infection.

Medical doctors have been indoctrinated that cortisol replacement is dangerous, and knowing that levels vary constantly, they generally neglect cortisol levels in patients. This neglect promotes a potentially disastrous hormone deficiency, leading to much unnecessary pain, illness, and early death.

It is important to understand that glucocorticoid "drugs"; for example, hydrocortisone, prednisone, methyl prednisolone, Cortef, and so on, are cortisol or one of its analogs. This was news to me, and may be news to many doctors. Taking one of these drugs is little more than hormone replacement, although equivalent dosages differ among them in milligrams. For example, 1 mg of prednisone or methyl prednisolone is equivalent to 5 mg hydrocortisone. The unstressed human body makes about 35 mg of cortisol (the equivalent of 7 mg of prednisone) in the adrenal cortex every day. Prescriptions that exceed these dosages are dangerous.

Cortisone and hydrocortisone (cortisol) are different. Hydrocortisone, less any fillers, is the bioequivalent of cortisol and this was the hormone given to almost all of Jefferies's patients in the case studies.

The title of the book has also been changed to Safe Uses of Cortisol, since cortisol is the glucocorticoid normally produced by the human adrenal cortex and cortisone must be converted to cortisol before it can produce its characteristic beneficial effects.

With doctors wrongly taught about cortisol, (and ferocious in their belief that what they were taught is correct), it is not surprising that most people are afraid of these steroids. However, after one learns that glucocorticoids are orthomolecular natural hormones, the substantial fear that has been created about their use can subside. The author's consistent theme is that low dosages, what he terms physiologic dosages, below what the body would otherwise endogenously produce, can be safely administered with a wide-spectrum therapeutic potential.

To illustrate the safety of his approach, developed over 50 years as a practicing endocrinologist, Jefferies treated infertility with physiologic dosages of cortisol. The hormone was given by him during the full term and resulted in more than 200 pregnancies. The author then monitored the healthy offspring for another 30 years.

That cortisone and cortisol are normal hormones of the adrenal cortex implies that in physiologic dosages they must be safe.

This implication is confirmed by the clinical experience of patients with adrenal insufficiency or congenital adrenal hyperplasia. When give suitable maintenance dosages, they can take cortisone or cortisol indefinitely without undesirable side effects and enjoy perfectly normal health. Other patients in our clinics have received small, physiologic dosages of cortisone or cortisol for various conditions that will be described later, totaling over one thousand patients years of experience. Other than an occasional incidence of acid indigestion, usually resulting from taking the steroid on an empty stomach, or a rare instance of the patient being allergic to an ingredient in the filler of the steroid tablet, no undesirable side effects whatsoever have occurred.

It is not generally realized that the dangerous side effect of glucocorticoid therapy occurs only with certain dosages and not with others. That there is a tremendous difference between the effects of small "physiologic" dosages and those of larger "pharmacologic" dosages has not been emphasized.

I happen to be in my late 50s. After a long undiagnosed respiratory illness that required hospitalizations and constant monitoring by teams of specialists, I began to suspect that my problems might be related to low cortisol. Not one doctor agreed, nor could even one medical doctor explain why a cortisol replacement worked so well. Then, when a second rheumatologist refused to prescribe methyl prednisolone (a cortisol analog) after I had found it useful, telling me that this steroid was "the most dangerous drug that he prescribes," I began research hoping to find the reasons why and how a hormone could be dangerous. Fortunately, I found Safe Uses of Cortisol. It was easy to read and explained everything about my recent illness. The only thing that the book does not explain: If this information was already so well known, why don't highly trained doctors know about it? (And thus why did I have to spend two weeks in intensive care during two separate hospitalizations?)

A basic principle is that supplemental cortisol does not increase the total amount of cortisol in the bloodstream when administered below what the body would otherwise make; that is, the body senses, and the brain controls, the total amount of cortisol, or what you might call a "set point." Small doses of supplemental cortisol simply means that the adrenals are asked to create less, effectively resting them and giving them more capacity for stress. It turns out that the replacement dosage (determined in part from adrenalectomized breast cancer patients) is 35 to 40 mg of hydrocortisone (or 7 to 8 mg prednisone), or exactly what I determined through trial and error that I required for symptomatic relief of severe rheumatoid arthritis symptoms. The most common physiologic dosage used by Jefferies in his case studies was about half the replacement dosage.

Strangely, this dosage is constant and does not vary much based on gender or body weight.

The cases studies cover a variety of conditions. They include girls, in puberty, whose small breasts developed normally on the recommended physiologic dosages, to cases of male and female acne clearing, to solving infertility and miscarriage problems, to eliminating chronic fatigue and "autoimmune" and other syndromes caused by hormonal imbalances. Basically the same physiologic dosage treatment was successful in all cases. The explanation is that after the adrenal cortex becomes fatigued or atrophies, the increasing signals from the brain (hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal [HPA] axis) trying to stimulate cortisol production can lead to imbalances of other hormones produced by the adrenals. Jefferies's cases illustrate that resting the adrenals with subreplacement cortisol leads to all sorts of miracles that seem to bear no direct relationship with the known functions of cortisol.

Jefferies begins the 3rd edition by describing the effect that the influenza virus has on the pituitary (which emits a hormone controlling cortisol levels.)

In the seven years that have elapsed since Safe Uses of Cortisol, Second Edition was published, an important question that was raised at that time has been answered. We now know that the influenza virus attacks the human body by impairing the production of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), which, in turn, impairs the production of cortisol, the only hormone that is absolutely essential for life.

Jefferies had observed as early as the 1960s that for some reason, cortisol levels go down (rather than up) in the beginning of the flu, the opposite of how a "stress" hormone should react. He suspected the flu was attacking the ACTH production in the pituitary. His 1971 paper about this was rejected by medical journals because of a “lack of evidence.” Later a team in 2004 duplicated his results with a larger population and published the result. Among many other implications, it means that an ideal treatment for the flu (and other infections) is cortisol or one of its analogs.

For more severe illnesses, such as acute influenza, immediately increasing the dosage of cortisol to 20 mg four times daily until they feel completely well, which usually occurs within three or four days, then decreasing to 15 mg four times daily for one day, then to 10 mg four times daily for one day, then to the basic dosage (section assumes adrenal fatigue) of 5, 7.5, or 10 mg four times daily there after, is usually adequate. In some severe illnesses, it may be necessary to increase the dosage of cortisol to as much as 120 mg daily (30 mg four times daily), in order to achieve optimum clinical improvement. Once this has been achieved, tapering the dosage by 20 mg daily until the maintenance dosage is reached has usually been satisfactory.

Medical doctors, medical students, and patients who read this book, after the cognitive dissonance passes, will learn about a wide variety of treatable conditions caused by the general lack of or inability to make enough cortisol. Everyone makes some cortisol, or they wouldn't be alive more than a day or two. But doctors don't realize that the production can become significantly impaired, leading to a wide variety of painful symptoms caused by generalized inflammation.

Currently, finding a properly educated physician will always be the most difficult part of cortisol hormone replacement. This is one reason why I think that this book will prove even more valuable to the alternative medical doctors. Patients cannot obtain cortisol without a prescription, but all medical doctors with the legal authority to write the prescription have being taught wrong and thus they are entirely ignorant about safe usage. Most doctors are unwilling to prescribe long-term cortisol, deferring to rheumatologists. Rheumatologists avoid these drugs like the plague. The result is that long-term prescriptions are almost impossible to obtain, leaving patients with unrecognized adrenal insufficiency in pain. The doctor who reads Safe Uses of Cortisol will be able prescribe cortisol safely, and thus satisfy a potentially high demand. (Patients are brainwashed against these drugs too, but as the many cases illustrate, the benefits and alleviation of symptoms are so dramatic, that patients will continue with the program, once they are assured of its safety.)

Ironically, I came to understand that both my rheumatologists were correct: Doctors who have not read Safe Uses of Cortisol (or found equivalent knowledge elsewhere) cannot safely prescribe cortisol or one of its analogs. Alternative doctors can easily fill this void after reading this book.

 

[supriyanoel]

I have many of these symptoms which I am ready and willing to change, only this time with knowledge about what and why I am using supplements and changing over to paleo. It took a long time for me to be ready to change the diet in the right way rather than wrong. Reading all the books-LWB and PBPM and the detox book I'll be getting. Reading Hulda Clarks work and understanding rather than ordering haphazardly, not really knowing what I'm doing. Eating effectively is the last and only hurrah that is going to get me well. I can't retain info in a brain fog! So bear with me. I'm not there yet. I had been feeling that it couldn't go on any longer and that I was getting ill-er than even my own denial told me. Aware of the manipulation. Even though I feel pretty O.K. Pretty O.K. is so vague and sad to me, and I came to the point of feeling overwhelmingly sad from limiting myself in this way. It is a bad joke, I don't really feel O.K. I am just willful and resistant, but it takes what it takes, sadly. Its over, I am here now and will continue no matter what. Much on this forum, in fact ALL has brought me to this point. I may not post, yet I listen and read on always. I began 5 days ago making the bone broth that I found on one of the posts in this thread.My life has changed DRAMATICALLY!!!Not only did I start feeling a sense of goodness from this food, all sugar cravings and wheat cravings have ceased. Yes you are reading this correctly. Gone.The thought of bread or the awful sugar-laced thing I was ingesting like the drug addiction it is was sickening. This is a spiritual awaking that came as a total surprise. So quick was a radical change. I feel as if I turned a corner and am going to live.Live well.I've been eating bacon, kale,bone broth,lots of distilled water, oxtails,strawberries,blues,coconot milk and almond milk, some walnuts and almonds,pink salt in water broccoli and vita c,magnesium,milk thistle,vita E,D, and complex,fish oil. My hands don't hurt from arthritis. My hair stopped falling out.The elasticity in my joints feels more flexible,and I am smelling everthing alto stronger, especially the toxins coming out of my palms.I am hoping the eyesight gets better. Yes, in 5 days these are the results. The best is -NO CRAVINGS. Yet, anyway. I am stunned, inspired. and happy I am giving myself this opportunity to free the toxicity that affects my whole life, beginning with my thinking.It took a long time for this all to click. The books, the reading the observation of self. I am amazed I came this far.I was able to talk and give such great advice, even though I didn't take it MYSELF. Some of my students did, and THEY inspired me. sometimes they don;'t believe me because of how I look and move. I let them know that it is deceiving. You can be flexible look young talk great and inside be amess that no one sees.That will not last and is not co-linear with mind and body.No one would guess what is going on inside pyhsiacally. And that facade could kill me if I wasn't concerned with truth. I've never lied to them about where i was at.They thank me by being the example I can follow.They deserve a teacher who walks it. I always tell them were all students, and never play teacher in a way that places myself on higher ground. Some have suffered with these symptoms and others and I've passed on the info I got here. And tell them where they can go to learn, rather then believing what I say.It felt great to go into class last night and talk about these health issues and have others share. That didn't happen before. Now people are being more open and willing and I promise you it is because of you people and your sharing. This is where I go to become wholly. Sott anchors me to the outside world that I can't see.Being in this hurricane was the event that woke me up to," YES, IT is REALLY happening." Change. In bigger ways , and in your backyard,too! I am consciously transitioning and I feel it in real ways. i have been choosing well. I am becoming a lot less palatable to those that want a tasty meal. Its only 5 days, but I'm exited rather than scared. Its ironic that I had to eat a few hoofs to be able to kick the wishers of my demise out of my brain and body. Yes, hooves boiled down to a clear and sublime gelatin. Thanks , I will keep posting. Oh yes, by the way. Your knowledge and giving of it selflessly has saved my life. One life able to be lived honestly. That is truth. Thank you Laura, Anart, Psyche, Shellycheval, and the rest of you superomnihuman folks for getting up in the morning and living as you do.

 

[Bobo08]

For about 3 years now, my wife has occasional episodes of breathing difficulties, which is getting worse recently. They most often occur around 3-4am in the morning. The only effective remedy she finds is to get up and eat some carbs. She also usually has headache and low energy in the afternoon. Because of these symptoms, I strongly suspect adrenal fatigue, which is why I post in this thread.

We have tried a number of treatments, from asthma puffer, supplements (fish oil, magnesium, vit C, 5-HTP, hydrocortisone ...), FIR blanket, diet. The one approach that seems to bring the most benefit in terms of energy and overall well being is changing to a low-carb diet. However, it makes the breathing difficulties much worse and messes up the sleep. My wife has already attempted this twice: the first time doing it gradually over a few weeks; the second time going cold turkey. Both attempts failed because of the breathing problem.

I can't think of what else to do to get through the initial stage of the diet change. So I would like to ask if anyone has any suggestion or advice for her. She has read through PMPB and is not resistant to the diet change. However, her English is limited so she can't read all of the LWB and Ketogenic diet threads.

BTW, my wife has cut out gluten from her diet as far as I know. The only "evil" foods that she is eating everyday are rice and coffee. She also occasionally eats fruit, pop corn. On the other hand, she eats a lot of meat every day and bone broth every weeks.

 

[Vulcan59]

Hi Bobo08,

Try getting her to take some Niacin (B3) and see if that makes a difference.

 

[Gaby]

BTW, my wife has cut out gluten from her diet as far as I know. The only "evil" foods that she is eating everyday are rice and coffee. She also occasionally eats fruit, pop corn. On the other hand, she eats a lot of meat every day and bone broth every weeks.

Spring time is coming and despite weather conditions, lots of people are having hard core allergies during these times. I think it is also part of the "cosmic events". Maybe it has an asthmatic component? It can typically occur at night. Anyway, coffee doesn't sound like a good choice if she is having breathing problems. Neither is pop corn. See this article for some problematic fruits too:

http://www.inspection.gc.ca/food/consumer-centre/fact-sheets/labelling-food-packaging-and-storage/food-allergies/oral-allergy-syndrome/eng/1332351950134/1332352076501

They might be compounding the breathing difficulties.

My 2 cents.

 

[griffin]

On the other hand, with respect to adrenal fatigue, there might be danger at the hyperadrenal end of the spectrum, too. People might find this connection tenuous at best, but I just want to mention it, even if bringing it up puts the cat amongst the pigeons, so to speak.

Forum members might recall Joe Vialls, the Australian investigative journalist who died in 2005, having written about the murder of British policewoman Yvonne Fletcher, the Pan Am 103 Lockerbie bombing and the 2004 Asian tsunami, among other topics. He accused the CIA and Mossad of various crimes (which seems quite likely), and posited the use of mini-nukes for the Bali bombing and Asian tsunami.

I can't find the report now, which makes me suspect it's been scrubbed from the internet, like a lot of other material by and about Joe Vialls, but I clearly recall that shortly after his death his family posted that his cause of death was a hyperadrenal condition - in other words, runaway adrenalin production.

That didn't seem strange to me at the time, because Joe Vialls' articles that he had been publishing on the internet in the months prior to his death did have a definite 'hyper' flavor.

I don't recall that he wrote much if anything about nutrition or supplements, except that he promoted drinking dilute hydrogen peroxide as a metabolic tonic. That doesn't make a lot of sense to me, nor does it seem to intersect with the biochemistry of adrenal function, but it's all I can recall to mention.

 

[Gertrudes]

I thought I would post my recent experience with adrenal unbalances in case it may be of help to others.

To give you some context, over the past few years I have burned myself out with excess work, and a host of other stressors from living in a very big, grey, crowded city that I have always seriously disliked...(I am one of those that if you place me in the middle of a quiet, hot desert, I'll be as happy as fish in the water).

This made my body fragile to the point that when I went through an emotional outburst this May, my health went downhill, my body simply couldn't handle it. I took two weeks off work (not nice for a self employed), but despite the "rest", my symptoms kept getting worse. These came in the form of constant headaches, disabling brain fog, and fatigue that no amount of sleep could alleviate. I got scared, very scared. I tried all sorts of relaxation techniques, changing thought patterns, all things that seemed to give me a mild temporary relief, only for the symptoms to return in full force.

My one cue this sudden condition, was the emotional meltdown I had in May. I began to wonder whether I had some sort of depression, or more accurately, a nervous breakdown. So I though, well, a nervous breakdown has got to affect the adrenals, and that began my search on how to supplement for adrenal dysfunction.

My first step was to take a saliva cortisol test. I would seriously suggest for anyone trying to address adrenal issues through supplementation to first get a test done, it is VERY important. To give you an idea, I had previously taken hydrocortisone which made me feel absolutely lousy, well, no surprise, when the results of my test arrived it turned out that my cortisol levels were very high.

There are three stages of adrenal fatigue, from _http://www.custommedicine.com.au/adrenal/:

Stages of Adrenal Exhaustion

There are three stages of adrenal exhaustion which include:

Stage 1
The first stage, which is called hyper-adrenalism, is characterised by abnormally high cortisol levels and low DHEA levels. High cortisol may cause poor sleep, sugar cravings, confusion, weight gain, hot flushes, water retention, glucose intolerance and muscle wasting. Cortisol also decreases serotonin and melatonin levels which may cause depression and insomnia, respectively. It is also an immunosuppressive which may result in a compromised immune system resulting with frequent infections and illness.

High cortisol also can inhibit the metabolism of T4, a thyroid pro-hormone produced by the thyroid gland, into its active T3 form. This can create a thyroid hormone imbalance known as reverse T3 dominance which can further contribute towards your adrenal symptoms.

Stage 2
During stage two DHEA remains low while cortisol supplies will hover in the low-normal range leaving you feeling tired and stressed, but functional.

Stage 3
During stage 3 cortisol finally falls to low levels throughout most of the day just like DHEA leaving you with low adrenal function.

I was at the first stage, with high cortisol. This is an important consideration, as different stages will involve different supplementation. Some supplements increase cortisol levels, while others will help in lowering it.

After researching, this is the protocol I came up with:

Daily dosage:

* 400mg of Phosphatidyl Serine taken 100mg disages throughout the day (helps in lowering cortisol besides enhancing cognitive function)
* 4g of L Tyrosine a day, combined with vit. B6 and Liposomal Vit. C for better absorption, all divided in four doses
* 400mg of Rhodiola Rosea divided in two doses (helps in lowering cortisol levels)
* 500mg of Pantothenic Acid (Vitamin B5, helps in regulating adrenals)
* Vitamin B complex twice a day, each capsule containing 100mg of each vitamin (very important for adrenal dysfunction)
* 4 capsules of a two good brands of Fish Oil
* Magnesium (400mg Glycinate, plus a full tea spoon in Citrate)
* Vitamin E (600mg)
* Vitamin D 5000mg (every day)
* SAme 400mg divided in two doses (helps in regulating neuro health and mood)
* 200mg of Holy Basil (it has a calming effect, helps in dealing with stress)
* Eliminated all sources of caffeine

I noticed some positive differences after one week, although I was aware that it often takes about a month for effects to be fully noticed. After one month of following the above protocol, I was virtually symptom free. My energy levels were again high, my mental focus was sharper than it has been in several months, all in all, I have been feeling great ever since.

It has now been two full months of supplementation, and two days ago I began to reduce the dosage. My plan is to wean myself off slowly.

From this experienced, I noticed that sometimes you have to take much higher doses of. supplements than you would expect. For example, I was already taking L-Tyrosine, Fish Oils, and Vitamin B complex without feeling any different. It was only when I increased the dosage by four, and even 8 times (the case with L tyrosine), that I fully felt their effects

Sure enough, this is being a very expensive "adventure" but, to be honest, I would have done it all over again.

But there is a "however". The fact is that I don't think I could have gotten close to the root of my cortisol issues without addressing my lifestyle. You may "fix"yourself temporarily, but if your problems are not purely diet related, and you don't give your life a good hard look, be it at your living conditions, work, or relationships, sooner or later you will probably end up back to square one. At least this is being my experience.

So that's what I did, have a good hard look at my life. I realized that I am a worrier and that I have allowed worry to eat at me. I also realized that I have a tendency to over control (worry and control often go hand in hand), and that that mainly happened because my goals had been completely misdirected, and that I had been pursuing something that I didn't even want.
I decided to move away from the city for the sake of my health, and to work hard on my worry issues. I see improvements in my mental state, it has been easier for me to let go of things that I can't control, and trust the Universe.

I also decided to get more sleep, and to give my body simple treats when it feels tired or worn out. Things that I have previously considered a luxury, like taking a bath, having a massage, or simply resting!

At this stage I can say that it feels better, and more real to live inside of me :) it's as if I have stopped running away from something, and I am not yet sure of what that something is...

My intention with this personal interlude is mainly to give an example of how adrenal issues may have to be addressed from different angles. There is a reason for us to end up in a mess, and even though diet and occasional supplementation are absolutely vital, without a lifestyle change, which is sometimes the root problem, we may not be able to heal.

This isn't to say that this is the way to go should you find out that you have high cortisol levels and that your health is being affected, but only what it worked for ME. It has been three months since I first crashed and I am now feeling much better, so I figured I should share with folks what happened, and which supplements I took, in case it is of help.

 

[Elesia89]

The following video is on topic, it talks about the link of cortisol, adrenal glands and saturated fat intake :

 

[Uperios]

Are Your Adrenal Glands Affecting Your Thyroid?​

Story at a glance:

• One of the primary functions of your thyroid is to produce hormones — thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) — that regulate your metabolic rate
• Elevated reverse T3 (rT3) may be a sign of nutrient deficiency, because when there’s a scarcity of nutrients, your body is forced to slow down metabolism
• Your adrenals produce more than 50 hormones, including cortisol, aldosterone and adrenaline. Like thyroid hormones, these hormones play important roles in your metabolism
• Weeklong fasting significantly deteriorates thyroid function, as do low-carb eating and time-restricted eating (TRE). All three of these strategies will activate your adrenals, trigger cortisol release and down-regulate your thyroid function and metabolism
• Fatigue and low energy are commonly blamed on “adrenal fatigue,” but more often than not, cortisol production is normal. It’s just that the cortisol is being degraded and/or too much is being converted into inactive cortisone, and instead of converting back to cortisol, the cortisone is metabolized into metabolites. Inflammation, obesity and other factors associated with poor health accelerate these conversions