Adrenal Fatigue Page 2
Jim Lowrance - Response to Question:
"How is adrenal support or cortisol replacent added to thyroid hormone therapy?"
Actually both types replacement (thyroid & adrenal) avoid the brain and go directly into the system. The pituitary gland does have a delayed reaction to the hormones coming into the body and will for example decrease TSH production or in case of adrenals will cut back ACTH production which are the hormones that stimulate more hormone production. The reason I mention adding non-steroid adrenal support to thyroid hormone replacement is because hypothyroidism itself causes the body as a whole to slow down and the adrenals are included. Some patients who have subclinical adrenal hypofunction along with their hypothyroidism, see it improve with thyroid hormone replacement alone. If it is stubborn in correcting, adding adrenal support can sometimes be enough boost to get them functioning more properly.
On the other hand, some patients see adrenal fatigue symptoms worsen with adding thyroid hormone replacement because the hormone acts as a stressor to the body requiring increased metabolism. In cases where adrenal fatigue worsens severely with treating hypothyroidism, very slowly adding the adrenal support or supplementing for the adrenals first, then adding the thyroid hormone slowly might be needed. In that type scenario, I highly recommend doctor supervision. If adrenal steroid is being used to treat severe adrenal fatigue/exhaustion, a doctor might take a hypothyroid patient off of their thyroid hormone replacement and add it back in slowly once the dose of cortisol is at the level needed. I have always been of the opinion that cortisol replacement must be done by a qualified doctor as should adrenal support that requires any adjusting of a thyroid hormone dose.
Jim Lowrance ARTICLE HERE>> Can Anxiety Disorders be Medically Caused? ____________________________________________________________________________
Severe Adrenal Exhaustion Treated along with Hypothyroidism via Hydrocortisone
Medrol is similar to prednisone and is a steroid anti-inflammatory that mimics the anti-inflammatory properties of cortisol. It's what people are prescribed that have, full blown adrenal insufficiency and is true that taking it and thyroid hormone replacement can cause side effects or reactions. Some doctors first fix the low adrenal function and get patients leveled out on adrenal hormone before administering thyroid hormone replacement. It's a touchy area of treatment that takes skilled physicians.
If you are taking a non-steroid adrenal support type supplement instead, I would say to not mess with the thyroid dose but to add the adrenal supplement slowly so that your body adjusts to it, combined with the thyroid hormone that's already at the correct dose. So with adrenal supplements you do the opposite of what's done with a cortisol steroid (also called hydrocortisone & corticosteroid). The reason for this is due to the fact that non-steroid adrenal support stimulates your own adrenal glands to produce more of their own hormone which have some regulating brain glands helping them out. With a cortisol steroid, it comes into the body without first going through the regulating endocrine brain glands. This makes it very important for the treating physician to blood retest the cortisol level at regular intervals like doctors do with thyroid hormone replacement and both would need blood retested, when you're taking both. I hope that helps!
My audios at Amazon include titles on adrenal fatigue and thyroid subjects. These are full length but priced so any patient can afford them. They play on your computer via a link provided by the Amazon site and they also have sample clips you can listen to.
My Response/Question-“Adrenal Support Supplements”
Those supplements Cortitrophin and Adreset that you're taking contain what, are often part of the ingredients in adrenal support. Vitamin C is very important to adrenal function as well, according to experts on adrenal fatigue. A lot of natural supplements that help increase energy help increase blood oxygen etc... I would however, follow the manufacturer's recommended dosing when taking anything like that and if possible inform your doctor and get his approval, to make sure it won't interact badly with anything else you are being treated with. If you're on cortisol steroid (hydocortisone), licorice root for example might increase cortisol even more and your doctor might recommend against taking it. If cortisol goes too high, hypertension and other problems can occur, including Cushing's Syndrome (hypercortisolemia). Also, any product with kelp in it, I personally can't take because it is high iodine content and can be adverse with my thyroid autoimmunity according to medical sources.
As far as I know each of the ones you are taking is safe but you want to monitor for any adverse side effects just as a precaution. Adrenal Fatigue is often a difficult syndrome because once susceptible to it, it tends to flare in people afterward. Other important things are getting plenty of rest/sleep and stress reduction and also eliminating stimulants (caffeine, alcohol, chocolate) because these cause crashes, flares of adrenal fatigue. Adrenal fatigue can also be a manifestation of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome but don't let that alarm you if it proves to be the case at some point. CFS is treatable symptom-wise in fact the same treatments for it are those for adrenal fatigue. Many people recover from CFS in 2 to 5 years, others may have it for many years but it does not cause organ damage or shorten life-expectancy or diminish intelligence. I would also recommend getting your thyroid levels tested if you haven't already. That would be a thyroid panel and testing for "thyroid antibodies" (TPO & TG) because research studies have revealed that some people with CFS actually have autoimmune thyroid disease. The tests can rule it out or confirm it. You'll likely need an MD to have the tests ordered. I hope this info helps.
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My Response/Question-"Treating Both Sex and Adrenal Hormones"
Doctors who treat adrenal and sex hormone imbalances such as OB/GYNs and Endocrinologists commonly supplement patients with pregnenolone when certain hormones are low because it is a "precurser" to these other hormones. These include cortisol, DHEA, Androstenedione, Estrogen, Progesterone, Aldosterone and Testosterone. So those who do this must be skilled at balancing hormones and retesting the levels in patients being supplemented. Some medical opinions out there even suggest that pregnenolone has the specific purpose of converting into other needed hormones and is not actually a hormone itself.
When patients only have low cortisol as is often seen in adrenal fatigue some treating physicians who believe in treating anything less than full blown adrenal insufficiency, will supplement these patients with cortisol-only or with supplements that boost adrenal-cortisol production.
If you are already being supplemented with pregnenolone, you would probably not want to add anything to that regimen yourself because the physician treating you has to monitor your hormone balance of both adrenal and converted sex hormones as the treatment continues.
There are also medical studies out there that state that DHEA supplementation can decrease cortisol levels, which gives even further reason to have any hormone treatment involving use of these hormones monitored closely.
When people treat adrenal fatigue on their own, I always suggest they do retests of their own adrenal hormone levels (DHEA & Cortisol), at about the same interval as thyroid retesting is done to monitor thyroid hormone therapy (about every 8 weeks). Saliva adrenal hormone kits are reliable and available through some pharmacies and online, including the ZRT Lab's brand.
It's also good to see Doctors test patient’s iron and ferritin levels as well. Ferritin is an iron-storage protein that helps the iron work and be released in proper amounts in the body. I believe treating tired blood, anemia, low B-12 etc..., helps the blood to better metabolize sex and adrenal hormones in the body better.
Jim Lowrance ARTICLE HERE>> Can Hypoglycemia Mimic a Psychiatric Disorder?
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