Thanks, good post.
I am afraid I approached this from a bottom up manner but it was driven by extremely high blood pressure (at first only during pms, so obviously hormonally related). I pursued identical hormone replacement but the doctor would not give a high enough dose to replicate what I had labs to prove I had at age 45 even so I bailed and took DHEA and pregnenolone over the counter. My blood pressure went from stage 3 to 'pre' hypertension within a half hour (and 500mg potassium took it the rest of the way to normal), also my pms-forever panic attack went away within a half hour. I have since discovered through testing with a different doctor (Dr. Roberts,
www.heartfixer.com) that I have adrenal problems during allergy season. We did not catch it at its most severe - we caught at the beginning of allergy season, but it was easy to determine that was the problem as I started craving salt (I have always been a salt-oholic at times - never knew what caused them where I would have to eat salt or I could not think and felt like I'd pass out) and even though I ate lots of salt my genetically high blood pressure was low. Plus no energy to contemplate even lifting a finger to do one thing that someone wouldn't die if I didn't do. I also noticed adrenal problems cause low blood sugar. I have had life long problems "that would come and go" with low blood sugar and believe this is another sign of adrenal problems. Actually I had figured out the adrenal connection 5 years ago for low blood sugar and started taking Rhodiola, but after menopause it no longer was enough for me. Now I take an dried adrenal product, and though it is one a day, I take it twice a day during allergy season (if I don't I get a low blood sugar attack OR MANY in the afternoon). I just don't think I normally have adrenal problems but it is too much money to run every test under the sun, so right now I take the adrenal supplement when I have allergies or if I feel I'm starting to get low blood sugar...which so far has only happened during allergy season and for some time after until my adrenal gland (or hormone cascade) recovers from allergy season. (fyi DHEA also prevents low blood sugar except it is not enough in allergy season, which prompts me to think I may also take care of this with a very high dose of DHEA at that time, but DHEA is addictive (you may stop producing your own) so I don't want to do that). Just thought I'd want to mention that allergies are a severe source of stress which knock out your adrenals. Allergists MUST know this because they give you a cortizone shot for a bad allergy attack. I stll take the DHEA and pregnenolone. I started a new bioidentical hormone regimen and tried dialing down the DHEA and pregnenolone but I find I cannot or I lose my mind (I can't remember anything -- I could loop around 3 times and still miss my freeway exit, etc). I think the DHEA,Pregnenolone dose worked for me while my ovaries were still producing at a certain level and as that level waned further I needed the estrogen just to keep up. My doctor might be mad at me for not dialing down. But can't be paying for gas then driving off w/o filling the tank, etc.
If you have allergies --> when exposed to allergens, you have an adrenal problem
If you have genetically high blood pressure (I had my genes mapped by Dr. Roberts), and you eat salt but have low blood pressure -- > you have adrenal problems
If you get low blood sugar even though you eat a blood sugar maintaining diet (20 grams of protein at breakfast, low glycemic index foods) --> you have adrenal problems
If you have panic attacks --> ??? but it is fixed with DHEA
There is a DHEA:Cortisol ratio that you want of 10:1. DHEA wanes over 30 years of age and the DHEA:cortisol ratio goes down and since this governs how much stress you can take, you find you cannot take stress as well or at all. If you are over 50 you may start to find you cannot tolerate coffee. 2 cups of coffee raise your cortisol something like 30% and that is a STRESS!
So there are lots of things tied in here of interest.