Mending adrenal glands - rising cortisol and feeling DRASTICALLY improved

[markmc20001]

Does your salt problem make your blood pressure fluctuate rapidly and wildly? My mother has this problem and the doctor cannot figure out why. I am wondering if she has the same issue you have.

Hi Athene,

My girlfriend is having the same problems with blood pressure fluctuating rapidly, and also high blood pressure, and high heart rate. She is seeing a naturopath and the suggestion was made that a hyperactive? thyroid may cause some of those problems. However, it's unclear if they have nailed that down as being the problem.

If anybody has some suggestions for things to try for the blood pressure and heart rate I would be grateful for that!

On vitamin C, I heard that vitamin C does not last long in the body. It was suggested sodium ascorbate powder in water throughout the day may help keep that up. The special form of C is so you don't ruin the enamel on your teeth.

 

[snowathlete]

It was two steps forward and one step back all the way but I did feel changes happening from very early on. The book says this does not happen to everyone, some people take 3 months to feel the effect.

Yeah I think thats a sensible period of time. I reckon i have about three months supply to so i will give it a good go. I dont feel any worse on them at least, now that the headache is mostly gone. Its sort of in the background a little, but only about 10% of what it was.

I forgot to say, once the headache wore off i upped the dose of vit c to 3000mg a day, and i plan to go up more in about a week.

The main thing that i have noticed is that my urine has turned neon yellow. Is that good or bad, do you know?

 

[ukme]

The main thing that i have noticed is that my urine has turned neon yellow. Is that good or bad, do you know?

Its the B vits that do that isnt it?

 

[Athene]

Yes it's the B vits making your wee yellow. I am not doing Vitamin P any more! This either means I've just found really good quality ones, or else (I think more likely) it means my body is retaining them entirely, whereas before it chucked out the surplus that I could not use, because I now have all the cofactors my body needs to use them. B vits work in unison with other nutrients. Eating plenty of meat and pulses ought to help, I'll give you a list of the nutrients and other food ideas if you want.

By the way, if I may say so Snowathlete, you are a big bloke and I think you're being too cautious about the C. The US airforce instantly gives its pilots 6 grammes a day of C if they catch a cold. I actually give my 5-year-old son 2 grammes a day. You can ramp up the dose each 2 days.
I've just discovered this week that it is really helpful to take a high dose first thing in the morning and again mid morning, then gradually take smaller doses as you go through the day. This gives me more energy and makes me sleep more deeply. I've realised it goes off to the adrenal gland and gives it a boost in under half an hour.

Marcmc, the C powder idea is interesting. I take my C in capsules of 500mg. The downside to this is that I have to eat 18 of them a day which I must admit is not much fun, but the advantage is that I can space them out constantly through the day. Another advantge is that they are the cheapest ones I can find!

As far as your GF's symptoms go, yes, checking the thyroid would definitely be a good idea. I have a friend who was hyperthyroid and those were his symptoms.
I would suggest having a very good read of this website
www.stopthethyroidmadness.com

If I remember rightly you are in the UK, in which case the doc will only test TSH. You need a TH3 and TH4 test as well which you can get on the NHS if you fuss. Otherwise it is worth paying privately, it costs about 40 quid.

Meanwhile, omega 3 fish oil is supposed to naturally lower blood pressure. I don't know any other ideas, I am afraid I have always had atrociously low BP so I devote my life to finding out what will raise it!

 

[snowathlete]

Eating plenty of meat and pulses ought to help, I'll give you a list of the nutrients and other food ideas if you want.

Yes please!
Im still not having any chocolate, refined sugars or cafine, and im eating more vegetables, but its a bit hit and miss for me, cause i dont really know what im doing! hahaha..

The B vitamins i got i bought from Puritans Pride, which say they are all natural, which i have heard is best?

By the way, if I may say so Snowathlete, you are a big bloke and I think you're being too cautious about the C. The US airforce instantly gives its pilots 6 grammes a day of C if they catch a cold. I actually give my 5-year-old son 2 grammes a day. You can ramp up the dose each 2 days.

Athene, I never take offense when someone is trying to help me. I will do as you say and increase my dose, thanks for that!

I had my thyroid checked, and as Athene suggests you do need to make a fuss. Also be aware that in the UK the 'normal' range is massively higher than is considered normal in the US and many other countries in Europe. So ask for the exact result and check it yourself. In the UK they like to say "It came back satifactory" but you need to ask them for the details!
Best of luck with that!

 

[mellster]

One thing about Vit c is that it can be hard on the stomach. Lozenges or drops that partly go through the buccal mucosa directly into the bloodstream might help with that and also likely would lower the needed dose as the stomach absorbs some of it.

 

[markmc20001]

Heya Athene. I'm in the USA.

Love your sense of humor! Glad you are making progress!

 

[Athene]

One thing about Vit c is that it can be hard on the stomach. Lozenges or drops that partly go through the buccal mucosa directly into the bloodstream might help with that and also likely would lower the needed dose as the stomach absorbs some of it.

That's interesting. Do you know any good brands of this type of C?

Right, B vitamins.
To get them working you need
magnesium
molybdenum
phosphate
biotin
cysteine
folate
selenium
zinc
copper

Eggs are an all-round super food which will give you nearly all of these.
You're taking magnesium anyway, but to boost it you can snack on almonds and cashews. You'll also get it in figs and parsnips.
For molybdenum, another v important one, you really do need to eat beans, lentils etc. of all kinds. If the farting becomes simply too much for you (or your wife?) you can try oysters! I have to admit that Mr. Athene registered too many complaints in this department, so I have started taking a molybdenum supplement instead.
Biotin is made by the good baceria in the gut and if your immune system is substandard, then you won't have enough of those. You can either take a lot of probiotics or a biotin supplement. Biotin is essential for energy production too. If you have a real deficiency your hair starts thinning and you can even get bald patches.
The other biggie is zinc. You'll get that in beef, eggs, liver, milk, herrings, ginger, lamb, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, and seafood.

Most of the others are trace minerals so you should get them in nearly all veg, provided they were grown in nutrient rich soil (rather than greenhouses with artificial fertilisers!)
Some foods that are super nutrient rich are avocados, apricots, nuts of all kinds, and cantalupe melons.

It's a good idea to have a choice of nutricious salty snacks around to give you a boost when your energy flags. I have olives and parma ham a lot, salted nuts, and for you bits of cheese would probably be good too. (Ah I miss cheese! I used to be like Wallace and Gromit, a cheese worshipper!)

I hope that's given you some good ideas!

 

[anniekim]

If one can tolerate low dose cortizone is it wrong to take it?

 

[mellster]

Athene, I don't know that many Vit C brands, but any one that is either a wafer or a lozenge/gummy drop would work so that you could slowly dissolve it in the mouth. I use Acerola wafers (with bioflavonoids etc.). I agree on eggs, probably one of the most important superfoods out there - esp. the yolk. And yummy

 

[Athene]

If one can tolerate low dose cortizone is it wrong to take it?

It means your adrenals will not try to produce their own cortisol any more. That is why you have to lower the dose very gradually when stopping it - because the adrenals are very slow to reactivate again. If your adrenals are already exhaustd, it only makes their problem worse.

Also, it is only one of the hormones your adrenals make, it does't substitute the other ones, which will remain too low. So you'll still have a lot of problems.

Finally, your adrenal gland is supposed to keep adjusting the amount of cortisol and other adrenal hormones in circulation depending on your situation. eg. More cortisol if you've got a cold, less if you're having a quiet day at home etc. People with Addisons disease say the worst thing is having to constantly figure out how they need to vary their dosage, and they never get it quite right.

If you've tried everything and given up hope of mending your adrenals then it may be the last resort, but this famous Wilson book I keep talking about says that adrenal extract, which contains all the various adrenal hormones, and natural ones not synthetic, gets far better results.

 

[snowathlete]

Biotin is made by the good baceria in the gut and if your immune system is substandard, then you won't have enough of those. You can either take a lot of probiotics or a biotin supplement. Biotin is essential for energy production too. If you have a real deficiency your hair starts thinning and you can even get bald patches.

HA! Maybe thats where ive been going wrong all these years? I only have one bald patch, but unfotunately its a rather large one, covering most of my scalp.

Thanks for this list Athene, its really helpful!
I eat some of this stuff already, but i will look to add these things to my diet:
avocados, apricots, cantalupe melon, lamb, fish, Live Yogurt, BEANS, LENTILS, CHICKPEAS, PARSNIPS, Figs, Olives.

I delight in cheese. Cheddar mainly - strong. The problem is that the supermarkets have gradually reduced the maturity of the cheese they offer but increased the maturity rating, so you can often buy some "Extra mature cheddar" that years ago wouldnt have made it as Medium strength.

 

[anniekim]

Both the adrenal saliva tests I've had over the years showed as well as low cortisol, high dhea. May I ask what high dhea indicates? Thanks

Edit:

Athene, somehow missed your reply (on my phone) to my cortisone question. Thanks for your reply, appreciated.

 

[Athene]

Hi Anniekim,

Apparently DHEA is supposed to be higher when you are young and it goes down as you age. So maybe that is a good thing?
I've read a couple of articles about DHEA supplementation which seem to imply that.
Earlier in the thread rydra_wong posted on this, maybe have a look back at what she wrote and PM her if you want to ask more??? She certainly knows far more than I do about DHEA. (I'm not sure if she's still following the thread as she hasn't posted on it lately)

Snowathlete,

HA! Maybe thats where ive been going wrong all these years? I only have one bald patch, but unfotunately its a rather large one, covering most of my scalp.

)))) That's funny! Have you seen that spray-on false hair for "mature" gentlemen, sold in Boots? I read that it looks very convincing, and I wanted to buy some for my husband (mainly so I could laugh at him). He said if I dared bring it home, he would pin me down and spray a beard on me. He wears his chrome dome with pride!

Interesting about the cheese. I didn't know, now that I'm off the market for cheese. Presumably a money saving thing, as it takes ten years or more to produce a really mature stinky piece of cheese but only three for a mild one. Do you live anywhere near Cheddar? I went to some dairies there which had cheeses so mature they were almost eligible for free bus passes. I could smell them from several miles down the road as I approached. Some of them were about the size of armchairs. You could probably take one of those home and live on it for about a decade!

 

[ukme]

It means your adrenals will not try to produce their own cortisol any more. That is why you have to lower the dose very gradually when stopping it - because the adrenals are very slow to reactivate again. If your adrenals are already exhausted, it only makes their problem worse.

Well I thought that so long as you kept under 10mg cortisol then suppression wouldn't take place?

 

[heapsreal]

Both the adrenal saliva tests I've had over the years showed as well as low cortisol, high dhea. May I ask what high dhea indicates? Thanks

Edit:

Athene, somehow missed your reply (on my phone) to my cortisone question. Thanks for your reply, appreciated.

Polycystic ovarian syndrome(PCOS) is when too much dhea is produced by the ovaries and adrenal gland, also these women have problems with insulin resistance, menstraul irregularities etc
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/481129

 

[heapsreal]

http://www.ehow.com/list_5932616_signs-high-dhea-levels-women.html

 

[snowathlete]

)))) That's funny! Have you seen that spray-on false hair for "mature" gentlemen, sold in Boots? I read that it looks very convincing, and I wanted to buy some for my husband (mainly so I could laugh at him). He said if I dared bring it home, he would pin me down and spray a beard on me. He wears his chrome dome with pride!

I can understand his point of view. Before i got married i used Minoxidil, which worked pretty well. But after that i decided to stop using incase there were any long term effects. I just grow a beard instead now. Its sort of to prove to myself that i can still grow facial hair, even if its not on top.
Nowadays its the least of my problems anyway.

I do live near Cheddar actually, yes, Im in Wiltshire so not far at all. So Cheeses are stinky arent they. Better made that way tho.

 

[anniekim]

Thanks for the replies to my question about raised dhea

 

[Athene]

Hi UKME,

My doc told me suppression of cortisol production takes place no matter how little artificial cortisol you take. He made me taper down to 5mg a day and then 2 to avoid the shock effect of sudden withdrawal, as the glands take time to reactivate.

Have you seen the threads about cortisol supplementation? The ones I am thinking of are quite old but worth rummaging for, as lots of people contributed useful links to research and told their experiences. The majority found cortisol made them feel much worse but some said it made them far better. There was some very good info about dosages.
Are you taking cortisol yourself? If so, how do you get on with it?