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Adrenal crisis caused by covid vaccine - new research

Lolinda

J'aime nager dans le froid style Wim Hof.. 🏊‍♀️🙃
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420
Location
Geneva, Switzerland
having small issues with cortisol deficiency, I looked into research if vaccines are safe with this condition. I found these two very recent publications. I am happy that research has started on this.

5 cases who had actual or incipient adrenal crises requiring parenteral hydrocortisone :
ChAdOx1 SARS-CoV-2 vaccination: A putative precipitant of adrenal crises
06 August 2021
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/cen.14566

1 case:
Stress induced by messenger ribonucleic acid (RNA) vaccination may reveal acute adrenal insufficiency (2021)
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12020-021-02878-9

I just post these because I think that PR has quite some people with adrenal deficiency. and I saw that people mention adrenals in the context of vaccination:
will stress dose hydrocortisone afterwards because I had an adrenal crisis after the
second vaccination
didn't need any extra steroid but I still had a stress response.

the goal of my post is to make other people benefit from what I have found so everyone can make their own informed decisions, for example to get a booster or not etc. for myself, my conclusion from the above research was exactly to get vaccinated:
1. if after so many months of vaccines available, only these handful of adrenal crisises are reported / can be found easily, then the risk is probably low. (I would be more worried if there is no research!)
2. if a vaccine can provoke adrenal crisis, then covid may do that doubly so. hence it is wise to get vaccinated. so my logic. I didn't invest time to search if this is true or not.

after having read the above, I did my first vaccine a few days ago and plain simply nothing happened.
(so far I postponed vaccination and I was very careful to not get infected. I first wanted to see if vaccines do have side effects that come after all those short clinical trials. another reason for prioritizing my vaccination low was that I do a training that enables my body to stop cytokine storms (according to research). cytokine storms kill people in severe covid reactions - reference)
 
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Crux

Senior Member
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1,441
Location
USA
After my own crisis following the second vaccine dose, I looked up to find out if any others
had the reaction. I didn't look far, but , surprisingly few of these patients had bad reactions.

https://www.addisonsdisease.org.uk/blog/receiving-the-covid-19-vaccine-personal-stories

I suspect that I fit more into the ME/CFS cohort than the addisons group.
It's my pituitary that is deficient in ACTH.

Cortisol does modulate epinephrine, and I do get anxiety when it's low, but anxiety has many causes.

I will stress dose after the booster shot.
 
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SWAlexander

Senior Member
Messages
1,897
Thanks Lolinda for posting.
Having low cortisol since 1979 I know that I had a cortisol crisis in April after vaccination.
Unfortunatly, not many doctors are testing and patienens don´t know what to ask for.
I´m waiting for my results and will change from cortisol to hydrocortisone.
 

SWAlexander

Senior Member
Messages
1,897
Crux:
You are right. But there is a possibility that ME/CFS weakness is also related to low cortisol. No research has addressed hormones in their study yet.
 

Crux

Senior Member
Messages
1,441
Location
USA
Crux:
You are right. But there is a possibility that ME/CFS weakness is also related to low cortisol. No research has addressed hormones in their study yet.

True,
I was just mentioning what to do in the case of a crisis, which involves stress dosing HC..
Few people are aware of the need to take salt tablets.

Some ME/CFS people may have elevated evening cortisol, but low morning.
Other folks may have cortisol that doesn't rise when needed.

We are diverse.
 

bertiedog

Senior Member
Messages
1,738
Location
South East England, UK
suspect that I fit more into the ME/CFS cohort than the addisons group.

I am the same. I am pretty sure I produce a tiny amount of cortisol still but did have an adrenal crisis in 2006 with uncontrollable vomitting and diarrhoea from which I collapsed on the toilet and couldn't get off the floor. Everything was black and I couldn't move though my heart was racing. I don't know what would have happened if I had been on my own but my husband at the time was with me and somehow I was just able to say that I needed h/c (I wasn't on Prednisolone then). It was a terrifying experience and took me days to get over as I had tachycardia and weakness but after that crisis I knew I would need to be on a steroid for the rest of my life.

The reaction from the vaccine was immediate but it was just an episode of high blood pressure and lightheadedness which cleared after some betablocker and my normal steroid dose so a very minor event actually.

Cortisol does modulate epinephrine, and I do get anxiety when it's low, but anxiety has many causes.

I know what you mean about higher adrenaline when cortisol is low. I suffered with awful anxiety from 1979 till 2002 when I started h/c and thyroid medication and at one time I had real agoraphobia. I am pleased to say I only ever get anxiety now when my cortisol has gone too low which happens sometimes at night and will wake me up and/or stop me getting off to sleep but this doesn't happen very often thankfully. I could never understand why I had such bad anxiety in the past but I am pretty sure I was too low on cortisol from 1979 onwards.

It's probable I had a mild case of Sheehan's Syndrome having lost 4 pints of blood in 1975 immediately after childbirth but of course nobody ever pointed this out to me until around 2005 when I saw a knowledgeable doctor. The NHS just regarded me as difficult patient.

With regard to having to take daily steroids the biggest worry of course is if one has to have an operation and I would do anything to avoid this. My body overreacts to even tiny amount of meds including a steroid. I think if they were to give me the standard dose of steroid during an operation it would kill me as my bp would go through the roof!

Pam
 

bertiedog

Senior Member
Messages
1,738
Location
South East England, UK
Few people are aware of the need to take salt tablet

Forgot to say I don't need any extra salt on Prednisolone unless its very hot and humid and I have been sweating a lot. Last summer which only had one hot period here in the UK I only ever took 1/2 of Fludro on one occasion but I do eat salted peanuts daily I should add!

Just goes to show that we are all different i suppose.

Pam
 

SWAlexander

Senior Member
Messages
1,897
On a nomal day my BP is around 110/80. After surgery I had sepsis and my BP was 196/134 and my cortisol was 1.1 and my potasium 3.
 

Crux

Senior Member
Messages
1,441
Location
USA
Ack @bertiedog and @SWAlexander ,

A crisis is a mess and can be a near death experience. In 2011, I had one. Husband called ambulance. I tried to look normal,( something weird I do ) I also had a head wound from a fall.

We thought I needed more HC , but they tested glucose and it was 120, so enough HC. The EMTs and I sat
in the entrance of our home. Suddenly I had to barf again, and as I began to ask for a bucket, I began to
pass out, seeing my bp was dropping 62/48.

In the ambulance, they hooked me up to a bag of na/cl. I noticed that the nausea subsided. Later I figured salt tablets might help stop the vomiting.

My bp used to be extremely low, then it popped up about 15 years ago.

Potassium used to drop it down, but now, calcium drops it to normal range.

Some people with adrenal insufficiency have discussed taking potassium chloride. They've commented
that it stops their nausea. I believe it's the chloride that helps because it is a part of HCl, stomach acid.
Other folks take ACV for nausea.

The HC seems to have enough mineralocorticoid activity for me except sometimes with activity or ?
Usually a salt tablet stops it.

I still don't produce cortisol either. I suspect I may have iron infiltrates (?) in the pituitary. Don't know.
 

SWAlexander

Senior Member
Messages
1,897
Crux you say: "I still don't produce cortisol either. I suspect I may have iron infiltrates (?) in the pituitary."
We never know when cortisol hits low. At one time grocery shopping, waiting in a long line and loading my goods in the car, I was extremely exhausted. Back in the car leaned my seat back and fell asleep for 40 min. in the parking lot.

Stress. Physical and emotional stress—a constant reality in our 24/7 society—drain the body of magnesium. In fact, studies show inverse relationships between serum cortisol and magnesium—the higher the magnesium, the lower the cortisol. https://www.immh.org/article-source/2016/11/17/magnesium-the-missing-link-in-mental-health

An addisonian crisis is a life-threatening situation that results in low blood pressure, low blood levels of sugar and high blood levels of potassium. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/addisons-disease/symptoms-causes/syc-20350293

Corticosteroid deficiency leads to an extreme sensitivity to insulin so that the level of sugar in the blood may fall dangerously low (hypoglycemia). The deficiency prevents the body from manufacturing carbohydrates, which are needed for cellular function, and protein, for fighting infections properly and controlling inflammation. Muscles weaken, and even the heart can become weak and unable to pump blood adequately. In addition, the blood pressure may become dangerously low.

People with Addison disease are not able to produce additional corticosteroids when they are stressed. They therefore are susceptible to serious symptoms and complications when confronted with illness, extreme fatigue, severe injury, surgery, or, possibly, severe psychologic stress.

In Addison disease, the pituitary gland produces more corticotropin (also known as adrenocorticotropic hormone or ACTH) in an attempt to stimulate the adrenal glands. Corticotropin also stimulates melanin production, so the skin and the lining of the mouth often develop a dark pigmentation.
https://www.msdmanuals.com/home/hor...rders/adrenal-gland-disorders/addison-disease
 

Lolinda

J'aime nager dans le froid style Wim Hof.. 🏊‍♀️🙃
Messages
420
Location
Geneva, Switzerland
Hi everybody!! I am happy to see all your responses to this thread that I started some weeks ago! I wish to ask you what are good forums / discussion groups for cortisol deficiency?
let that be here on PR or anywhere on the entire internet. Thanks!!
 

SWAlexander

Senior Member
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1,897

Crux

Senior Member
Messages
1,441
Location
USA
I joined a group for a while, wouldn't call it supportive.

If you start a thread here on PR, we'll try to offer information, I think.