It's very unlikely for most people to recover from adrenal issues without licorice root extract, imho. I sat and did almost literally nothing for years, it didn't make one bit of difference. All my cortisol tests showed the same level of dysfunction. If anything, the levels continued to decline, as activity is basically unavoidable as long as you are still ambulatory.
After my severe crash last fall, I was in bed and unable to walk or talk for 6-7 weeks, with still no noticeable improvement even after that amount of time. I began taking licorice root extract, and I started recovering and was out of bed after only a day or two.
After only a few weeks on the licorice, my cortisol tests now showed for the first time in years that the afternoon cortisol was back in 'normal' range, and morning cortisol was up a good amount, also. That's because the effects of licorice take 3 hours to manifest fully, and I was taking it around 10-11am. Now that I have adjusted to 7-8am, i'm sure the AM is back close to normal range. My thyroid numbers, which had been out of range for years, with TSH 18 and T4 declining, all completely normalized.
Sometimes you have to keep repeating something over and over for people to 'hear' it, so I'll repeat it again: Anyone who has ME/CFS-type adrenal issues (i.e., not real Addison's or another identifiable organic cause of adrenal issues, e.g., tumor), should look into taking licorice root extract, and probably adrenal cortext extract of some kind if they can. I react badly to all forms of adrenal cortex extract, but there is one brand I found that I can take. So sometimes it takes some experimentation to find something that works. But most people are not going to progress very far without licorice, imho.
Clymer Healing center has licorice root extract and will do salivary cortisol testing. This isn't an advertisement for Clymer - I just know of nowhere else to get the licorice reliably and at a fair price ($16/100grams). If someone knows where to get it even cheaper or better quality, please let me know. There are probably other places to get the saliva test, they're not really hard to get.
Everyone is different, and everyone needs different things. Sometimes the same person needs different things at different times. But it's a good bet that licorice root extract (not the whole root) can make a difference in many if not most people with adrenal fatigue. Suffice to say that if you have CFS adrenal issues and you don't even try licorice then you are doing yourself a major disservice.
Currently I am investigating ways to reset the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis to fix the actual root of the problem (no pun intended), but these measures are very experimental at this point - very counterintuitive, very risky - and are not yet proved. Eventually, however, there might be a better option for adrenal CFS issues than just these band-aid measures of licorice, adrenal cortext, cortef, etc., only to crash back down again with a little bit of activity. But until then, the licorice root extract, possibly with ACE and other substances tailored to the individual case (b-vitamins, vit. d, vit. c, proper mineral balance, salt, chiropractic/acupuncture, adaptogenic herbs, etc.), appears to be the best chance of at least some recovery. Good luck.
After my severe crash last fall, I was in bed and unable to walk or talk for 6-7 weeks, with still no noticeable improvement even after that amount of time. I began taking licorice root extract, and I started recovering and was out of bed after only a day or two.
After only a few weeks on the licorice, my cortisol tests now showed for the first time in years that the afternoon cortisol was back in 'normal' range, and morning cortisol was up a good amount, also. That's because the effects of licorice take 3 hours to manifest fully, and I was taking it around 10-11am. Now that I have adjusted to 7-8am, i'm sure the AM is back close to normal range. My thyroid numbers, which had been out of range for years, with TSH 18 and T4 declining, all completely normalized.
Sometimes you have to keep repeating something over and over for people to 'hear' it, so I'll repeat it again: Anyone who has ME/CFS-type adrenal issues (i.e., not real Addison's or another identifiable organic cause of adrenal issues, e.g., tumor), should look into taking licorice root extract, and probably adrenal cortext extract of some kind if they can. I react badly to all forms of adrenal cortex extract, but there is one brand I found that I can take. So sometimes it takes some experimentation to find something that works. But most people are not going to progress very far without licorice, imho.
Clymer Healing center has licorice root extract and will do salivary cortisol testing. This isn't an advertisement for Clymer - I just know of nowhere else to get the licorice reliably and at a fair price ($16/100grams). If someone knows where to get it even cheaper or better quality, please let me know. There are probably other places to get the saliva test, they're not really hard to get.
Everyone is different, and everyone needs different things. Sometimes the same person needs different things at different times. But it's a good bet that licorice root extract (not the whole root) can make a difference in many if not most people with adrenal fatigue. Suffice to say that if you have CFS adrenal issues and you don't even try licorice then you are doing yourself a major disservice.
Currently I am investigating ways to reset the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis to fix the actual root of the problem (no pun intended), but these measures are very experimental at this point - very counterintuitive, very risky - and are not yet proved. Eventually, however, there might be a better option for adrenal CFS issues than just these band-aid measures of licorice, adrenal cortext, cortef, etc., only to crash back down again with a little bit of activity. But until then, the licorice root extract, possibly with ACE and other substances tailored to the individual case (b-vitamins, vit. d, vit. c, proper mineral balance, salt, chiropractic/acupuncture, adaptogenic herbs, etc.), appears to be the best chance of at least some recovery. Good luck.