Hi
@linusbert -- Yes, you understood it correctly. Some of the misconceptions you've had are very similar to the ones Dr. William Jeffries--who wrote the definitive book on low-dose hydrocortisone therapy--was constantly dealing with while doing his research. To give you a brief review of Jeffries:
He spent I think about 30 years researching
low-dose hydrocortisone therapy. I believe he started his research in the 1950's. It was a time shortly after cortisone was discovered, and some amazingly positive things were happening for people who took fairly large doses of it.
But it soon became apparent there were serious "side effects" or ramifications from taking it for extended periods of time, because the doses they were giving were much more than the body normally makes in a single day. This lead to the adrenal glands not producing any cortisol at all, with its dire consequences. Understandably, this therapy soon fell out of favor with mainstream medicine.
Enter William Jeffries, who devoted his entire career to researching
low-dose hydrocortisone therapy, which advocates doses that are less than replacement, so the adrenal glands never shut down their own production. No matter how hard he tried, Jeffries could not break through the mindset that had become established that steriods were not good for you. And those misconceptions continue to this day, more than a half century later.
I spent many hours reading and pouring over William Jeffries' book "Safe Doses of Cortisol" before I undertook my own low-dose hydrocortisone experiment. After reading it 2-3 times, I felt comfortable enough to overcome my own misconceptions (and apprehensions) about taking it.
The effects for me were immediate and positive, and have been ever since, more than 25 years later. I haven't read the book in a while, but I just did a query on ChatGP, and came up with the following. I thought I'd remembered he had found success using his therapy for rheumatoid arthritis, and sure enough, there it is listed in the compilation below. I believe he devoted an entire chapter in his book to the various health issues he had great success treating.
Interestingly, after he retired, he started experiencing some of the health issues he'd studied all his life. He was able to readily diagnose himself with adrenal insufficiency, and upon starting to take low doses of hydrocortisone, his health issues improved.
His book and his research changed the course of my life. Below is the ChatGP exchange.
In William Jeffries' book "Safe Doses of Cortisol", what were the primary health issues that were benefitted by low-dose hydrocortisone therapy?
In William McK. Jefferies' book "Safe Uses of Cortisol", the author argues that physiologic doses of cortisol can offer significant improvements for a wide range of health conditions without the dangerous side effects associated with higher doses
1. The primary health issues that were reported to benefit from low-dose hydrocortisone therapy include:
- Addison's disease
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Female fertility problems
- Autoimmune disorders
- Allergies
- Common cold
- Influenza
- Shingles
- Mononucleosis
- Hypoglycemia
- Chronic fatigue syndrome
Jefferies provides numerous case studies from his own clinical practice to support these claims
1. Additionally, a randomized controlled trial mentioned in the search results showed that low-dose hydrocortisone treatment resulted in modest but statistically significant improvements in fatigue and reduced disability in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome
24.
It's important to note that while Jefferies had extensive clinical experience using cortisol safely, he also called for more controlled research to be conducted on its less widely accepted uses
1.
