Psycho-Babble Medication Thread 1013191

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Adrenal Fatigue - What works

Posted by uncouth on March 15, 2012, at 20:40:21

I have bad adrenal fatigue. WHat works? WHat doesn't? I'm getting my cortisol tests tomorrow but it's basically for sure adrenal fatigue, severe sleepiness and fatigue by afternoon, but can't sleep well at all at night and activated and HUNGRY thoruhogut the night. NO sleep med works, the only way i can initiate sleep is some saphris. Help!

 

Re: Adrenal Fatigue - What works » uncouth

Posted by Phillipa on March 16, 2012, at 0:04:54

In reply to Adrenal Fatigue - What works, posted by uncouth on March 15, 2012, at 20:40:21

Seriously wait for test results. As I ended up having three. First single blood draw led to 24 hour urine cortisol which then led to dexamethasone challenge test and I cam out normal? Phillipa

 

Re: Adrenal Fatigue - What works

Posted by bleauberry on March 16, 2012, at 5:25:25

In reply to Adrenal Fatigue - What works, posted by uncouth on March 15, 2012, at 20:40:21

What kind of cortisol test? If it isn't a 4-sample within 24 hour test it won't be useful. A single snapshot in time is not useful or meaningful.

Adrenal fatigue takes time and strategy to repair. The base layer needs to be diet....low sugars, low caffeine, heavy on colors (veggies), light on fruits best are berries, moderate proteins, lean meats, purified water, trying gluten free just to see, trying dairy free just to see. This takes months not weeks, and should actually be a lifetime change.

Several good herbs to choose from or combine. Eulethero, rhodiola rosea, ashwaghanda. Maca is also useful because it imipacts the pituitary gland which controls the adrenal gland. These could be a bit stimulating at first, but within a few days calming. Start at whatever lowest dose feels ok without probs.

You gotta remove as many stresses from your life as possible, and take on whatever methods you need to unwind from ones you can't control.

A typical healing time period with above strategies is 1 to 2 years. It took a long time to do the damage and takes time to repair.

Exercise....very moderate or light. Do not do heavy exertion or you will pay the price.

The herbs should help sleep improve a lot as well as increase daytime endurance. But again....time. Don't let short term glitches or whatever cause frustration. Gotta stick with the strategy for the long haul.

In worst cases you can take low dose hydrocortisone (2.5mg-20mg). Isocort is a decent supplement. Other adrenal supplements can actually be hurtful because they tend to stimulate the adrenals even more, which is not what you want....they need rest and repair...but an adrenal cortex supplement is worth trying just to see....could be good or could be not so good, only way to know is to try.

 

Re: Adrenal Fatigue - What works

Posted by creepy on March 16, 2012, at 6:29:12

In reply to Adrenal Fatigue - What works, posted by uncouth on March 15, 2012, at 20:40:21

Adrenal fatigue isnt really a medical diagnosis.. some docs will use it, but for the most part it seems to be people trying to sell you vitamins. =(
Ever try rhodiola rosea? I had some good results with that for awhile. Felt a little weird but had energy. Licorize root also has some effect on cortisol that -may- be beneficial.
Desipramine was good on the pain and fatigue but it raises anxiety for me. sometimes when youre exhausted its worth the trade.
If you need the dopamine blockade in the AAP's they may be helpful for fatigue. Some people seem to respond to serotonin receptor antagonism rather than reuptake pump inhibition. theres a couple other drugs with some of these functions but the big one seems to be nefazodone. Also helps with sleep so maybe you could get it as an add-on for that? see what else it does for you?
I also got some interesting results from the antibiotic doxycycline.

 

Re: Adrenal Fatigue - What works

Posted by uncouth on March 16, 2012, at 12:03:40

In reply to Re: Adrenal Fatigue - What works, posted by bleauberry on March 16, 2012, at 5:25:25

thanks blueberry, i am working on some of these. i am drinking green smoothies, lots of colorful vegetables, but i will go easy on fruits. i reduced caffeine significantly to just one half-caf cup in the morning, none in the afternoon. unfortunately i am still on vyvanse and d-phenylalanine which is stimulating. i also just slipped into a depression as a result of a rejection and not working which is really difficult to deal with as well.

anyway, i have been taking one capsule of sibergin eleuthero per day, i don't feel anything on it anymore burt man the first few doses i really felt a calming and de-stress effect. i was on rhodiola for like 2 years, so if anything that didn't' counteract adrenal problems and may have made it worse. i went off of it 2 months ago, maybe i should go back on? been on ashwaganda in the past but not recently. seeing doctor today so we will see what he says.

if i'm having trouble sleeping maybe do you think i should try takin gan eleuthero at night too?

oh and how will i pay the price of heavy exercise? i may have overexerted myself with exercise starting a few months ago, but its the only thing that really helped with my mood, so i kept pushing, but definitely felt the crash i guess.

what about DHEA, pregnenalone?

 

Re: Adrenal Fatigue - What works » uncouth

Posted by SLS on March 16, 2012, at 12:23:41

In reply to Adrenal Fatigue - What works, posted by uncouth on March 15, 2012, at 20:40:21

> I have bad adrenal fatigue.

How do you know?

What you describe can be explained by other conditions. How does "adrenal fatigue" differ from "adrenal insufficiency"?


- Scott

 

Re: Adrenal Fatigue - What works

Posted by bleauberry on March 16, 2012, at 16:43:53

In reply to Re: Adrenal Fatigue - What works » uncouth, posted by SLS on March 16, 2012, at 12:23:41

Adrenal fatigue is widely accepted among non-mainstream MDs and integrative MDs. Most mainstream MDs are not up to speed on it yet. Most of us see mainstream MDs.

The bigger question in adrenal fatigue is what happened? Why did the works break down? That way we can prevent it going forward.

Adrenal fatigue is a broad term. It could actually be a pituitary problem instead sometimes, sending inappropriate instructions to the adrenal glands, and of course the symptoms mirror at least a half dozen other common chronic medical conditions.

But it is easy to diagnose because with 4 samples of urine or blood cortisol throughout a 24 period we can see where our cortisol compares to a general population sample. Since cortisol follows a hills-and-valleys pattern over 24 hours on a graph we can see with some detail where the actual difficulty is.

For example, is the entire curve in the low red zone? Is the entire curve sky high? Is it really low during the day and then spikes off the chart before waking up? This not only helps the diagnosis but helps in deciding treatment approaches.

I think in general some people tend to underestimate the adrenal glands and their extremely important function in so many biological systems in the body. I mean, if the adrenal department is kind of messed up, a whole bunch of other stuff will be too....sleep, mood, energy, immune system, aging.

 

Re: Adrenal Fatigue - What works

Posted by alchemy on March 20, 2012, at 22:50:30

In reply to Adrenal Fatigue - What works, posted by uncouth on March 15, 2012, at 20:40:21

I read about trying a pea-sized dab of hydrocortisone cream, wrap it in toilet paper and swallow. This was for the days that u needed an extra burst and to not do it too often.
I tried it and just got sleepy. What's up with that?

 

Re: Adrenal Fatigue - What works » alchemy

Posted by Phillipa on March 21, 2012, at 18:52:14

In reply to Re: Adrenal Fatigue - What works, posted by alchemy on March 20, 2012, at 22:50:30

I don't think the body can digest paper not sure but know hair. I've heard models use paper to fill up their stomachs to lose weight? I don't think this is a good idea Phillipa


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