posted
I am supplementing with Researched Nutritionals product Energy Multi Ples
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IgG- 31,34,39,83-93 IND IgG- 41++ Posts: 610 | From Lymeville | Registered: Nov 2010
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CherylSue
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Member # 13077
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Hmmm? I'm having an issue about cortisol myself. I still am not sure about the connection.
My LLMD wants me to take Isocort, a glandular product. I understand the new Isocort is herbal. I have used the glandular and still have a bottle of it.
It has given me energy to get through the day even at two doses of 1/2 pill. However, if I take it too many days in a row, I get anxious, and have a tendency to gain weight on it. It can cause insomnia, too.
I keep reading reports from Dr. Oz, THE POTBELLY SYNDROME, etc. that cortisol is bad for you. That's why we are to avoid stress.
My LLMD says that we need to supplement cortisol so I can fight infections and cortisol will prevent me from crashing after physical exertion.
I have my am cortisol monitored. My first test 2 years ago was 11. My last test was 18. She still encouraged me to take Isocort. I take it rarely because I'm not sure about it. I've lost 20 lbs during this relapse, and I don't want to gain weight. I find NT Factor (expensive) helpful with energy.
So, the question is, WHAT ABOUT CORTISOL? Is it good or bad? Do we sometimes need it? I don't want my adrenal glands to atropy either.
Can anyone explain this conundrum?
Posts: 1954 | From Illinois | Registered: Aug 2007
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posted
I am just wondering if the cortisol and adrenal issues are from the gland itself not working properly for whatever reason.
Or... could Lyme or Co's be responsible?
I am confused why after 5 months or so, I am having these old symptoms again when I thought my adrenals were good.
Is my treatment failing and responsible for my adrenals being hurt..
I know this is a very hard question, but I am baffled and need to figure it out. If the treatment is failing then I need to figure out the next course of action.
If the treatment is fine and my adrenals are just going...not sure how? Then I could just focus on this..
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IgG- 31,34,39,83-93 IND IgG- 41++ Posts: 610 | From Lymeville | Registered: Nov 2010
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posted
Hi Fuel, To me it sounds like your treatment is failing and your adrenals are being effected by it. If you had symptoms at bay for a while and they are coming out again and you know it is not a herx, then something is not working. Maybe a coinfection or you need to change up your abx?
Hope you can find some answers soon.
Posts: 323 | From Michigan | Registered: Sep 2006
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posted
Vitamin c is good support for when the adrenals get sluggish, and an herb called Relora really helped to normalize my cortisol levels.
Posts: 37 | From Tampa, Fl | Registered: Feb 2011
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posted
Marcie - I was thinking the same thing... we will see? I am going to start adding supps to keep the adrenals healthy.
Does anyone know if the adrenals are directly affected and how with Lyme or Co's?
Corona thanks for the valuable info. I will see if this will help.
Fuel
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IgG- 31,34,39,83-93 IND IgG- 41++ Posts: 610 | From Lymeville | Registered: Nov 2010
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James1979
Unregistered
posted
Adrenals are always directly affected by any chronic infections.
If I have time, I'll try to look through the "Insights into Lyme Disease Treatment" book today to try to pull some quotes about how Lyme affects the adrenals. It mentions adrenal support frequently in that book.
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IgG- 31,34,39,83-93 IND IgG- 41++ Posts: 610 | From Lymeville | Registered: Nov 2010
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James1979
Unregistered
posted
From the "Insights" book, quotes about adrenal fatigue: ---------------
Dr. C in MD: "I prescribe bioidentical hormone replacement to some of my patients, but I find that often, the body will make the hormones that it needs to make once its toxic load is reduced and it gets the nutritional building blocks that it needs. Some people have been sick so long that they develop adrenal exhaustion, and because of this, their thyroid malfunctions, and as a result, other systems start malfunctioning, too. I use adaptogenic herbs to stimulate their adrenals to recover, but don't treat their thyroid much until their adrenals are sufficiently healed. The adaptogenic herbal I use most often for this purpose is called Adrenal Support. Along with this herbal combination, I recommend moderately high doses (up to 1,000 mg daily) of vitamin b-5, or pantothenic acid, and if tolerated, vitamin C from non-corn derived source. I find that when patients take a combination of vitamin C, pantotehnic acid and the Adrenal Support herbs, and perform stress reduction techniques several times daily, their adrenals can recover. At that point, I will recover their thyroid. I often recommend a saturated solution of potassium iodide, which is rubbed into the forearms. Iodine also stimulates the immune system, since it's needed for the normal functioning of many white blood cells, and for stimulating the steroidal hormone receptors on cells.
Hormonal dysfunction can sometimes be the first consequence of Lyme disease and what causes patients' symptoms. It's also one reason why they accumulate toxins so easily. For such patients, supplementation with pregnenolone, low dose cortisol, estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, or DHEA may be necessary. These hormones are the ones that are most commonly out of balance in those with Lyme. Sometimes HGH, or human growth hormone, is also out of balance, but I don't typically give injections of HGH because patients can become quickly and irreversibly dependent upon this hormone, and I don't like for them to become dependent on hormones. Instead, I use the Chinese solution, which is an exract of deer antler velvet; taken sublingually, it restores growth hormone pathways. HGH is also lowered when patients sleep in rooms with too many electromagnetic frequencies, too much light or geopathic stress, so reducing these influences can also be beneficial for restoring HGH levels.
William McJeffries, in his book "Safe �uses of Cortisol", suggest that short coerces of cortisol can be helpful for restoring health. I don't advocate synthetic cortisol for my patients; however, I believe that a low dose of a true, bioidentical cortisol can give the body a bit of help. When cortisol levels are too low, the immune system is suppressed. The amount of cortisol in the body needs to be just right."
-------------------
From Dr M in M.B.A: "When stress or inflammation is present in the body, the hormones, of which cortisol is a major player, are set off balance. When people are exposed to increased chronic stress or inflammation, they then begin to develop a profile of adrenal fatigue. Cortisol is one of many hormones produced by the adrenal glands and a chronic stress environment will lead to a higher demand for this hormone than the adrenal glands are able to produce and maintain.
When determining my patients' adrenal function, I have them do a diurnal saliva cortisol test, in order to establish what their cortisol leves are at different times during the day. This information is then charted on a graph. I have found that treating them with low dose bioidentical hydrocortisone can be beneficial when given during the time of tday that their chart, or graph, shows a "dip" in their cortisol levels. In any case, the goal should always be to bring the body's cortisol levels up to normal, during the times of day when they are low. Doing so helps to balance the body's overall cortisol pattern.
The bioidentical hydrocortisone that I use in my practice contains a compounded base of vitamin C. I don't prescribe pharmaceutical cortisol because it's made with other compounds that can be harmful to patients. Also and as previously mentioned, I use only low dose, physiological levels of cortisol, as described in Jefferies' book, "Safe uses of Cortisol". Also, the cortisol that I use is very short acting with a half-life of four hours. Using this type of cortisol prevents accumulation of the medication int he body as well as any unwanted side effects.
To treat adrenal fatigue, I may also give my patients cortisol precursors, such as pregnenolone and/or DHEA, along with adrenal-supporting nutrients, so that the body can eventually make enough of its own cortisol. Licorice root, bioflavonoids and B-vitamins are amend such nutrients. Int he end, however, to adequately treat adrenal fatigue, I must look at its underlying cause, which includes all of the factors that I describe in the Functional Medicine Matrix. The underlying cause isn't always Lyme disease."
------------- From Dr. M, N.D.: "I advocate a lot of adrenal and thyroid support for my patients. To help determine what their hormonal needs are, I run a saliva cortisol test, which measures adrenal function. Along with that, I run blood tests for the thyroid. I find that many of my patients have thyroid hormone test results that fall within the "low-normal" range, which actually means that they have sub-clinical thyroid hormone deficiencies. To make up for such deficiencies, people often think that they must supplement their thyroid with either synthetic thyroid hormone or Armour (which is sourced from pigs), but they can also take bioidentical thyroid hormone, which mimics human thyroid hormone exactly and is my preferred method of supplementation. Adding iodine, zinc and selenium to the diet - nutrients needed by the thyroid gland to produce thyroid hormone - is sufficient for giving some patients the boost that they need.
I also believe that if I give my patients supplements for their thyroid without supporting their adrenals, it's akin to putting one foot on the gas pedal of a car while the hand brake is still on. This is because thyroid supplementation speeds up the body's metabolism but when the adrenal glands are weak, the body doesn't have the constitutional strength to support this accelerated metabolism. So treating the thyroid alone can wear the adrenals out even more.
For that reason, and because most of my patients suffer from adrenal depletion, I also give them a lot of nutrition and natural support for their adrenals, such as herbs ashwagandha, rhodiola and Cordyceps, and nutrients such as vitamins b5 and b6. I also recommend licorice if their cortisol levels are low and their adrenal glands need re-building, as long as they are not hypertensive or estrogen dominant, as licorice use is contraindicated in these conditions. I don't recommend a lot of glandular formulas because I don't believe that they are all that natural for the body, but that is just my preference. If my patients have really low cortisol, I may prescribe them hydrocortisone for a short period, but I avoid doing this whenever possible.
In addition, I recommend DHEA and pregnenolone supplementation to support the adrenals, both of which can be quite effective. It's important to ensure that the body's ratios of cortisol to DHEA are balanced, because DHEA protects against some of the catabolic effects of cortisol. Cortisol is, in a broad sense, a catabolic hormone, so when patients are deficient in DHEA, their cortisol levels can get out of control. But cortisol is a very important hormone that regulates blood sugar metabolism, immune function and detoxification, as well as other functions, and when the body's levels of this hormone are out of whack, then the reproductive and other hormones are generally out of whack, too. Pregnenolone is the "grandmother" hormone that the adrenals use to make other hormones, so if the body has a high demand for cortisol due to a chronic stress response,then it needs more pregnenolone to supply that cortisol. This then leaves less pregenolone for the production of other hormones such as estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. For this reason, I sometimes prescribe bioidentical hormones to my patients to make up for any hormonal deficiencies. When women take bioidentical progesterone during the second half of their menstrual cycle, it can counter a lot of their PMS symptoms and even reduce the flares that they get around this time of the month. Testosterone gel can help both men and women to maintain strength, lean muscle mass, energy and libido."
-------- From Dr. K in Germany: "It's also important for me to determine my patients' adrenal gland function, because the success of any treatment regimen depends upon the adrenal glands working properly. If adrenal function is low, and cortisol levels are low, then as a practitioner, I will not succeed in anything that I do for my patients until I can improve the functioning of their adrenals.
Symptoms of adrenal fatigue include extremem fatigue, depression, insomnia or oversleeping; for example, having to sleep for 12 or 15 hours, or not being able to sleep soundly at all. Also, those with adrenal fatigue tend to catch every infection around, are often underweight and lack muscle strength. They may also have a pale complexion. The exhaustion in those with adrenal fatigue can be so profound that they get what is called "burnout syndrome", which means that they lose complete interest in their social obligations and life. Having to call people or get things done by a certain time becomes overwhelming for them. They are basically able to sit or lie around, and are not able to do much else. Their tolerance to stress, noise or fragrances is also low.
So therapy for Borrelia and other conditions may not be effective unless the adrenals are adequately supported, because when the adrenals are weak, the body simply won't respond to treatments. This I learned after treating many patients, because there were some for whom the LTT test would not turn negative, even after they had received multiple photon treatments for Borrelia, and I would ask myself, "What's stopping us here?". After doing a few tests, I learned that poor adrenal function was what was hindering these people's healing, and I've seen this scenario happen quite a few times ever since.
In addition to the adrenals, thyroid function must also be carefully tested and treated, when necessary. Triiodothyronine, T-3, as well as TSH, are among the tests that I do to determine patients' thyroid function. If I suspect that they have autoimmune disease, as well s high levels of nitric stress (nitric oxide and peroxynitrite) in their urine, then it may also be necessary to test them for thyroid antibodies.
In summary, when the adrenal and thyroid glands aren't functioning properly, it's very difficult for patients to heal, and I often see low thyroid and adrenal function in those with Lyme disease.
In general, it's good for practitioners to look at the function of all their patients' hormones when treating them, because the hormonal system functions by a reverse feedback system. The implication of this is that if practitioners "push" one gland without addressing the others, then they may seriously disturb homeostasis in their patients' bodies.
I treat my patients' adrenals with a glandular formula that also contains licorice, Siberian and Korean ginseng, vitamin B5 and other micro-nutrients.
Another supplement that I recommend which is beneficial for helping the adrenal glands to recover is omega-3 fatty acids. People with Lyme should consume - or rather, drown their bodies in this stuff! Omega-3 fatty acids are also important for recovery of the neurological system, and especially the myelin sheath that covers the nerves, as well as for the body's cell walls. Also, omega-3 fatty acids help the body to get rid of borrelia neurotoxins. For this reason, I recommend high dose omega-3 fatty acids to my patients, as part of the baseline of their therapy. And when I say "high dose" that might mean 3-5 tablespoons of linseed oil, along with two 3,000 mg doses of omega-3 fish oil per day.
For treatment of the thyroid, I might give my patients selenium, if their test results show that they are deficient in this mineral. Because zinc supports the basic building blocks of thyroid hormone, I might also recommend zinc supplementation. If the thyroid requires more support than this, then I might ask a medical doctor for further advice and support, which may include a prescription for thyroid medication that contains active T3 and T4 hormones.
Another hormone I test and treat i my patients is DHEA. When I look at their DHEA and cortisol lab test results, then I can determine to what degree they are stressed or exhausted. It sometimes happens that before patients' cortisol levels drop (as a result of stress), their DHEA levels go up. This scenario occurs when the body is under constant stress, whether that stress comes from one's job, disease or environment. If this stress continues, however, then at some point, the body's DHEA levels will also eventually drop, so that both cortisol and DHEA levels become low. whenever I see this scenario in my patients, I recommend that they request a DHEA prescription from their primary care physician, since in Germany, only physicians are able to prescribe this hormone.
Adrenal problems are my patents' greatest obstacle to healing, and problems with other hormones or glands are the next greatest.
posted
James - this is some of the best info I have ever read on adrenals!
I think I may be on to something as well as others and their symptoms..
Is this one of the better books you have read?
Also, if this is a book, did you have to scan to a file and copy paste?
Thanks so much I copied all of it to a pdf! Fuel
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IgG- 31,34,39,83-93 IND IgG- 41++ Posts: 610 | From Lymeville | Registered: Nov 2010
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James1979
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Yeah, this is one of the best health books I've read. It's even good for non-Lyme patients, because it basically is an interview of 13 doctors about their preferred methods for making chronically-ill patients healthy.
I typed it all by hand. I can do about 100 words/minute, but I make mistakes!
Thanks so much for that information. It seems like healthy adrenals are almost the core in treatment of all disorders.
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IgG- 31,34,39,83-93 IND IgG- 41++ Posts: 610 | From Lymeville | Registered: Nov 2010
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James1979
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Yeah, that's what a chiro friend of mine just told me last week. He said that for every chronic illness, the adrenals and thymus should be treated first.
I'm not too familiar with the thymus one, and I don't hear about it frequently, but I do know that I got cured of HPV many years ago by taking natural thymus-booster pills. (And all the "regular" doctors said that there was no cure!)
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