hiker53
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 6046
posted
Saw the endocrinologist and my thyroid is normal as is my cortisol and ACTH, so he did not recommend giving me cortisol. A urine test showed low aldosterone, but normal electrolytes and a blood test showed normal electrolytes, so the endocrinologist decided no more tests were needed and I should not do the cortisol and flurocortisol recommended by the LLMD.
He said DHEA may or may not help? Has anyone tried it and if so, any positive results?
Any negative side effects? Thanks. Hiker53
-------------------- Hiker53
"God is light. In Him there is no darkness." 1John 1:5 Posts: 8914 | From Illinois | Registered: Aug 2004
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posted
I took it for a year or so. Never could tell any difference.
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96223 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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tdtid
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 10276
posted
BEFORE my lyme diagnoisis, I was going to all sorts of alternative type doctors to figure out what may be wrong when all the specialists just kept sending me in circles with their diagnosis's.
While seeing one of the doctors, they felt I would benefit from DHEA. May have been from a spit test, but there were so many that I have a fuzzzy memory of so much from back then.
In any case, for me PERSONALLY, I never noticed it to do anything. But that does not mean it isn't good for others. Maybe if I had the root of my problem and had used it as a compliment to lyme treatment it would have responded differently.
But using it to try to make a difference in my sysmptoms back then, came up as a bust. Do let us know how it works for you though.
Cathy
-------------------- "To Dream The Impossible Dream" Man of La Mancha Posts: 2638 | From New Hampshire | Registered: Oct 2006
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lymednva
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9098
posted
my dhea levels did go up from being on supplements.
my endo only has is own agenda and it certainly doesn't include having someone else invade his so-called turf.
while i was on cortef, and i may be going back on it, after i do testing, he repeatedly told me there was no such thing as adrenal fatigue.
well, at least i wasn't relying on him for the rx!
-------------------- Lymednva Posts: 2407 | From over the river and through the woods | Registered: Apr 2006
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daise
Unregistered
posted
Hi hiker,
Was your thyroid TSH in the range of .3 - 3? If it's higher than 3, that's diagnostic for hypothyroidism, no matter what the testing lab's range is.
If it were me, I'd go with what my LLMD says. But of course, that's for you to decide (do you trust your LLMD?)
DHEA is available as a supplement, however, the brands differ wildly in the amount of DHEA actually in the bottle. Some have way more than the bottle says, some way less.
Doctors who know say that you should never take DHEA unless you have been found to need it, by testing. Blood or saliva? I can't remember.
Lymednva,
Ya--most endo's claim there is no adrenal fatigue, that there is only Addison's (very low cortisol) way over on one side of the pole, and way over on the other side of the pole is Cushing's disease (very high cortisol.)
They claim there can be nothing in between.
That's where a saliva test (from a good company--not one of those kits from a store) comes to the rescue.
hiker53
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 6046
posted
Daisy,
My TSH was 1.3 and all other thyroid tests were normal, as was the ACTH stimulation test and electrolyte tests.
Right now I do not trust my LLMD as much as I did before. He prescribed 6 hormones for me on the basis of one urine test and an antibiotic that would interfere with 2 of the hormones he prescribed. I know a lot of people who have been helped by this LLMD, but so far I have made no progress in the 4 years I have seen him.
He is 7 hours away as is the one Byron is seeing. I may go see her this fall.
Hiker53
-------------------- Hiker53
"God is light. In Him there is no darkness." 1John 1:5 Posts: 8914 | From Illinois | Registered: Aug 2004
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posted
Yes, but only slightly and only when I get tested for it regularly so that I take what I need.
Years ago I used it in a very large dose as per an article I read. The result was that I was like an energizer bunny for a little while - I couldn't sit still even though I was exhausted. That lasted for a very short time and then I went into a gigunda relapse.
So I would do it with a doctor's guidance because I think we tend to really react strongly to all medicines. Ellen
--------------------
Posts: 819 | From New York, NY | Registered: Oct 2001
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Vermont_Lymie
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9780
posted
I tried DHEA once, and it made me feel awful!
What has helped my fatigue is methyl B-12 (sublingual), Siberian Ginseng, a good overall B-vitamin, and two years of antibiotics!!!
I tried NADH 2.5 mg for a while, and that helps sometime. Nothing helps as much as a good night of sleep.
Posts: 2557 | From home | Registered: Aug 2006
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daise
Unregistered
posted
Hi everyone,
Vermont Lymie said: "Nothing helps as much as a good night of sleep."
Oh ya! It definately helps.
New Chapter Cordyceps, after taken for awhile, and according to Dr. B, brings energy. It helped me.
But if you're taking flagyl, it can't be used in the tincture form that New Chapter makes, as that contains alcohol. It does come in capsules.
I took panax ginseng for awhile to help heal my adrenals. In my mind, that helped support me all around.
All of that (and more) I think helped me overall. But most of all antibiotics!
Bugg
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 8095
posted
Hi there--
I had to take 5 mg a day of DHEA because it was low. It helped with my fatigue and muscle pain but not markedly. It's kind of a precurser to supporting your adrenals. It's a hormone, as mentioned above, so I would not take it without doc supervision.
It's also used by some who have a very low libido to try to "kickstart" the sex hormones. As soon as my DHEA levels regulate, I'm getting off of it...I just am nervous about the long-term affects of taking "hormones"....especially being a female...
Posts: 1155 | From Southeast | Registered: Oct 2005
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aklnwlf
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 5960
posted
Hi Hiker,
I've taken DHEA for about 3 years. Even with 50 mg supplementation mine was still in the low normal range.
This was determined by saliva tests.
All my hormones are shot including Cortisol.
What I learned in the past few months thru 'The Lyme Disease Solution' book by Dr. S. is that cortisol replacement plays an important role in recovery.
If you're low in Cortisol using either topical or oral natural hormone supplements will convert to Cortisol.
So in my case, being low in everything, including Cortisol, my DHEA supplementation even at 50 mg. a day when to producing Cortisol.
I'm also low in HGH. I'm seeing an endocrinologist to get everything straightened out.
I hope this helps.
-------------------- Do not take this as medical advice. This comment is based on opinion and personal experience only.
Alaska Lone Wolf Posts: 6164 | From Columbus, GA | Registered: Jul 2004
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