I was talking to someone the other day and they said they used Adrenal Rebuilders. Can that work for us?
They suggested Adrenal rebuild by Dr.Wilson which is over the counter .Would that help me ? I am trying to go from 6 to 5 1/2 and have extreme fatigue.
Hi
I really don’t know, but I wouldn’t be inclined to use anything without medical advice.
I found I had fatigue between the levels of 6mg down to 3mg - but got there eventually.
If it gets really bad then you need to discuss with doctor, but I doubt they do much until you get below 5mg.
In the meantime have a read of this - not specifically related to PMR:GCA but long term steroid use -
healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk...
Thanks , I will read your link
DorsetLady, thank you for the excellent article. You’re always providing such helpful advice. It’s very much appreciated every time.
There are no such supplements that have been shown in scientific studies to have any clinical effect - the only thing they are likely to rebuild is the sales company's - profits!! Adrenal fatigue - what these supplements are supposedly going to help isn't a real illness.
sciencebasedmedicine.org/ad...
Adrenal insufficiency, on the other hand, is a real condtion and we often have it as we get to lower doses of pred and the adrenal glands are required to take up their responsibility and produce cortisol as well. The way to encourage that is to have less pred available so the body's control system gets up to speed again. Adding in minced up pigs glands (which is basically what this supplement is) to your diet isn't going to do that - it may be dairy-free, gluten-free and heaven knows what else-free but it isn't vegetarian.
hormone.org/diseases-and-co...
and scroll down to the heading "Are treatments for adrenal fatigue helpful or harmful?"
These supplements are not monitored or tested in any way - there could be anything in them (and, depending on the country of origi, often are). They might possibly supplement adrenal function - but they won't necessarily encourage the adrenal function to return - in fact, they may do the opposire and, in the worst case scenario they point out:
"If you take adrenal hormone supplements when you don’t need them, your adrenal glands may stop working and become unable to make the hormones you need when you are under physical stress. When these supplements are stopped, a person's adrenal glands can remain “asleep” for months. People with this problem may be in danger of developing a life-threatening condition called adrenal crisis."
Exactly what you are wanting to avoid.
Thank you, I will stay away from the supplements.This is why I love this site!
I can vouch for the adrenals kicking in eventually, though I believe in some people it doesn't ever happen. I think I was 3mg when it finally happened after so long with debilitating fatigue. What a relief that was. I still have to take things quietly though as I don't want a flare up if I can possibly help it.
I just LOVE you PMRpro. You are a font of wisdom and knowledge. I am a sucker for almost anything ESPECIALLY as seen on TV so I shall always turn to you!
Add scepticism to the fountain! I am the opposite - if it is on TV, it probably NEEDS the advertising for them to sell ...
My fellow cynic😋😂😂
70plus pounds for 90 capsules Dr Wilson ???!?!?
This is the content of most so called adrenal supports..
Proprietary Blend
Porcine glandulars (Processed to Remove Hormones) (Gonad, Adrenal Cortex, Hypothalamus, Anterior Pituitary), Calcium Glycerophosphate, Inositol910 mg‡
‡Daily Value not established
In short most of the stuff they sweep off the abatoir floor. I am biased, because I am veggie, but these make me feel particularly unwell just thinking of the glands, brains and balls!😜
I am at 6mg and reckon adrenals will Kick in when they want to. Or not.
I'm not veggie - turned my stomach too!! You might as well eat a decent butcher's haggis!
There are some lovely Veggie Haggis, having Veggie friends I tried them before offering them to my friends. Lovely and I have two sitting in the freezer along with the non-veggie. Yummy.................
Yes they are nice.
Mmmm - but the point is, you couldn't make a veggie adrenal supplement because they depend on having bits of offal tissue to provide the so-called boost ...
Yup, but I was brought up on - yes you guessed it offal..........war and rationing.
I was astounded that there was any such thing as an 'adrenal supplement' 🤔 and then even I would not eat some of those contents.
There is offal and offal ...
In the words of Kenneth Williams "Oh you are awful".
😊🤔😉😄
Thank you, I will never use that since you gave me the information! I will just wait for the adrenals to kick in
I am afraid it's one of the few where there never seems to be a veggie version 🤣🤣🤣
Can't imagine why 
Daddy, why are the things in this store called “wellness supplements”?
That’s because they don’t work. If they really worked, they’d be called “medicines”.
Love it!!😂😂😂😂
Urgh!!! Well if that hasn't put everybody off wasting their money I don't know what will !😨
I told my doctor how tired I seemed to be all the time and she did what she called the standard tests for usual causes of fatigue and it turned out my iron levels were down again, so back to the iron supplement (liquid iron by Floradix). Other tests all came out normal, whatever they were, I forget now, but they included thyroid and electrolytes.
When I got to 4mg per day, I started the method mentioned in the linked paper "Reducing Steroids while on a Low Dose & Activating the Adrenal Glands By Marian Mesker", of taking Pred every other day.
It has worked for me, fatigue vastly improved.
I am now on 2.5 eod just starting to introduce 2.
will you link the paper. Whenever I reduce I have a week of exhaustion I prefer to skip!
It's the link on the first reply from Dorset lady above.
I,also, am on 6mg and would like to go lower. However, my body, especially my legs, become extremely tired after I am out of bed for a few hours. I wish I knew something which would alleviate this feeling, as I would like to go down to 5.5mg soon.
Unfortunately only time will get the adrenals working again. Have a look at my link in my first reply to this post.
But are you sure it’s all down to adrenals and you haven’t gone below the level of Pred you need?
I might have, I stayed on 6 because I keep having problems going from 6 to 5 1/2.I wish they made 1/2 mg tablets. I think I am not getting the right dosage when I cut them. I may go back to 6 and stay there for another month.
Whether you are getting just under or just over a half of a tablet is immaterial - the only important thing is that you are getting less in the context of a taper. If you take 0.48 of a tablet today and the other "half", 0.52 of the tablet it still adds up to 1 over the 2 days.
If you struggle going to 5 1/2 then you definitely need 6mg. But you might be better with just a little bit more.
As PMRpro says 6 may be “your” level at the moment. Maybe leave it for a few more weeks and then try again.
A a matter of interest are you trying a slow taper - many available as well as link below - or reducing “overnight” - if latter that may be the problem.
healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk...
Thanks, yes I have been on the 5 week taper.What is reducing overnight?I will look at the link for the simple taper.
Overnight....dropping from 10mg to 9mg the next day onward with no taper.
Looked for simple taper and couldn’t find it in search
The search on here is useless!
DL'S simple taper is in the pinned posts but have linked it. The search facility is indeed rubbish.
healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk...
Thank you, beat me to to it, been out for lunch! By the seaside..⛱☀️👒..... it’s a hard life but somebody’s got to take one for the team!
Lovely. Lunch by the seaside one of my faves.
DorsetLady's link gives a recommendation for taking cod liver oil, which doesn't seem too drastic if you can tolerate the flavour. Apart from benefits to the adrenal cortex, a teaspoonful a day might at least provide some protection from other complaints such as osteoarthritis. A colleague reckons that the pills aren't as effective as the liquid. However, I find oily fish nicer!
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