Help needed to understand low night cortisol. - Thyroid UK

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Help needed to understand low night cortisol.

Daisylain profile image
20 Replies

Hello. I am just looking for any thoughts or feedback. My free t 4 is very low with low normal tsh. My ferretin is very low no matter how many years or iron supplements and I eat organic red meat daily. My b12 is low. D3 low. My doctor thinks pituitary issue and I am waiting for an MRI. It could take a year. In the mean time I feel so awful. I am absolutely crashing into exhaustion. Today my saliva cortisol came back. I didn't speak with the doctor but had them email results. Morning was high normal. Noon was normal. Evening was low normal. Night was extremely low, almost not existant. Any thyroid makes me feel really speedy and sick. Though I am diagnosed hypothyroid. I also am celiac but very gluten free for 15 years. I'm not sure how to heal or where to start while waiting for MRI.

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Daisylain profile image
Daisylain
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bluebug profile image
bluebug

Can you post your results with ranges? How have you tried to increase your vitamin b12 and vitamin D levels? How long did you give to try and increase them and what dose of supplements did you take?

Daisylain profile image
Daisylain

Hello. My cortisol test is Am: 3.76 range 1.8-3.8. Noon: .98 range .3-1.4 evening: .32 range .1-1.1. Night .02 range .1- .8

Daisylain profile image
Daisylain

B12 I am taking a pharmacy grade prescription, but only for a month so far. D3 I was taking 10,000 a day for 6 months, now taking 12000 a day. Iron I have been taking Fermax for years, and starting iv therapy in hospital, 1x week for 5 weeks.

bluebug profile image
bluebug in reply toDaisylain

With B12 is it lozenges, injections or tablets? If you have low stomach acid your level won't raise with tablets and as you have absorption issues I doubt it will work.

If you have celiac then it's not surprising iron tablets haven't worked as iron is absorbed in the intestine. So is vitamin D. In fact celiac is a known issue in not being able to absorb both of them.

If your vitamin D doesn't rise through oral supplements in 6 months they are suppose to give you a vitamin D injection. If you are in the UK get your GP to refer you to haematology as in some areas only haematology are allowed to do the injections. You need to be referred separately for each issue you have so while you are referred for the iron they won't do anything about the vitamin D.

bluebug profile image
bluebug in reply tobluebug

I'm writing on a phone but if you reply to this thread I will share a link that you can give to your doctor.

Daisylain profile image
Daisylain in reply tobluebug

Ok. Thank you so much.

bluebug profile image
bluebug in reply toDaisylain

Link patient.info/doctor/vitamin...

If you read through it will say that those with celiac are likely to have low vitamin D levels.

If you scroll down under "Specific Treatment" under adults it states for those with "severe malabsorption" should have injections. The fact you are not responding to supplementing means you should have injections.

Yes as stated below you should take magnesium but even without it if you have been taking 10,000IU daily for 6 months your level should have increased sufficiently that your dose of vitamin D would be reduced by now. Instead the doctor is increasing your dose.

Daisylain profile image
Daisylain

Thank you. I am in Canada. I am celiac but very strict and controlled for 15 years now. But it likely is still the issue from the early damage. Do you understand cortisol at all? I'm confused by the big drop at night.

galathea profile image
galathea in reply toDaisylain

Daisy, Your cortisol does drop at night so that you fall asleep and make some more... Most problems seem to occur when the cortisol drops to bedtime levels by ( in my own case) 11 in the morning. It meant that from 11 am i was ready to go to sleep. ( several years ago.... All sorted now)

I wonder if you have low stomach acid levels...... Here is a link which explains the problem.... scdlifestyle.com/2012/06/hy...

X

Hellsy profile image
Hellsy in reply togalathea

Hi Galathea, can I just ask how you resolved your low am cortisol?

galathea profile image
galathea in reply toHellsy

I posted my results on the adrenal forum and got a cortisone dosing schedule..... I took cortisone, starting with 25 mcg split through the day and tapered off over 2 years, whilst measuring temperatures. Would not hesitate to do it again if i needed to. The adrenal forum and rt3 forums have teamed up and have a website....... rt3-adrenals.org ..... Loads of good info there.

Xx

Hellsy profile image
Hellsy in reply togalathea

Ok that's great thank you. I'm going to do another adrenal test soon as I've been on NDT for nearly a year and take an early am dose as per Paul Robinson's method. I'm hoping my low early am cortisol will have improved. I'm just beginning to treat low DHEA and have noticed a huge improvement in fatigue since using it. Not sure therefore if I'm suitable for cortisone but will check out the website. Thanks again!

Hi Daisy. Yes I agree that low stomach acid may be a problem. Also If you had gut issues you could still have permeability of the gut lining, making absorption more difficult. Have you tried sub-lingual iron (try a natural source if poss), D3 and b12 (make sure you're not taking b12 with cyanocobalamin , but instead use methylcobalamin) here's a link about the differences here naturalnews.com/032766_cyan.... Using sub-lingual supplements means that they are rapidly absorbed into the system from under the tongue and therefore do not rely on stomach acid or the gut's environment to provide the body with the help it needs. Hope this is of some use.

Hello Daisylain, when taking Vitamin D you should be adding Magnesium as well. Vitamin D uses magnesium to convert it to its active form. If you have celiac disease and low stomach acid this can reduce magnesium absorption in the diet.

Cortisol is supposed to be in that pattern - high first thing then dropping through the day - although within ranges. I'd love to have high normal am cortisol instead of very low normal. I got a brain scan in one week, it shouldn't take a year.

Have you been offered a referral to gastroenterology for the low ferritin to rule out malabsorption and internal bleeding?

Daisylain profile image
Daisylain in reply toAngel_of_the_North

Okay, so below normal in the scale is okay then? Possibly healthy? For cortisol? I feel exhausted from the moment I wake my eyes are burning, and my brain is a fog. I have so many things out of balance, I really don't know which is the cause. Thanks

Angel_of_the_North profile image
Angel_of_the_North in reply toDaisylain

Don't know about the late night one, but below normal the rest of the time wouldn't be. Mine just tracks the bottom end of normal all day, and that feels bad enough. More people seem to have problem with low am and high pm than the other way round. Have you tried a protein snack at night to keep blood sugar up so you aren't woken by a rush of adrenaline?

Lilac19 profile image
Lilac19

stopthethyroidmadness.com/a...

Lilac19 profile image
Lilac19

I have all of those symptoms, and more! I was diagnosed with Autoimmune Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. Have you been tested for Autoimmune?

conniemeg profile image
conniemeg

I also am celiac and had low vitamin D and low B12. I ordered D3 with coconut oil (helps with absorption) from Swanson vitamins online, and the methyl form of B12. Both are in normal range now. I am in the US. I also added magnesium malate to my diet, and take it with calcium and a small amount of potassium with dinner at night. It helps with relaxing and getting a good night's rest, along with helping to absorb calcium.

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