Can adrenal supplements give you insomnia?

[jc72]

Last week I slept really well but on my 2nd week on adrenal cortex my old friend insomnia has returned. It feels like adrenaline is keeping me wired right now making it hard to sleep. Are there any good ways of reducing adrenaline so I can break this cycle of insomnia? Thanks.

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

What time are you taking it jc72 . I was told to take mine in the morning.

[jc72 in reply to SeasideSusie]

Same here I take mine around 7.30am.

[Ali1101]

I wish if i had the answer to your question because i too get adrenaline every early morning to wake me up after 4 hours of sleep.

[jc72 in reply to Ali1101]

I heard that exercise can help burn off adrenaline. I tried this last week and it worked but last night it didn't. Perhaps I needed to do more exercise, I think it also helps to lower cortisol which might help if you have high nighttime cortisol.

[CarolineC57]

Have you had your cortisol tested? You only need adrenal supplementation if your cortisol is low - it may be that you've increased your cortisol too much?

Otherwise, I'm not sure what to suggest - certainly if you are taking it at 7.30am then you should be fine by bedtime. I did the Genova saliva test and mine was low. So I take mine around 10am and I'm fine by bedtime. In fact, my insomnia has improved considerably since I've been taking adrenal cortex and NDT/T3.

I hope you can sort this out for yourself. Insomnia is the worst!

[jc72 in reply to CarolineC57]

Thanks Caroline. Ive been tested and have strong symptoms of adrenal fatigue. I was having my best week in a long time last week and then the insomnia hit. I suppose it will just take time. Since taking the adrenal supplements I have stopped yawning during the day and the tiredness was lifting from my face, which must be a good sign.

[CarolineC57 in reply to jc72]

It does sound like you're doing the right thing and going in the right direction then. Perhaps this week's insomnia is just a "blip"? Although mine is much improved, I do still get occasions when I wake up at the dreaded 4 am, thrashing about all the time unable to get back to sleep. As you say, I guess it must take time. Good luck!

[SilverAvocado]

Cortisol is very similar to what we understand as adrenaline. People always say adrenaline is fight or flight, but my understanding with cortisol is its similar, but more everyday. So rather than helping you to run away from a mugger, it helps you get out of bed in the morning, cope if you skip lunch, deal with small worrieset, pc.

So too much cortisol will make you feel wired and awake. It also allows you to use your thyroid hormone better, so as your adrenals improve your usual thyroid dose will feel like a higher dose. Some people need to reduce their thyroxine.

So there could be a few reasons for the insomnia, your cortisol is running too high, or you're thyroxibe has become too much. I had the latter problem, and was up all night very hot and agitated, I wanted to wait it out and see if it got better in a few weeks, but it was unbearable. I went back to the lower does I'd been on before.

I think it's also a judgement call. If the insomnia is worse than the adrenal fatigue you had before, it's a sign you need to perhaps cut down on the adrenal support. But a little bit of insomnia seems to often accompany an increase in energy and well-being. Trying to use up the adrenaline/cortisol doesn't really make sense, as the whole point of taking the medication is to boost up the adrenal system, you don't want to knock it back down again.