Start HC and surgery: Hi! I will start to take HC... - Thyroid UK

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Start HC and surgery

Kira86 profile image
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Hi! I will start to take HC in a week when I receive it from provider. In four weeks i have two surgeries in one: rhynoplastia (nose) and tonsils. So i need to know, should i start HC now or it' better wait until after surgery? I'm worried what if surgery and recovery from anastesia will last more than 4 hours and i miss the dose? Or how to take it with empty stomach?/what would you recommend?

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Kira86
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Clutter profile image
Clutter

Kira86,

If you are self-medicating HC I would wait until you have had your surgeries before you start taking it.

greygoose profile image
greygoose

Are you saying that you are planning to take HC every four hours?

Kira86 profile image
Kira86 in reply togreygoose

Yes, for adrenal fatigue, according to STTM:

How do I dose 20mg, 25mg, or 30mg of HC?

To dose for 20mg: 10 – 5 – 2.5 – 2.5 (4 hours apart, sooner if needed) NOTE: 20 mg is too low to start on for most!

To dose for 25mg: 10 – 7.5 – 5 – 2.5 (4 hours apart, sooner if needed) the best dose to start on for women

To dose for 30mg: 10 – 10 – 5 – 5 (4 hours apart, sooner if needed) the best dose to start on for men

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply toKira86

Well, truth to say, I'm not a fan of STTM. I do not agree with everything they say. When I was diagnosed with adrenal fatigue, by one of Europe's leading hormone specialists, he told me that you should only dose in the morning.

Dosing throughout the day is for Addison's, where the adrenals don't make any cortisol at all. There you need to mimic the normal output of the adrenal glands to stay alive.

In Adrenal Fatigue, the adrenals just need a helping hand in the morning, their busiest time, when they have to get you out of bed, up and doing. The rest of the day, they should be left to their own devices, making hormone naturally, or they will shut down. And, unlike the thyroid gland, when they shut down, they do not start up again. So, if you hope to come off HC one day, my advice would be to only take it first thing in the morning, and again at lunchtime. But, never after 1.0 pm.

Kira86 profile image
Kira86 in reply togreygoose

This is interesting! I am worried about if adrenals can shut up and this is why I haven't started HC yet, but lately I was feeling so bad that I wanted to give it a try. The results of saliva test showed very low/ veey low/low/very low. With all these lows can I stil take hc only two times? Another question, as I understood, after 3/4 hours people start shaking and feeling bad, that's why the dosis is 4 times a day, with only 2 times, you don't feel that you miss the dose?are you on HC, did you weand off and after what time? I am terrified to start HC and with contradictory info as tou told me now, I don't know what to do. Is there any book or anything that I can read? STTM was the first and the only one that I found so don't have any contrast info. I found this web just a day ago, don't know how things are done here. Thanks a lot in advance!!!

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply toKira86

Yes, adrenals can shut down.

Yes, even with those low levels you can take it only twice a day. Because, as the adrenals are not struggling to make cortisol in the morning - because you are taking HC - they will be better able to make it for the rest of the day.

3/4 of an hour after what? After taking the dose? Or after not taking it? After my first dose, I felt really euphoric! I was chatting ten to the dozen, giggling and laughing and felt really great. That didn't last, of course, but never once did I feel bad or shaking or anything like that. I felt so much better just taking it twice a day.

I am not on HC at the moment, no. I was on it for about two years, and then weaned myself off it.

HC is not something to mess about with. And, if I were you, I would err on the side of caution. I do not know of any book that talks specifically about adrenals, but they are mentioned in the book written by my then doctor - can't afford it anymore. I'll have a look and see if it says anything more on the subject.

Kira86 profile image
Kira86 in reply togreygoose

And what dose did you take? Can you tell me who is the specialist that consulted you? I have so many questions )))

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply toKira86

To begin with, I was taking 40 mg in the morning when I got up, and 20 at lunchtime. And, he said that if i felt extra stress, or had a cold or something, I could take more - he always put extra on my prescription for that purpose.

His name is Dr Claude Dalle, but he's in Paris, and he costs an arm and a leg! I was working, then, so I could afford it. Now I'm retired. lol

Kira86 profile image
Kira86 in reply togreygoose

Does the dr speak english? I searched in internet and saw a web om antiage medecine, is this the doctor or it is a different claude? :) 60 mg daily is a lot, comparing to 25 that Sttm advice... I really don't know what to do right now..

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply toKira86

Yes, he does speak English. He lectures on hormones internationally.

I wouldn't take HC for adrenal fatigue, surely you are best to find out why your cortisol levels are low?. I need to take HC as I now have hypopituitism due to an adenoma in my pituitary gland causing excess cortisol in my body, now removed. The effects of this are VERY unpleasant including rapid weight gain, profound muscle weakness, headaches, insomnia, plus several others. I am nearly a year post op & still have to use a mobility scooter to get around, I used to do mountain walking, swimming & walking the dogs for an hour + each day. 20mgs is said to be the therapeutic dose for adrenal insufficiency - I risk a life threatening crisis is I don't take it. Many people who are adrenal insufficient have it because they had been prescribed HC for other conditions & the adrenal glands had stopped working. It's a drug to be treated with respect.

Kira86 profile image
Kira86 in reply to

Many thanks for your story! The bad thing is that I used to do many things too, and now i can only sit on the coach, I don't have life anymore, not even thinking of having children, etc. If i don't fix adrenals, I can't up thyroid medication so i am always hypo. I know that it is dangerous, that's why i am reading and asking others opinions.

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