Hydrocortisone for adrenal fatigue

[Quiltgirl]

Anyone on or used hydrocortisone for adrenals? I'm on 20 mcg t3 and using 10 mg HC in morning and 5 mg noon. My symptoms seem to be worse last week or so. Dr slowly increased the HC over last 6-7 weeks. My meds are slow release compounds. I have hashi and Lyme diagnoses. Dr ran labs today to see what maybe going on! i just started using t 3 at beginning of sept . My symptoms are extreme fatigue,dizziness and balance problems

[Learner1]

I'm being treated for other chronic infections, but know several Lyme patients. The infections can cause symptoms throughout your body and cause multiple systems to go haywire.

Your top priority should be working on getting rid of the Lyme, ideally with a Lyme literate doctor and a comprehensive treatment plan. Antibiotics? Low dose naltrexone? Glutathione and it's precursors, like B12, folate, magnesium, etc.? High quality diet? Probiotic? And, are there coinfections that need addressing, like Bartonella, mycoplasma, etc.?

It will put a strain on your thyroid and adrenals and you may need more than you take now.

I take 30mg hydrocortisone, a replacement dose, spread in 10mg doses at 7am, 11am, and 2pm. Both my DHEA and cortisol measured low, though. The hydrocortisone also helps boost immune function. And I take both adrenal support and immune support supplements.

Thyroid should be treated based on symptoms and a full set of labs.

You might also look into Dr. Myhills suggestions for mitochondrial support and Dr. Garth Nicholson's lipid replenishment protocol.

Best wishes...

[Quiltgirl in reply to Learner1]

Yes iv done all the Lyme protocols have had 2 chest ports for ivs. I've done all the anabiotic's glutathione and many others. Been doing this for six years. It is come now to treat thyroid and adrenal's since they weren't being treated before. Yes I've done Dr Garth Nicholson's lipid protocol supplements .

My doctor now is a Lyme specialist and wanted to deal with my broken systems and then reassess the lyme disease .

I am negative for Bartonella and cos.

I just needed to hear how other people have fared on the hydra Cortizone. I've decided to stop I'm having too many side effects and going backwards. Today I had to get my walker out and I have not use that in over a year and a half so it's been depressing. My dizziness and my overall balance is worse and I have a very dry mouth and I just feel too hyper

[Learner1 in reply to Quiltgirl]

I am so sorry you are going through this. It's extremely vexing.

Every Lymie I know gets T3, with the dose varying over time, depending on how thyroid functions with everything else. HC supports immune function, at 20-30mg daily, along with adaptogens and glandulars. Vital Nutrients Adrenal Support is my doctor's favorite. Seriphos, taken St night, can help zdrenals behave better, too.

Many are also on some combo of pregnenolone, progesterone, DHEA and testosterone. My doctor just upped my pregnenolone to 150mg a day to help brain function, and I think it's helping reduce my brain fog. along with the NT Factor, acetyl l-carnitine, NADH, HBOT, and getting enough B12 - I need a huge amount.

It is very vexing. You sound very brave. Keep fighting the good fight!

[sulamaye]

Agree with learner1 if you have chronic lymes you need to treat that. Cowden protocol is an antibiotic alternative.

[Hidden]

Yes I do. They had me on prednisone but switched recently and since then I've been even more exhausted. I have to double the dose when I'm not well otherwise I'm on the same dose as you

[Howard39 in reply to Hidden]

Hi

Prednisone side effects are high cortisol if taken for too long and lowering it is so much more difficult than raising it.

Great advice from learner 1 . Sarah MYHill is a friend and the most knowledgeable all round person I know. Her web sites and books are great.

[Hidden in reply to Howard39]

Hi Howard, they tested my cortisol levels twice whilst on Pred and they were too low rather than too high.

Are you sure side effects are too high cortisol? My understanding was that when you're on Pred your adrenals stop producing steroids so when you come off Pred they have stopped working hence adrenal fatigue/insufficiency and you've to try to kick start them.

Thanks for the info re Sarah, I'll look her up

Happy new year!!

[Quiltgirl in reply to Hidden]

I'm not seeing any good come from the HC and symptoms as worse so I'm stopping the med

[Howard39]

Hi

I am talking about long term usage of prednisone.

Hydrocortisone in small doses i.e. 5-10 mgs in the morning has no side effects and does not suppress the adrenal gland.it allows the gland to rest and recover.

See Dr M web page on adrenal gland. She is helping with trials on pregnenelone which helps low dhea( which I take).

The info is on one of her pages- if I can find the link o will send it to you.

Best wishes

H x

[greygoose]

I have taken HC, in the past, yes. I didn't find it made my symptoms worse. But with so much going on, you will have difficulty knowing what is causing what. I agree that Lyme should be your priority, if possible.

[Klagh]

I used low-dose hydrocortisone for four months - started at 20 mg. daily in three split doses and gradually tapered down to 10 mg. - 5 in the morning and 5 at noon. I was using it because my cortisol levels had flatlined.

I stopped using hydrocortisone because it began to make me dizzy after four months. Maybe my cortisol levels had begun rising? I don't know for sure, because I haven't tested my cortisol levels yet (again) since I quit the hydrocortisone.

Early in my hydrocortisone usage, I discovered that T3 LOWERS cortisol levels!! So I quit my thyroid meds (because I was using NDT that had T3). And then I was just using the hydrocortisone. Stopping the hydrocortisone was quite painful for me, even though it was low dose.

Then I started using an adrenal bovine supplement. EVEN THAT was lowering my cortisol levels, evidently, because it started making me dizzy. Now I just take a schizandra adrenal supplement with NO bovine adrenal in it. It works well for me.

Now I'm working on Epstein Barr, since discovering information that contends EBV is the root cause of Hashimoto's (which I have).

[Howard39 in reply to Klagh]

Hi

Yes that's serious news.

It causes cfs and cancer too. 80% of cancer is in Africa is related to EB virus.

The anti virals really help- valaciclovir. Not cheap sadly tho.

Good luck x

[Klagh in reply to Howard39]

Howard,

Have you been using valacyclovir for EBV? If so, sounds like it helped you. How long did it take before you saw improvement?

[Kitten1978 in reply to Klagh]

Hi Klagh,

I'm curious about your comment that T3 lowers cortisol. I've heard that opinion before and I cannot get my heard around it. It seems to contradict the CT3M. I'm on T3-only (I cannot tolerate T4) and I suspect my cortisol is very low (I'll do the saliva test this week). That's why understanding the connection between T3 and cortisol is important for me. Thanks!

[Klagh in reply to Kitten1978]

I was having extreme dizziness, when I was taking NDT that had a lot of T3 in it, WHILE I was taking hydrocortisone. Couldn't figure it out until I came across that fact. The dizziness immediately lessened when I stopped taking the thyroid meds. You can get more info on it on the STTM site and Janie Bowthorpe's blog. Also check out hypothyroidmom.com/cortisol-and-thyroid-hormones. My understanding is the adrenals are the source of the problem and driving the hypothyroidism.

[Jbsa70]

Hi Quiltgirl,are you the UK or US? How did you have tested your adrenal function? Since August 2015 I have diagnosis of Primary Adrenalin Insufficiency (Addisons Disease), my adrenal glands stopped working, my Cortisol was,nearly 0 and I nearly died as UK doctors GPs, kept misdiagnosing me, they thought my extreme fatigue,weight loss,dizziness,nausea were caused by my Hashimoto Disease that I have since 1983,age 13.

I am now well, my Addisons Disease and Hashimoto Disease balanced well after long big fight to find good endocrinologist. For my Addisons Disease I take total of 30mg Hydrocortisone (spread into 5 doses between 3am and 6pm each day which works the best for me), twice a day U take 0.1mg Fludrocortisone (steroid that most people with Addisons need to help keep the right balance of electrolytes); once a day I take now 25mcg DHEA ( this made amazing difference to my quality of life). For my Hashimoto I take once a day, in the evening 225mcg Levothyroxine.

There are also some excellent support groups on Facebook for people with adrenalin insufficiency where I learnt a lot.

Sorry, I dont know much about Lyme Disease.

Best wishes

jana

[Quiltgirl in reply to Jbsa70]

I'm so n USA

I'm not liking the worseing of my symptoms. I have terrible balance and dizziness that I think could be he hashimotos no one really knows! I'm using 10 mg of pregnenolone daily. I'm also on LDN for the hashi.

Ty for info

[Learner1]

I'm in the US. I realize UK doctors aren't well educated, but I have seen enough people with chronic Lyme and the battles they fight to know that if you don't aggressively fight it, it will completely destroy you.

So, educate yourself as best you can, and find a doctor who will help you, or at least not stand in your way, and prioritize treating it. Also, look for coinfections, which can complicate things, like Bartonella, mycoplasma, etc.

The Cowden protocol is a good place to start, but mist people I know are on some combo of antibiotics, low dose naltrexone, HBOT, nutritional supplements, thyroid and adrenal support, and a gluten free nutrient dense diet.

Best wishes.

[Learner1]

There is plenty of science out there on this. There are several good chronic Lyme disease websites. Get on them, find the science, arm yourself with it, and be persistent to find a doctor who can help you. If you have a friend or loved one to help you research and advocate for you, that's even better.

Chronic Lyme is very real and extremely serious. And without proper treatment, you will never be well.

I'm so sorry to share this, I know this is hard. But it's the battle you need to fight.

Best wishes to you.

[victoria1000]

Its so nice to see that people on this site are reading scientific papers about their illness. Paper are published every year but ignored. When I started nurse 40 years ago I was shown how dangerious steroids are. But the are still being used.

Last Christmas I was told that our friend new wife was taking steroids for Lupes. So my advice was to take Citrate Magnesium and B Complex.

When I saw this woman she looks so beautiful. Her body had changes so much. I didn't know her before then she showed me picture of herself from 2 years ago. She had moon face and weighed 16 lbs more.

She told me she has so much energy now.