High cortisol and anxiety

[Tanyaking]

Has anyone had similar results too mine? I wake every morning between 3 and 4 with severe anxiety,I want too up my T3 in take but darn whilst my cortisol is so high..Does high cortisol hinder thyroid hormones from working properly?

[Hidden]

High cortisol does mess up thyroid results. Do you have other symptoms like, acne, insomnia, weight gain especially round your tummy, high BP, increased facial hair, joint & muscle pain, to name a few? if you do then have a look at Cushing's syndrome.

[Tanyaking in reply to Hidden]

Thank you for you’re help,yes my boss is very high,I’ve gained weight around my tummy and hips,and suffer dreadful insomnia,I’ve had an early morning cortisol blood test at the drs and it was ok,I just think it’s all high because I’ve been so poorly for so long and in bed and been too so many different drs for help ,each with conflicting advice,it’s made me so anxious and drained of hope.x

[humanbean]

I had results quite like yours a few years ago - all four results were over the range, but I didn't have a higher spike at any point like you do for sample 3.

I don't think you have Cushing's Syndrome or Cushing's Disease (but please remember that I'm not a doctor), because with that condition your cortisol graph would look more like this :

static1.1.sqspcdn.com/stati...

However, you might want to see your doctor and ask for a cortisol blood test to be done at 9am (timing is important). If it is very high then your doctor should refer you to endocrinology for further testing.

For future reference, if you ever do find yourself under the tender care of endocrinologists then this link is invaluable for understanding how to prepare, carry out and interpret endocrinological tests of all kinds :

imperialendo.co.uk/Bible201...

.

Your results :

Sample 1 : 14.32 (2.68 - 9.3)

Sample 2 : 4.97 (0.75 - 2.93)

Sample 3 : 5.52 (0.36 - 1.88)

Sample 4 : < 1.74 (<= 0.94)

***

Optimal results for saliva cortisol are given at this link (see Example 1) :

rt3-adrenals.org/cortisol_t...

• Morning at the top of the range

• Noon approximately 75% of the range

• Evening close to 50% of the range

• Nighttime at the bottom of the range

***

We need to compare your results to the optimal results and see what comes out of it.

Sample 1 : Optimal = 9.3 --- Yours = 14.32 --- You produce 153% of the cortisol you should.

Sample 2 : Optimal = 2.385 -- Yours = 4.97 --- You produce 208% of the cortisol you should.

Sample 3 : Optimal = 1.12 --- Yours = 5.52 --- You produce 493% of the cortisol you should.

Sample 4 : Optimal = 0.00 --- Yours is < 1.74 --- The ref range for this is obviously very dodgy!

Totals : Optimal = 12.805 --- Yours = 26.55 --- You produce 207% of the cortisol you should.

***

Notes :

1) In producing the totals above I have assumed your real result for sample 4 is actually 1.74. I hate it when actual numbers aren't given, and instead they rely on less than or greater than for results.

2) The reference range for sample 4 is dodgy. It include 0 in the range. But, personally, I think that having zero cortisol is only healthy for a corpse. I know the ranges aren't your fault by the way!

However, despite these reservations I have carried on with the arithmetic.

.

Given that your total cortisol output is over twice the optimal levels I really think you need to see a doctor for further investigation. But I still think Cushing's is unlikely, mainly because your DHEA is very low in range.

Your low DHEA suggests to me that you might find your cortisol comes crashing down at some point, but whether that is weeks, months or years away, I have no idea.

What is likely to happen is that your early morning cortisol will start to drop, while the rest of the day stays high. Then the morning and midday sample will drop and the later ones stay high, then the first three samples will be low, then finally all four of them.

Some links on DHEA and cortisol :

drmyhill.co.uk/wiki/Adrenal...

stopthethyroidmadness.com/s...

.

I've replied to some other people about cortisol and how to deal with it, and given them sources of info they can look up. You should find something helpful in these posts :

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

I would suggest that you make sure you get your minerals and vitamins optimised as soon as possible then keep them there. You would also need to work on fixing any gut issues you might have - low stomach acid, acid reflux, inflammation in the gut, constipation or diarrhoea etc...

From my own personal experience, I found taking thyroid meds difficult when my cortisol was very high. I could never raise my dose high enough without starting to have a fast heart rate, raised blood pressure, sweating profusely, insomnia and lots of other symptoms that suggested I was overdosed even though my Free T4 and Free T3 were both very low. When I reduced my cortisol I was able to double my thyroid hormone dose.

The thing that did the trick for me was Holy Basil. I take this one :

amazon.co.uk/Swanson-Spectr...

(But shop around if it interests you - prices vary quite a bit.)

I started on one dose of two capsules a day, then gradually raised it to 4 doses of 2 capsules a day (which turned out to be too much for me). Then I settled on 3 doses per day for ages, gradually reducing to 2 doses, and then one dose. I have found that I have to keep taking the stuff at a lowish dose or I get my high cortisol symptoms back again.

Good luck.

[Tanyaking in reply to humanbean]

Thank you so much for all that information and spending you’re precious time helping me,I’m in a bad place at the moment so I can’t unders it all...but I’ll try when I pick up...is there a site just for adrenal help that you would recommend for support? Xx

[humanbean in reply to Tanyaking]

I don't know of a site just for adrenal support, sadly. When I was trying to work out how to lower my own cortisol I thrashed around not knowing how to start for ages. I only finally got a response from my own experiments when I dared to take more Holy Basil than was recommended on the bottle for a few weeks/months. I haven't had any long term issues from doing so - yet!