I suspect I may have some adrenal/cortisol issues but maybe they are hypo symptoms. I’ve tried NDT twice and both times have ended disastrously with me feeling horrible for months and doctors telling me it’s all JUST anxiety. I could never raise NDT past 1 1/2 grains and have terrible symptoms like back ache, headaches, internal shaking, anxiety, tinnitus, nausea, insomnia etc. On NDT my T4 was always bottom range and I struggled to get T3 even mid range. And when I implode on NDT it is like my body rejects it. 6 weeks ago I tried to increase my Armour by a 1/4 grain and it was a train wreck. I then couldn’t even go back to my original 90 mgs dose with out my body revolting. I tried to increase slowly but was getting very hypo so I went back to Synthroid. And if this plays out like the last time, even the Synthroid will make me ill for months until things settle down. This time though I’m trying to keep taking just little quarter pieces of my Lio 5 mcgs, but even that causes symptoms.
My doctor did do a morning serum cortisol which was high normal. And I realize I need a 24 hr saliva but I’m waiting for an appointment with a naturopath.
My question is should I keep trying to take T3 until I get in to see the doc? I started taking 88 mcgs of Synthroid on Sunday and feel terrible. But I also think I’m quite hypo - having heart palps, shaking, anxiety and weird head tingly warm feelings but no fatigue. The headaches and back aches left with the Armour. Yesterday I tried not taking any T3 and I think I felt worse but who knows this week, I’m a mess.
My latest labs done 3 days before I gave up on Armour ( I hadn’t been able to take my full dose for a month prior)
TSH 2.9
FT3 2.4 (2.5-4.3)
T4 .8 (.8-1.7)
I had a TT 10 years ago. What do people do when they don’t have a thyroid and have adrenal issues? I can’t stop taking medication. I’m hoping I’m over reacting and it’s just that I’m severely hypo but this is the second time this has happened and it’s terrible.
I hope someone can advise me on what to do until I can get this sorted out with a naturopath.
Thank you so much.
Written by
Knittergirl3
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Hello. I wish I had answers for you, but I don’t. However, I am in the exact same situation as you. I posted my story a few weeks back should you want to read it. I believe you can search for it under my username. I’ve been battling this mystery for 17 months now. Thinking of you, as I hate to hear of others suffering like me.
When I saw Dr Peatfield he diagnosed adrenal insufficiency and he said once they were improved that he hoped my thyroid would I,prove naturally as this is his belief (have read others saying the adrenals will be fine once thyroid ok, but I've come to conclusion that there are some of us for both if that makes sense
For me,he gave me Adrenavive Il. And said to take Metwvive which is without breakdown of hormones in it, but natural.
However I didn't get in too wel, with Metwvive but big improvement in symptoms with Adrenavive, and of course maintained vits and gut health
But dr P doesnt believe in adrenal fatigue as he says they work or are insufficient
His book is quite thorough if fancy a read, he has a good chapter on adrenals , he has retired now so I didn't get back to see him but I'm so grateful as the NHS said my adrenals were fine from the urine testing but the weren't. I could t in anyway do the traditional, balancing tastings that dr P did in me. And I could hardly walk the length of his Crawley Rd at the time, awful business.
..... Did the zoo last Monday with two grandchildren lol even though I'm still not quite right. Takes time for sure if had a depleted system many yrs as I had
....Pls keep chin up as things will improve, it's a hit of a minefield and I'm sure the experts will come on in soon
Appreciate how overwhelming it can get, and it takes times to sort out the different boxes which are interlinked but you will start to feel better soon xx
Thanks for your comments. Did you take Levo while taking the Adrenavive or did you have to stop Levo until the Adrenavive kicked in and started helping? I can’t even take little crumbs of any thyroid medicine without getting extremely ill.
Hi I do understand as I felt dreadful and let's còukdnt believe it as only in 25 which I've also read can be detrimental 🤷♀️As so low
Anyway dr P told me to start Adrenavive and stop levo for a week ( it remains in system half life I think 8 days) then to start Metwvive which as said is t4 and t3 but amounts in it are unsure
Now I may not have increased enough the Metwvive and pls remember my gut health wasn't tip top and I had some low vitamins still at this point
But things changed slowely, I didn't feel great but noticed the change, your body needs the vits to help and the Adrenavive I definitely needed and take still although I swooped to Nutri adrenal a while when Adrenavive was out of stock(and it's expensive) however the Nutri didn't feel right I can't say why or how ,
The whole illness so to speak made me quite 'phobic' which is extreme anxiety too (I had a very flat depleted system as it had been struggling years, ). So this anxious feeling made it very hard to take tablets ( I've always had a bit of this going on but never to extreme)
I have become extremely phobic and anxious as well and I am having super strong reactions and side effects to just about all supplements, vitamins, prescription, etc. I am in the United States so I’m not sure where to find Adrenavive. Is Adrenavive different from Adrenavive II? I have searched high and low here to find someone like Dr. Peatfield. I am just so sick of feeling sick. When you stopped Levo and started Adrenavive, what dosage of Adrenavive did you take? I tend to have to take just a small amount of the lowest dosage. It is a real mess. I had successfully been on 75mcg of Levo (Synthroid exactly) for 8 years and was feeling great until my mother suddenly and tragically passed away. Two months later to the exact day, I started getting so sick. After much investigation it was found that the thyroid medicine was making me toxically ill. I have since tried every brand, every generic, all NDT, and even T3 only since then and they all make me sick. I’ve visited so many doctors and had so many tests, including visiting a naturopath, and no one can figure it out. I know there are others out there like me (and you). Did you go back on Levo after a week on Adrenavive? I just feel hopeless. I am only 38 and can’t even live...only exist.
So sorry for your loss ☺️I do understand, I cried or rather wailed for two years in private when mum passed on, indo believe now though my emotional state was so increased by the jumble of thyroid hormones and my sex ones (ostregen totesterone etc) I've still got joint pain but told this can improve when euthyroid
May I ask if you could be moving into perimenopausal, a blood test will tell you and may be a piece into jigsaw I'm sorry if this sounds depressing and you probably aren't but the sex hormones drop and read at around forty, we are all different
I, too, believe my emotional state is due to the jumble of thyroid hormone. It is a straight mess. The naturopath checked all of my sex hormones and said I was okay, but could use a little progesterone. Of course that made me very sick when I tried that one too. No matter what I take it makes me sick, so I am just trying to take the one medication I MUST take and that is thyroid hormone. There has to be a reason why thyroid medicine makes me sick and each time it boils down to adrenals and low vitamins.
Yes it helps to know what is going on, and we have had quite a lot of similarities
I feel the phobic and side has decreased for me, I've had tinnitus too have you? But still have bad days
I feel it's the whole pot so to speak but adrenals and vitamins and gut health all need talc
How did they show the thyroid meds were toxic for you?
Well as said I tried the metavive that Dr P prescribed, and took the Adrenavive yes Adrenavive 11 but he knew which dose after his balancing testing s so I'm sorry I can't be helpful which dose, if you Google it the supplier comes up, if any problem PM me as I can soon tell you
I'm sorry you haven't got a functional doctor at hand, surely there are a few, yes naturopaths or private endocrenists, I expect they are expensive too like here
Please maybe look on Dr Sarah Myhill website, Lots of good advice, also are you with hashimotto antibodies, the gluten free helped me with those, have you had a blood panel for the vits antibodies tsh t4 and t3.
Then post it on here for experts
Why no do another post regarding TT? (If look on search also in the box you may see other helpful posts)
Yes after feeling better on adrenal support I took the urge to try levo again. As we are told here to take it until your t3 and t4 are at the right levels, but I couldn't yet again tolerate
Levo at 100, I manage 75 ok and thank the adrenal support for,this a s the supplement and improved gut and diet
Maybe write yourself a list as it's exhausting I know,
Take selenium 200 daily for conversion
I thought I was dying at one point but my Vit D and b12 and folate were low
When hypo you need these higher up for wellbeing
The stress after bereavement may have really thrown you. Can you get adrenals tested, 24 jr test? I now practice mindfulness and U tube meditation videos to calm me on bad days.
I feel it's a matter of nibbling away at all the issues
You WiLL feel better trust me, I wrote a list of the things I had to work on and did my best with it
No one believed me at first that the thyroid medicine was making me sick until we started eliminating everything I was taking one by one. The last thing to try stopping was the thyroid medicine and as soon as I stopped, I started feeling so much better. Started it back at the lowest dosage and bam I was so sick again. It is like a poison to me. Doctors here cannot believe it and say they have never seen someone like me. I have started taking a sublingual vitamin D to avoid any gut absorption as well. All other vitamins were in good ranges, except ferritin and iron are low. As of yet I have not been able to find an iron supplement I can tolerate so I’m trying to get it through food. I have done two saliva tests for cortisol/adrenals and the first one it showed I had high cortisol, then the second one it showed low. It does seem that the intense bereavement has thrown my health for a huge loop. Unfortunately I need thyroid hormone to live, but I cannot take it. The latest medicine I tried was liquid Tirosint which does not have any fillers and the absorption is better since you don’t have a pill to break down. I felt great on it for two weeks and then the extreme toxic feelings hit and I’m currently laid up in bed too sick to move again. This forces me to quit the drug. I still think the adrenals have some role to play in all of this. Is Adrenavive a bovine adrenal cortex? I found something similar here in the U.S. I have been all over the United States seeing doctors and looking for answers. I have even visited the Mayo Clinic. Next week I am due to fly to the Cleveland Clinic to meet with a specialist there. Someone somewhere has to be able to help. Thank you for all of your time and advice. I need to latch onto people who have been where I am.
... I think you've hit nailing head when you said adrenals but I'm not medical
however dr p explains how some can't tolerate thyroid meds until their adrenals are substantial, some give them a break to heal and take steroid, why not read the book, does Sarah Myhill have opinion I haven't looked on my only suggestion read and see if anything stands out for you. And learn what you can to relate to you, I m kw it's awful we neee to be
Is it depression. Brain fog, low spirit, no energy, no motivation? Anxiety, even panic ( I get it for nothing )
The ostregen I take in a gel made a radical change within hours,but obviously still fluctuate, but I actually got a sense of wellbeing, something I'd been without for so long, then the tostesterone I take in a gel certainly impressed on my mood. (The progesterone is to thin the lining for protection from build up).
I'd say I've had degrees of this at PMT then for me, after child orthodox, then menopausal and perimenopausal too formsure.
I saw Prof Studd in London he treats celebrities e.g. Carol Caudamann. You can google her story, like she explains, a switch went off and she was suicidal, ,
Luckily she found Prof stuff and the bio identical hormones,
I'm only saying all this in case and it's good info even if for later
You can google his website he has some good threads to click into. He calls it Reproductive depression and describes how it impinges through life but the good news is you can have safer hormones now
It's sad to say when our docs say 'normal' they just mean you are in range and aren't joining the dots, even some endos Don't.
I can say I've been told at least 20 times that 'I'm normal, no action' when my tsh was at 4.8 and I was falling asleep in lay-bys !!! And I was I'll for years
I asked for HRT but was the time they didn't want to give it you, and just said, have anti depressants.
And to say I've also take. The HRT plunge with yam bio identical I've done this as found my bone density is a bit low for comfort, and ostregen rebuilds
I'm sure if I hadn't been ill so long for years and had kept my exercise levels good (I was a keen dancer and cyclist ) my bone wouldn't have suffered so much so I am feeling rather let down for sure
Just wanted to wish you well, sooner than later. I’ve been struggling with my hypothyroidism since diagnosed 13 months ago. I’m somewhat better than a train wreck but only just. It seems when adrenal insufficiency (I have this also 25 mg of hydrocortisone daily) as well as hypothyroidism (75 mcg Synthroid) all systems are affected. I will be seeing my endo next week to help me sort it out. But it really is a very slow process. Wishing you well.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
adrenal fatigue questions
adrenal and thyroid
adrenal cortex extract (ACE)
T3 intolerance due to adrenal fatigue I think?
Can't find proper thyroid medication
