I'm looking into stepping up my adrenal treatment, and while I'm interested in Adrenal Extract (especially adrenal cortex), I'm not sure I understand exactly what it is or how it helps.
Initially I thought it was desiccated glandular tissue not unlike NDT, but now I'm seeing that many sellers list their adrenal extract as "hormone-free". Are they saying that the cattle was hormone free, or that the supplement itself is hormone free? Aren't hormones supposed to be the therapeutic component of these supplements? If anyone could illuminate this misunderstanding for me, and even make some suggestions on what's worked for their adrenal treatment, I'd much appreciate it.
Thank you!
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ilyfunnybunny
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They have to say it's hormone-free or you wouldn't be able to buy it over the counter, it would be prescription only. The dear government and the powers that be in the NHS do like to protect us from these evil hormones! For our own good, you understand.
However, whether or not it is hormone-free is debatable, but you could write to the manufacturers and ask. Myself, I've never seen the point of glandulars, but they just tell us 'like helps like'.
Having said that, it's possibly a good thing that cortisol is not easily procurable because if you take too much, you could shut down your adrenals for good - they don't bounce back like the thyroid. So, you have to know what you're doing with that.
I did notice in my research that adrenal extract can have undesired consequences like suppressing and/or shutting down natural adrenal function. Do you have any recommendations for effective adrenal interventions with less risk?
I've been trying to track down the source of some dryness symptoms I've been having (mouth, eyes, etc), and I've read that with adrenal problems can come aldosterone problems that interfere with adequate hydration.
I already take Adrenotone, a supplement that has Vit C, B2, B5, B6, and adaptogens, but I haven't seen much relief in energy or dryness. I just want to make sure that I've looked tried every angle before I accept an auto-immune diagnosis like Sjogrens.
Do you have Hashi's? If so, it's pretty likely to be Sjogren's.
Have you had your adrenals tested? A 24 hour cortisol test? If so, what were the results like?
You need to be careful of adaptogens. They don't always do what you want them too. It's pretty much a myth that they raise low hormones and decrease high hormones - in other words, balance hormones - they can decrease when you want to raise!
It would also be a good idea to get your vit D, vit B12, folate and ferritin tested. Adrenals actually need all the B vits, not just 2, 5 and 6. But best to get B12 and folate tested first.
They also need lots of vit C and salt. The tendance, these days, is to eat less salt, but that's not always a good idea.
I don't have a history of Hashi's, my situation is that I had papillary TC and a TT when I was 22. Unfortunately my endocrinologists never tested for thyroid antibodies before the TT, so I have no idea what might have been going on. I have had multiple ANA and antibody tests over the last few years for various autoimmune diseases and they all come up negative.
Same problem with B12. Doctors refused to test it so I starting self treating with injections (had a lot of scary neurological symptoms that have subsided there), but now serum B12 measurement is useless.
So I keep believing that my body can function properly if only I give it the right stuff! Just trying to figure out what that is.
I've been tested for Sjogrens 3-4 times (I forget exactly) in the last 2-3 years, blood tests always negative. May push for a lip biopsy, I guess I haven't decided whether I really want to know if I have Sjogrens. Even if I find out I do have it, seems like there aren't any effective therapies the diagnosis would give me access to anyway. In the meantime I'm trying every other plausible avenue to shift the symptoms.
As for the vitamins, I no longer self–inject B12 (just in case the amount was causing some potassium imbalance that resulted in the dry mouth) but I do take an oral B-complex from Pure Encapsulations.
My last labs were in January (taken in the afternoon as I really only wanted the thyroglobulin reading to monitor cancer recurrence), results below:
Apparently you can have Sjogren's (or any autoimmune disease really), but still not show a significant amount of antibodies in blood tests. Seems like doctors aren't sure why this happens. Could be that the disease is in early onset, that antibodies aren't a reliable biomarker for the disease, or that the patient is dealing some other totally different but symptomatically similar disease.
From what I've read, a lip biopsy is the most definitive standalone test for Sjogrens, and multiple positive tests (lip, blood, symptoms, etc) are the most straightforward way to diagnose.
However, I am encouraged by my negative ANA's in the past. Hopefully something else is going on! Adrenal problems seem plausible to me.
Thankyou for explaining that to me. I have been struggling with dreadful and worsening joint pain and other symptoms of lupus. My ANA came back 1:100 ie 'weakly' positive and other tests negative.
I read that these other tests C3, C4 and ANCA are only positive in a %'s eg in '50% of cases' etc. But despite the positive ANA (albeit weak) and other symptoms and one autoimmune disease already, I have had to push really hard to get my GP to talk to rheumatology. She won't refer me but is going to talk to him on the phone.
It's the same old story of being blood test led, not clinically led. Frustrating. I don't want to have lupus, obviously, but being so dismissive does not reassure me.
I will continue to follow the suggestions here as I too have low cortisol.
My intention is to raise adrenal function in general, but I'm more focused on aldosterone than cortisol at the moment as the dryness bothers me more than the fatigue.
I've had a serum cortisol test in the past that read 9 for the morning. I did read that adaptogens can be associated with decreased cortisol, but Adrenotone raised my serum cortisol from 9 to 12 in the past, so I stick with it. Those levels were taken a year or more ago now, so I intend to get a saliva cortisol test to check out current function.
However, should those results read low, I still have no idea what supplements I would turn to... which is why I'm wondering about ACE.
However, should those results read low, I still have no idea what supplements I would turn to
I'd just wait and see what the results are. Don't make the mistake of using a lab which tests cortisol only, you need cortisol plus DHEA which Regenerus and Genova Diagnostics do
I have no idea about interpreting serum cortisol tests, especially when no range is given, but an increase of 3 points doesn't seem much and could just be to do with circadian rhythm. Others know more about serum cortisol levels.
I can't comment on ACE without knowing the brand and looking at what it contains.
Yes, I believe glandulars do contain some hormones, in unspecified amounts. I fail to see how they could selectively remove them.
Like Greygoose says, they need to be "hormone-free" in order to be available without a prescription.
The other day, I saw a weight loss supplement said to contain T2, one of the hormones produced by the thyroid. Some doctors believe it plays a role in fat burning although that has never been proven. Anyway, the manufacturer claims to have removed all other hormones (T3, T4 etc) so that the product in question only contains T2. As far as I've been able to find out, that is downright impossible. You simply cannot remove just one out of five hormones from thyroid extract. I am not even sure it would be possible to remove all hormones.
But, there wouldn't be enough T2 in thyroid extract, anyway. It's not certain that the thyroid even makes T2, it comes from conversion of T3 and rT3. So, that supplement sounds very sketchy!
PS. It's called Thyro-T2. I never bothered to read all the info but just stumbled upon this which says it all (to anyone with knowledge of how the thyroid gland works):
"Your body converts T2 into the powerful T3 thyroid hormone! Let your body do the work. This is NOT meant as a replacement for thyroid medication for any medical condition such as hypothyroidism or Hashimoto's disease. It is meant as a fat burning weight loss pill and is a dietary supplement."
Besides it being obvious they have no idea what they are talking about, they have made the erroneous assumption that 2 logically becomes 3, not the other way around...!
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