A recent 24 h saliva test showed slightly elevated cortisol levels x 4, and sample nr 4 (10pm-midnight) came back the highest which would explain why I have been having trouble falling asleep or keep waking up every hour or so.
I have also had many other recent signs and symptoms of highish cortisol - insulin resistance, cravings, high blood pressure (currently treated with meds), plus feeling overmedicated on thyroid meds while displaying some classical hypo signs such as dry, itchy skin, weight gain (+10 kg in the past year), and fluid retention/bloating.
A couple of months ago, after receiving the results of my saliva test, I ordered a supplement called Adrenal Strength by Mega Food. The recommended two daily capsules contain (%DV):
Vitamin C 100 mg (111)
Panthotenic acid 30 mg with organic brown rice (600)
Magnesium 40 mg (10)
Sensoril Ashwagandha Root & Leaf Extract 250 mg
Reishi Mushroom 200 mg
Rhodiola Rosea 200 mg
Holy Basil Leaf Extract 175 mg
Organic Astragalus Root 100 mg
Organic Schisandra Berry 100 mg
L-Serine 200 mg
My latest thyroid labs from 20 Feb ´20: TSH <0.01, FT4 0.7 (0.7-1.5), FT3 2.7 (1.7-3.2), anti-TPO 11 (<6), anti-TG 6 (<4), on 4.5 grains of Thyroid-S (2.25 grains taken 12 hours before having labs).
At first, I felt better after starting taking this supplement, but in the past week or so some problems have come back, such as racing heart, increased sweating and restless sleep. Of course, I could be overmedicated on NDT (not possible to have labs now), but since I have been stable on NDT for years I cannot help but wonder if there is something in this supplement that raises (rather than lowers) cortisol...but what could it be? It seems ashwagandha can both lower or raise cortisol, depending on your body´s needs, whereas holy basil only lowers it, so I cannot find anything that stands out...however, maybe it is not a good idea to take a mixture of herbs and adaptogens, but instead would be better to take one...?
It seems ashwagandha can both lower or raise cortisol, depending on your body´s needs,
That's the theory, yes. But, it doesn't always work like that. Sometimes it can raise cortisol when you want it lowered, and lower it when you want it raised. I find adaptogens very un predictable. And I think multis of any kind are usually a bad idea.
The supplement you are taking contains several adaptogens. If you don't tolerate one of them how would you know which one it was?
My personal experience of adaptogens has been "patchy".
Ashwaghanda makes me feel sick.
Rhodiola Rosea used to work brilliantly for me - perked me up and made me feel more energetic - but now it makes me feel terrible. I don't know what changed, but something did, and now I can't take the stuff.
Holy Basil appears to reduce my cortisol.
I haven't tried any of the other adaptogens so can't comment on them.
I wrote a post about adaptogens that you might find interesting :
I gave one link in the first post in the thread. It has the virtue of being the longest list of adaptogens I've ever seen but is otherwise airy-fairy nonsense.
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The problem with any use of adaptogens is that you can't tell whether it is raising your cortisol or lowering it. Different people seem to react to them in different ways. The other problem is that the symptoms of low cortisol and high cortisol have a lot of overlap. Feeling jittery, excessive sweating, and insomnia are common to both.
The only one that I've tried that helps me personally is Holy Basil. If I'd taken a combined product with Ashwaghanda I would probably never have found out that Holy Basil helps me - instead I would just have felt sick. This illustrates why I'm not usually a fan of combined products.
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I've looked at your previous posts and can see no sign of your saliva cortisol results. You could post them in a new post and ask for feedback. You might find this of interest :
Thanks to both Human Bean and GreyGoose for your replies!
I guess taking multi-adaptogens are like taking multivitamins...you never know exactly how much you are absorbing, and if you have an adverse reaction, you won´t know to which one(s)...I will now discontinue this supplement as one or several of the ingredients might actually be making my problem worse...!
In my opinion your kidneys 'don't like what you are throwing at them' - I think sometimes we forget that the liver and kidneys have to filter what we throw at it. I personally wouldn't take this supplement - I am not a lover of anything that isn't a vitamin or mineral. Your kidneys would raise your cortisol levels if they are struggling.
Thanks to all who replied and offered me advice
On a more general level, I am concerned about the effects hormones have on each other...I know they are all interrelated, but it´s always the "chicken and the egg" question...did low levels of this cause high levels of that or vice versa...?
For the past few years, I have been seeing a doctor in Thierry Hertoghe´s clinic. It costs me a fortune (travel costs, doctor´s fees, drugs and labs not reimbursed by health insurance), but I figured it was worth it because where I live, a hypothyroid patient is unlikely to get any doctor to prescribe more than 100 mcg of levo daily...they only test the TSH and, if anywhere in range, that´s it. Most doctors I´ve seen since my diagnosis 20 years ago have had no idea that the TSH is not an actual thyroid hormone, and they have had no idea what FT4 and FT3 are. I suffered for years on levo only and cannot stand the idea of ever having to go back on that.
But, at my last appointment in January 2020, I mentioned some symptoms that had appeared in the past few months, such as quick and uncontrollable weight gain, bloating, increased sweating, poor sleep quality...the doctor suggested I might need "adrenal support" but said that, since I had been retaining fluid, hydrocortisone (normally the first choice) would only make matters worse, so in my case 4 mg of Medrol daily would be warranted.
I had read an article stating that symptoms of high and low cortisol can be surprisingly similar which is why you should never assume you have one or the other but need proper testing, and that is why I ordered the 24 h saliva test. Which showed my cortisol levels were highish, not low, so going on Medrol would only have made matters worse.
The doctor told me the good thing about Medrol is it has a half-life of 24 h so only needs to be taken once a day (unlike HC that you have to multi dose). Well, that may be convenient for someone who needs it, but since my cortisol levels were highish throughout the day, taking Medrol would no doubt have made me worse, not better...!
But this points to a more general problem: doctors prescribing more and more drugs without proper testing. I used an online calculator to find out my estrogen to progesterone ratio points to estrogen dominance, not deficiency; yet, the doctor told me to take more estrogen, while taking the same dose of progesterone.
I am already self-treating in the sense that I have been taking Thyroid-S instead of Erfa (the doctor does not know) because Erfa is very expensive and reported not to work so well any more. I find myself self-diagnosing and self-treating in more and more areas...has anyone else had the same experience???? It does feel a bit strange since I pay a lot for medical advice I then disregard...but it feels like I need to double-check everything my doctor says and then make an informed decision about my own care...so basically still paying the doctor while doing his job...?!
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