Worsening cortisol-like symptoms after starting iron supplement?

[owl87]

Hi again everyone,

Following advice I started taking iron sublingually to try and raise my low ferritin. As I previously mentioned I have low ferritin 22 (17-250) and severe trouble raising my thyroid medication deespite being badly undermedicated as whenever and whatever I try I get severe cortisol like symptoms - the whole body thrumming/muscle shaking I usually have worsens and becomes more noticeable and uncomfortable, I get periods of higher heart rate, headaches, insomnia and feel very wired constantly, lights appear very bright to my eyes and I am anxious and uncomofrtable. Normally going back to my previous dose relieves this. However since starting sublingual iron a week ago I am experiencing exactly the same symptoms I get trying to raise my dose and last night felt awful sleepy but wired and had a huge adrenaline/panic surge at 3.30am that left me shaking and hot with a fast heart!

Nothing else has changed my diet and medication remains the same it always is the only difference is I am on my period - day 3 - but this mirrors the exact symptoms I get when I try to raise either T3 or T4 - even with T4 the symptoms start the next day upon taking the higher dose. Could the iron really be having this impact? I am really bemused and very frustrated it feels like however I try to get out of this rut I end up in a lot of discomfort! I had a coritsol test done in June when my thyroid levels were similar - FT3 was the same FT4 a bit higher and it showed in range just a bit low in range in the 9am morning result: 9.78 (6-21). I wonder if the blood loss from my period could also be having an affect? Any insight or advice would be hugely appreciated!

[Hidden]

To be honest those aren't really cortisol symptoms, especially low cortisol symptoms, if you had high cortisol it might be that. Your symptoms are more likely to be due to your thyroid rather than your adrenal glands.

[owl87 in reply to Hidden]

Oh that’s very interesting! I did think that might be the case as back in June when I had these symptoms I would lose weight whereas now I don’t. It’s a real pain because I know I need an increase but I get these symptoms every time I try and it’s so uncomfortable I’m not sure whether I should continue so I reduce my dose. I feel stuck in a rut I can’t get out of!

[Hidden]

You're having (in my non-medically trained opinion) adrenaline reactions to the addition of iron to your diet, as you are clearly very deficient. Basically you're taking too much and need to lower the amount till your body can cope with it. Also possibly the form of iron you're taking isn't well tolerated by your body.

I take Ancestral Beef liver or CodeAge Beef Organs/Spleen to improve my iron levels, as the iron is in a more readily absorbed form than ferrous fumarate or ferrous sulphate supplements. Can you eat red meat or seafood like mussels, clams? They are rich in iron.

[owl87 in reply to Hidden]

Ah thank you thats very feasible! I didn’t even know it could cause that! Il try taking half a tablet (12.5mg) and see if it helps! I do try to eat iron rich foods too to boost it but my problem is low stomach acid from hypothyroidism so I think that’s why I’ve never seen much difference before

[Hidden in reply to owl87]

Ahh well you can do something about low stomach acid. You could try taking Betaine HCl with pepsin with your meals, that adds to the acidity. Or you could use apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice), diluted in juice or water, prior to meals, or take Swedish bitters. Or digestive enzymes. Lots of options, I'm sure you'll find something that works for you.

[owl87 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you I am planning to add some acid in! I was going to wait for a few weeks after starting the iron so im not adding lots of things at once for my body to tolerate

[Serendipitious]

Eating chicken liver once a week really helps with raising low iron levels. It’s more bioavailable and safer than iron tablets. My Ferritin also hangs around 20 but I managed to raise it to 30 with regular chicken liver. I also took grass fed beef liver capsules on other days.

Your thyroid needs a Ferritin between 90-110 for thyroid function according to Dr Izabella Wentz. Iron is needed to produce Thyroid Peroxidase which is the enzyme that makes thyroid hormone.

[owl87 in reply to Serendipitious]

Thank you! I was actually eating livers and it was working albeit incredibly slowly - got me to 34 after months but then my periods returned (I haven’t had them for years) and it dropped right back! I had hoped to do it with just liver but it doesn’t seem to work at all since my periods returned!

[Serendipitious in reply to owl87]

It's a vicious circle I've not been able to get on top of either but I've never persevered with it until now. Now I know the implications of not doing this, I'm doing whatever I can to increase my iron levels. I do need to have a full iron panel to make sure all the other numbers are good too at some point.

[owl87 in reply to Serendipitious]

It really is! In January I had really good thyroid levels for a short time and with no supplements or iron rich foods my iron was a fantastic 84 for the first time in my life! Sometimes I wish we could communicate with our bodies and tell them to calm down long enough for us to just get the perfect dose so it can sort itself out haha! I really hope you’re able to get yours right too!

[humanbean]

since starting sublingual iron a week ago I am experiencing exactly the same symptoms I get trying to raise my dose and last night felt awful sleepy but wired and had a huge adrenaline/panic surge at 3.30am that left me shaking and hot with a fast heart!

Is it possible that your iron and ferritin are improving and are actually improving your conversion from T4 to T3?

Referring to your cortisol, first thing in the morning cortisol should be close to the top of the range - see this link on the subject of optimal cortisol in saliva testing (see Example 1) :

rt3-adrenals.org/cortisol_t...

[owl87 in reply to humanbean]

That was my first thought because a a few months ago when I got my iron up a little I was on the same dose as now but my thyroid levels were higher. I wasn’t sure if it was possible though so I’m glad to hear someone else think the same! I’m not sure whether I should try to ride it out or perhaps reduce the iron strength a little.

I know that morning cortisol was not optimal but I assume it’s only low because my ft3 is too low so it will rise to normal with optimal levels. Only issue is it seems to also be the thing causing my struggle to reach that point!

[humanbean in reply to owl87]

Yes, sadly, when thyroid disease has been left untreated for years so many things go wrong that it is difficult to know what to start treating first. I had problems tolerating various things when I first started, but over time the problems have receded quite a bit.

[owl87 in reply to humanbean]

Yes thats just it! I am glad the problems tolerating have receded! Did you just have to take it very slow?

[humanbean in reply to owl87]

A lot of my issues were iron related because I had a long-term GI bleed. I had to learn how to test, interpret the tests, and how to dose supplements. Luckily, as long as I didn't overdo the testing and spending I was able to afford to test often enough to make monitoring myself feasible.

Going gluten-free was very helpful. I'd been told five years before I went gf that I didn't have coeliac disease so I never thought it was necessary to do anything about gluten for all those years. But I got a lot of benefits from doing it eventually just as an experiment.

I do have other health problems besides hypothyroidism, and they make my life substantially harder than it would otherwise be.

[owl87 in reply to humanbean]

Ah I see I am glad you have manadhed to sort it out! It’s hard enough managing this so I can’t imagine what it’s like juggling multiple issues! I monitor myself every 6 weeks to check levels and see what’s working as I am sure was your experience I have found the doctors are useless!

[SlowDragon Ambassador]

Improving low vitamin levels helps your body recognise just how hypothyroid you really are

It can be difficult to increase dose when been left under medicated too long

Your body is trying to compensate for lack of thyroid hormones by running on adrenaline

An adrenaline rush at 3am is typical symptom

[owl87 in reply to SlowDragon]

That makes a lot of sense! I find it diffocult balancing between not wanting to increase too quickly and not wanting to stay where I am for so long and that I am conitunally putting my body under stress! I've been undermedicated with a FT3 below 45% since April so its been a while!