I posted here a few months ago with problems relating to low cortisol & DHEA and lowish ft4. I’ve had quite a journey so far and suffice to say, my GP has been absolutely no help except suggesting I have CFS and might I want some anti-depressants? No, I don’t, I’m not depressed, but I’m really tired of being tired. She also refused to carry out some tests requested by a private endo I’d had a consult with. I’ve just switched GP and am awaiting results of a blood test. In the intervening months, I’ve tried Adrenavive II x once daily and I think it has helped a tiny bit with fatigue, but I’ve noticed that it seems to make my face puffy, and also my lower legs. Is this a normal side effect or an indication that it’s not the right supplement for me? Any help appreciated.
Puffy face with adrenavive II: I posted here a... - Thyroid UK
Puffy face with adrenavive II
Jamima
I have used Adrenavive ll, currently using a different brand, and I haven't experienced any side effects or adverse reactions.
Have you repeated your cortisol/DHEA test to see if anything has changed?
Thanks SeasideSusie. It’s only just occurred to me that I probably ought to do another 24 hour cortisol test as i’ve finished 1.5 bottles of adrenavive. I’m hoping that last week’s gp blood test will include at least tsh /t4 and it was a fasting test at 08.30 so should be accurate. I’ve not felt particularly great on adrenavive but marginally less tired, brain fog still very present until evening. How would I know if I should treat adrenals/thyroid, or both?
Jamima
How would I know if I should treat adrenals/thyroid, or both?
Your test results should show where you need help. Post them when you have them. Post the picture of your adrenal test and we can compare it with your previous one.
Ok, many thanks.
Hi Jamima, Just a comment about the Adrenavive.
The manufacturers of Adrenavive and Metavive have recently added ribonucleotides to all these products. I suggest that you search on here for recent posts about Metavive and Adfenavive. Some of us find the change of recipe doesn't work for us.
You could ask SeasideSusie what brand she is on now and see if that is helpful.
Ok, thank you. I haven’t tried any other brands so couldn’t compare. Are others having problems with water retention?
I don't know what problems people are having. It may vary between different people.
I was on Metavive. When I started to change over to the new Metavive I started to gain weight and showed signs of being overmedicated, but when I reduced to a lower level as suggested by the suppliers, I was undermedicated and still putting on weight. I don't know what effect the nucleotides have on Adrenavive.
If you are using Adrenavive and Metavive you will be getting these extra nucleotides from both of them.
Yes, I have gained some weight but it feels and looks like water retention. I’m absolutely not eating more and I’m not kidding myself on that. I’ll stop for a week and see if it subsides. Thanks for the info.
I agree, I had kept my weight steady and wasn't eating any differently. Putting on weight is one of the many symptoms of being undermedicated.
Well I haven’t actually been medicated yet as last doc said everything was ‘healthy’. Not sure I’d call persistent brain fog and inability to do anything but stare at the wall all day, ‘healthy’, and hoping new gp might be more amenable. At least I got an appointment with them, it’s a start.
Good luck with the new gp. Make sure that you tell him/her all the things you've been taking. If you've got a lot of brain fog it might help to write down everything you want to say.
You may not have been given a prescription, but you seem to have been self medicating. Make sure you tell your new gp everything you can think of.
Some people aren't sure about telling their doctors about anything they are self medicating with, but it really is important to tell him/her. Otherwise it's a bit like trying to do a jigsaw puzzle with bits missing.
Thanks, already mentioned it. She hadn’t heard of adrenavive.
Jamima, I've had a thought about your puffy face. You may have a 'moon face' which is an old description of a known symptom of underactive thyroid, often described as a puffy face. Not the same as water retention which you suggested.
Here's the list of hypothyroid symptoms from Thyroid UK
thyroiduk.org/signs-symptom...
It might be worth printing out that list from Thyroid UK and ticking all the symptoms which you have, then showing it to your new GP.
Looking back at some of your previous posts you mention both Adrenavive and Metavive. The latest versions of these all contain the ribonucleotides. Since taking new Metavive I've looked back and realised that I had signs of underactive thyroid such as reduced morning temperature and weight gain. For me I'm pretty sure they were due to the ribonucleotides in the new version. You may have been taking quite a lot of these over lockdown.
I can't be the only person affected in this way, and I think you may be also. I don't have any blood tests from that time, so I don't know if these were affected by the nucleotides - some blood tests are affected by other things we can take. For example it's known that biotin distorts results.
I suggest that you stop taking Adrenavive and Metavive for now.
I hope that your new GP will go by symptoms as well as blood tests.
Thank you so much Anthea. I dabbled with 2 or 3 metavive but didn’t feel good at all so not had those for a week or so. I’ve re/started the adrenal cocktails and supplemented iron and magnesium which I’d been lazy with, and I feel a lot better today. No more adrenavive for now. Perhaps it has raised my cortisol and the other supplements were required, I don’t know, but I feel better without it for now. In fact, today I feel the best I’ve felt for almost 2 years! Long may it last, and thanks again for your help.
I think you'll need more than a week or so to get things out of your system, but that sounds like a good start.
The other thing I thought I would mention is vitamins / minerals etc. Have you had these checked? Personally I try to supplement only for things which are low when tested; the others are either a waste of time or you risk being overdosed.
Unfortunately many doctors don't understand the importance of nutrition and have very little training in it. You could go to the web site for BANT the British Association for Nutrition & Lifestyle Medicine. This link takes you to the page where you can find practitioners near you.
bant.org.uk/bant/jsp/practi...
I was greatly helped by a nutritional doctor some years ago. One thing he said was that if you get your nutrition as good as you can then any medical problem will present itself more clearly. Good advice.
Another thing that helped me was finding out my food intolerances.
Thank you Anthea - I’ve also started DHEA supplements as my levels were very low on my 24 hour cortisol test. I had most of my vits checked about 6 months ago - ferritin and b12 were standouts, but I’ve been lazy with iron, mostly because I didn’t want to cause anymore upset to a digestive system already in turmoil. I seem to tolerate spatone well so I’ll keep going with that. I agree re. nutrition, it’s crucial. I’m now dairy and gluten free and substitute with rice and oat based products and some sheep and goat dairy which has helped enormously. I’m going to do another vit test but waiting to see what gp tests reveal first.
Puffy face 
Help Please? Re. Adrenavive II & Metavive II
Advice please
ADRENAVIVE II
