Armour and signs of adrenal fatigue

[spinn]

I am taking Armour but my DR was reluctant because he said it might "blow out my adrenals".

I am ramping up the armour slowly and he started me on 1/4 grain twice per day.

My question is....what are the signs that my adrenals are taking too much of a hit from the Armour?

 

[kincaiddave]

Unless Dr. John or someone else knowledgeable can step in here, I believe you should post your question on this site if you have not already - Stop The Thyroid Madness :: Index. Post in the "Adrenals and Thyroid" section.

It's my understanding that you have to have adequate cortisol levels from the adrenal glands to carry the thyroid hormones to the cells for them to do their work. It is recommended to have your adrenals "supported" before starting the Armour. This is sometimes with Isocort (OTC) or Cortef to provide the necessary cortisol. When you get steady temperatures graphed as shown here - Dr. Rind Home Page you are ready to increase your Armour.

Keep us posted on your progress. I'm wanting to try Armour myself.

 

[pmgamer18]

I just posted this to a guy at the H2 group some of the info should help.
Phil
Bill sorry to hear you have this problem your lower then my first test I was 8. The ACTH Stim test will show if it's you Adrenals or your Pituitary not sending the message ACTH to your Adrenals to make Cortisol. Here is a link to Chris's Explaination of the ACTH test you need to read this I have seen posts where Dr.'s did it wrong. You need to be sure you understand about this test and how to read it.
Stop The Thyroid Madness :: View topic - My explaination of the ACTH stimulation test.

Most people find out they have low cortisol because they have a low Thyroid Problem one needs cortisol to carry the thyroid hormone from the blood to the cells. If there cortisol is low do to Adrenal Fatigue there is not enough cortisol to do this and as they up there meds they start to feel hyper because the hormone is going to high in the blood and not being carried to the cells. One big cause of Adrenal Fatigue is a low Thyroid the Adrenals work over time to bring up levels of thyroid and become fatigued.

Now we are finding a lot of men with low T had Adrenal Fatigue do to the stress of low T be it from the fatigue of low T or the high Estradiol. But it's dam odd that as men hear about this and are not feeling 100% on TRT that after a blood test there cortisol levels are low.

The first thing I did was to try and figure out what stage of Adrenal Fatigue I was at and it looked like stage 3.
Large Selye Chart

Then I went to this site and printed out a chart for tracking your body's temps. I would take it under my arm before getting out of bed for 10 min.'s if it is under 97.8 you have a thyroid problem my temps that I did were for 4 morning and then I did an avg. it was 95.8.
Temperature Patterns of low adrenal and thyroid function
Using this to take my temps it is also sold at Wall-Greens and Wal-mart.
Thermometer

Then after I was up for 3 hrs I took my temp every 3 hrs 3 to 4 times a day and did an avg. My avg. was low between 96.8 to 97.6 and each day was up or down this is Adrenal Fatigue.

I then ordered a Saliva Test through this link.
Stop The Thyroid Madness » Those durn Adrenals!!
From the Canary Club for about $140.00 this is the best way to test cortisol levels and DHEA.

Then I bought the book "Adrenal Fatigue The 21st. Century by Wilson. This book was a big help in understanding this problem but doing what he said to treat it with stuff like this did nothing to my temp chart. It has this in it Pituitary Extract (Freeze-Dried) 120 mg
Adrenal Cortex Extract 33 mg and cortisol but you have no idea how much.
20% Off PhytoPharmica End Fatigue Adrenal Stress-End, formerly known as Adrenal Soluble Fractions, 50 capsules, PhytoPharmica - PhytoPharmica Energy 20% Off
Also he said to do B Vit.s.
20% Off PhytoPharmica End Fatigue Daily Energy B Complex, 30 capsules, PhytoPharmica - PhytoPharmica Energy 20% Off
Vit. C
Solaray Super Bio C - Buffered, 1000 mg., 360 capsules, Solaray - Solaray C Vitamins 50% Off
Everyone with low Cortisol has low DHEA I take this 2 a day.
PhytoPharmica DHEA-25, 60 caps, PhytoPharmica - PhytoPharmica Immune System 25% Off
I take 3 grams of a good brand of Fish OIL. I buy mine at Coscos (spelling) I get the one that is coated so you don't burp it up.
And there is Maca this helps keep your Adrenal hormones leveled. I was off this for 30 days and just went back on it I feel better on this. I do 1/2 tsp 2 x's a day. This is the best price and product on he web.
Maca Power® - 454g/1 lbs Raw Maca Powder

I dropped the Adrenal cortex
20% Off PhytoPharmica End Fatigue Adrenal Stress-End, formerly known as Adrenal Soluble Fractions, 50 capsules, PhytoPharmica - PhytoPharmica Energy 20% Off
It did nothing.

I got some Isocort and started on it it is made from sheep adrenal's and wow the first pill made me feel good you need to start this slow. I did 4 pills = 10mgs. of cortisol first thing in the morning with food and 2 pills = 5mgs. of cortisol at noon and dinner. This changed my chart my temps come up to 98.4 to 99 but still up and down if your avg. is up or down from day to day more then .2 tenths your cortisol is still to low. I followed this to get started.
Stop The Thyroid Madness » How to treat adrenals–for the patient and their doctors
My Dr. would not give me Hydrocortisone said it's not safe to use. So I got this book by Dr. Jefferies "Safe Uses of Cortisol"
Home Page of William McK. Jefferies, M.D.
SAFE USES OF CORTISOL
Showed this to my Dr. and he blew it off and pissed me off.
I got up to 120mgs of Armour and could not do more my charting even showed my Adrenals were not right to go higher. So I switched to HC and stated with 10mgs. in the morning wow in less then a week my temps were a straight line across at 98.6 first time in 8 months of charting things were looking good and I was feeling better. So if you need to treat your Adrenals the best place for help is Val. at this link.
Stop The Thyroid Madness :: View Forum - ADRENALS and THYROID
Most of the people posting there are Thyroid and Adrenal Fatigue but she helps for Adrenals only too. Do get your thyroid checked have the TSH, Free T4 and Free T3 checked and post them to her.
Wow this was a long post hope it helps.

 

[spinn]

Thanks Phil that was a great post and very helpful. I am doing a lot of that and my temperature is low but steady indicating my adrenals are not great but ok.

As I ramp up the Armour I am hoping to feel better. What I took from your post is that I may feel jittery if it doesnt get into my cells. I also am taking isocort so that should help.

Thanks again........

 

[JanSz]

So I switched to HC and stated with 10mgs. in the morning wow in less then a week my temps were a straight line across at 98.6 first time in 8 months of charting things were looking good and I was feeling better. So if you need to treat your Adrenals the best place for help is Val. at this link.
Stop The Thyroid Madness :: View Forum - ADRENALS and THYROID

Thanks Phil very helpful post.


What is the name of HC that I want to get my prescription for?
What are the different HC's, how do they differ, advantage/disadvantage of each?
I am making shopping list an would like to ask my doc for the best script.

I have enough energy thruot the day, except that I feel low 3-5PM and then 9-11PM
On my last week cortisol test the results represented the way I felt at time of blood draw.
cortisol 7AM=24.2 (4.3-22.4) too high
cortisol 3PM=6.9 (3.1-16.7)
Wonder if it make sense to take HC only when I have low energy.
I am afraid that if I take HC early in the morning it may be too much, I am already too high at that time.
My basal and thruout the day temperatures are low but rather steady. I did not make rigorous study of my temp's.

 

[kincaiddave]

Isocort is OTC, but based on my experience with it I wouldn't recommend it. It has other "stuff" in it. It works for some people.

Cortef is hydrocortisone and is very effective at treating low cortisol.

 

[pmgamer18]

Yes Cortef is good and you need to understand how this works say you high if you take 5 mgs 4 times a day your pituitary will see this and slow down on sending ACTH and your level can come down if this works. But like Dr. John says if your levels are good in the moring that only take it at the times you feel bad it may mean you do more then 5 mgs you can do 10mgs see how you feel after doing 5 if in 30 mins you don't feel better do 5 mgs.more. Dr. Jefferies says you can do up to 30mgs a day and be safe.
Phil

Thanks Phil very helpful post.


What is the name of HC that I want to get my prescription for?
What are the different HC's, how do they differ, advantage/disadvantage of each?
I am making shopping list an would like to ask my doc for the best script.

I have enough energy thruot the day, except that I feel low 3-5PM and then 9-11PM
On my last week cortisol test the results represented the way I felt at time of blood draw.
cortisol 7AM=24.2 (4.3-22.4) too high
cortisol 3PM=6.9 (3.1-16.7)
Wonder if it make sense to take HC only when I have low energy.
I am afraid that if I take HC early in the morning it may be too much, I am already too high at that time.
My basal and thruout the day temperatures are low but rather steady. I did not make rigorous study of my temp's.

 

[FYI777]

Isocort has anxiolytic in me(calms me down) thought it was going to give me some kind of burst of energy like when getting cut off in traffic or adrenaline-like feeling.

Anyone have any thoughts? and yes I know get a $3000 battery of tests with a upper GI with a lower GI and maybe some extra more tests...

By the way people should be aware that there are 2 syndromes adrenal fatigue and chronic elevated cortisol levels.

The Cortisol Connection: Why Stress Makes You Fat and Ruins Your Health - And What You Can Do About It (Paperback)
by Shawn M. Talbott, William Kraemer "There you are, a zebra strolling across the African savanna..." (more)
Key Phrases: one item from the column, cortisol levels under control, controlling cortisol levels, Relaxed Jack, Stressed Jess, United States (more...)

Mastering Cortisol: Stop Your Body's Stress Hormone from Making You Fat Around the Middle (Paperback)
by Marilyn Glenville

 

[pmgamer18]

Same here like a feeling of well being I also get this from HCG.
Phil

Isocort has anxiolytic in me(calms me down) thought it was going to give me some kind of burst of energy like when getting cut off in traffic or adrenaline-like feeling.

Anyone have any thoughts? and yes I know get a $3000 battery of tests with a upper GI with a lower GI and maybe some extra more tests...

By the way people should be aware that there are 2 syndromes adrenal fatigue and chronic elevated cortisol levels.

The Cortisol Connection: Why Stress Makes You Fat and Ruins Your Health - And What You Can Do About It (Paperback)
by Shawn M. Talbott, William Kraemer "There you are, a zebra strolling across the African savanna..." (more)
Key Phrases: one item from the column, cortisol levels under control, controlling cortisol levels, Relaxed Jack, Stressed Jess, United States (more...)

Mastering Cortisol: Stop Your Body's Stress Hormone from Making You Fat Around the Middle (Paperback)
by Marilyn Glenville