Adrenal fatigue, hypothyroid, severe PMT

[browny]

Hi
My name is Clare, I am 32 years old and for he past six years I have been suffering from severe fatigue, weight gain, depression, irritability and I am always cold even during the summer. My doctor says my thyroid is normal but my recent results shows my TSH is 4.7 range 0.37 - 4.7.
Here in the U.K they will not treat until it is 10 as I do not have antibodies.
I have done the Adrenal saliva test privately and it shows extremely low am. cortisol, low at lunch time and high early and late evening. My am. serum cortisol is 229.
I suffer with severe PMT
I am getting nowhere with my Doctor and out of desperation I have purchased some Cortef and I have been taking 22.5mg a day for three weeks. I have also purchase some Thyroid - S but I read it is best to sort my adrenals before I start taking it.
I do not feel the Cortef has helped much and was thinking of changing to Prednisolone, or would Pregnenolone be better use.
I have just read that the Cortef can further lower progesterone, can anyone please tell me if this is right.
I am due my period and today I feel dreadful.
I have read today of Ray Peat's Progesterone Oil and would like to purchase some. Can anyone point me in the direction of where to get it.
If anyone can offer me any advice regarding any of the above I would be very grateful.
Many thanks Clare

 

[answersfound]

Hi
My name is Clare, I am 32 years old and for he past six years I have been suffering from severe fatigue, weight gain, depression, irritability and I am always cold even during the summer. My doctor says my thyroid is normal but my recent results shows my TSH is 4.7 range 0.37 - 4.7.
Here in the U.K they will not treat until it is 10 as I do not have antibodies.
I have done the Adrenal saliva test privately and it shows extremely low am. cortisol, low at lunch time and high early and late evening. My am. serum cortisol is 229.
I suffer with severe PMT
I am getting nowhere with my Doctor and out of desperation I have purchased some Cortef and I have been taking 22.5mg a day for three weeks. I have also purchase some Thyroid - S but I read it is best to sort my adrenals before I start taking it.
I do not feel the Cortef has helped much and was thinking of changing to Prednisolone, or would Pregnenolone be better use.
I have just read that the Cortef can further lower progesterone, can anyone please tell me if this is right.
I am due my period and today I feel dreadful.
I have read today of Ray Peat's Progesterone Oil and would like to purchase some. Can anyone point me in the direction of where to get it.
If anyone can offer me any advice regarding any of the above I would be very grateful.
Many thanks Clare

If you have weak adrenals, I would do two things:

Make sure you are eating enough liver or take a desiccated liver supplement for the Iron.

I would also take the Thyroid-S with pregnenolone, otherwise you probably don't have enough cortisol to shuttle the T3 into the cells. I tried NDT and it was miserable. I had a huge adrenaline response, even from the smallest amount. After taking it with the pregnenolone, I haven't had an issue once.

 

[aguilaroja]

My name is Clare, I am 32 years old and for he past six years I have been suffering from severe fatigue, weight gain, depression, irritability and I am always cold even during the summer. My doctor says my thyroid is normal but my recent results shows my TSH is 4.7 range 0.37 - 4.7.
Here in the U.K they will not treat until it is 10 as I do not have antibodies...

Please also search the forum for further discussion of the "adrenal fatigue" topic.

AFAIK, Dr. Peat's views differ markedly from various hormone advisors of different backgrounds, including those that talk about fixing adrenals first, even on thyroid advocacy sites like STTM. If you pursue those, it is best to understand them in their own terms.

Also, even putting aside the reliability of saliva tests, low cortisol during the day and high cortisol in the evening may be interpreted by saliva testing labs themselves disrupted diurnal rhythm rather than "fatigue" of adrenals.

It is best to read Dr. Peat directly. However, IIUC, from both reading and direct discussion, he is not enthusiastic about supplementing cortisol for posited weak adrenals.

http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/ti ... tion.shtml

http://peatarian.com/peatexchanges

"[Cortisol & weak adrenals] Cortisol is a little more water soluble than progesterone, and a diurnal cycle can be seen in the saliva, but the absolute amounts aren't as meaningful as in the serum. Thyroid is needed for the adrenals to function well, and adequate cholesterol, as raw material. It's popular to talk about "weak adrenals," but the adrenal cortex regenerates very well. Animal experimenters can make animals that lack the adrenal medulla by scooping out everything inside the adrenal capsule, and the remaining cells quickly regenerate the steroid producing tissues, the cortex. So I think the "low adrenal" people are simply low thyroid, or deficient in cholesterol or nutrients."

Please think about go through a low thyroid symptom list, an estrogen excess symptom list, and start tracking daily resting temperature and pulse, to gather information. When some people inventory, larger amounts of low thyroid or of high estrogen symptoms may give a clue which is a priority.

As Dr. Peat discusses, there are many factors which support metabolism, such as adequate protein, salt, cholesterol, etc. Also, many depleting factors are best avoided, including soy, unsaturated vegetable oils, and excess starches. Again, browse forum resources and posts. Many things are quick to start.

You can search the web for "Dr. Peat's Progest E Complex" or kenogen & progesterone oil, or search the forum. Here are some vendors, to whom I have no link:

https://www.longnaturalhealth.com/produ ... -28-ml/PGE

http://www.arkofwellness.com/shop/produ ... e-complex/

http://www.vitaminexpress.com/product_i ... cts_id/526

In the short term, physical measures to keep warmer may bring some symptom relief. These may include hats, warm socks, baths, incandescent or infrared light (of course keep higher wattage away from the skin).

 

[tara]

Welcome browny

 

[kineticz]

Another classic hypothyroid case.

Is there a sticky somewhere? It should contain the following advice which I believe is useful for all who arrive and want a starting point.

Peat knows that the basis of 'adrenal fatigue' is either, low cholesterol, low thyroid, low vitamin A. The best thing to start with is to replenish liver glycogen properly since the liver creates cholesterol in useable form, creates T3, detoxes estrogen, etc.

"Your brain fog, low stress tolerance, laboured movements, etc are due to adrenal depletion. Your liver has tried to compensate by ramping up triglycerides but your adrenals are suffocated and are sending the fatty acids right back to the liver in the blood stream.

Here is a summary which should give you a plan to work with and how it all ties together. All your history and symptoms are classic stress compensation for a metabolism that was always playing catch-up.

Low cortisol
Sluggish, toxic liver
Low glycogen
High fatty acids
High adrenaline/ephiprene
Low T3
Low DHEA
Low dopamine
Low sodium
High muscle conversion to serotonin
High prefrontal cortex hypometabolism (caused by high serotonin low dopamine across the blood brain barrier)

It's all typical to Ray Peat and this forum. I'm really hopeful that replenishing your liver will reduce cholesterol, triglycerides, and adrenaline, which will allow your adrenal enzymes to open up and breathe again.

Whichever product of the fructose arrives first, in you I would triple the recommended dose on the package, and take it any time of the day but before bed is probably the best to get restorative sleep again. On the first day, take it when it arrives straight away with some water.

Once you become used to using glycogen instead of fats for energy, energy hormones and supplements will have a significantly better effect. It can't be emphasised enough that a high circulation of ephiprene and fatty acids will block 95% of anything you've tried with your practitioners etc. It is the body's way of slowing things down until you target the root cause - low blood sugar.

Where doctors and so-called specialists go wrong is by thinking that because you have high cholesterol, you must have high liver glycogen. Cholesterol is made from protein and fats as well as sugar. A high fat content in the body relative to sugar will halt all adrenal, liver and thyroid processes.

Regards
Dan"

 

[InChristAlone]

Dan, you seem to know so much! I also have been suffering the same plight except for weight gain, I am thin. I hate the high adrenaline with all of my being it's a poor existance I have like 5 days of the month I don't struggle with high pulse and very low motivation to do anything but sit at my computer. I have to take sugar all day to take care of my kids.

Yeah I think only physiological dosing of cortisone is recommemded for a short time then immediately start on thyroid, I was too chicken to try that though. I react to small amounts of thyroid with adrenaline but I don't think throwing more hormones in the mix fixes this. Progest e helps but doesn't cure anything IME.

 

[Strongbad]

I agree that hypo issues should be stickied or should be made a general thread somehow. Most of newcomers come from hypothyroid background, such as myself.

Once you become used to using glycogen instead of fats for energy, energy hormones and supplements will have a significantly better effect. It can't be emphasised enough that a high circulation of ephiprene and fatty acids will block 95% of anything you've tried with your practitioners etc. It is the body's way of slowing things down until you target the root cause - low blood sugar.

This is the root problem of going low-carb diet Maybe to kickstart the transition from low-carb to Peatarian diet, one must start consuming lots of fructose powder in addition to the rest of the Peatarian food?

I also avoid coffee completely now. I tried it mixed with milk and sugar for a while but the jitter never disappears and I keep getting nervous and occasionally have mini adrenaline-rush sessions throughout the day. My hair shed a lot during those mini-sessions, so I decided to quit coffee completely. The last thing I want from Peatarian diet is to loose more hair

I'll get back to coffee once my basal metabolic rate is constantly 98.5F degree or above

 

[Bozidar]

Another classic hypothyroid case.

Is there a sticky somewhere? It should contain the following advice which I believe is useful for all who arrive and want a starting point.

Peat knows that the basis of 'adrenal fatigue' is either, low cholesterol, low thyroid, low vitamin A. The best thing to start with is to replenish liver glycogen properly since the liver creates cholesterol in useable form, creates T3, detoxes estrogen, etc.

"Your brain fog, low stress tolerance, laboured movements, etc are due to adrenal depletion. Your liver has tried to compensate by ramping up triglycerides but your adrenals are suffocated and are sending the fatty acids right back to the liver in the blood stream.

Here is a summary which should give you a plan to work with and how it all ties together. All your history and symptoms are classic stress compensation for a metabolism that was always playing catch-up.

Low cortisol
Sluggish, toxic liver
Low glycogen
High fatty acids
High adrenaline/ephiprene
Low T3
Low DHEA
Low dopamine
Low sodium
High muscle conversion to serotonin
High prefrontal cortex hypometabolism (caused by high serotonin low dopamine across the blood brain barrier)

It's all typical to Ray Peat and this forum. I'm really hopeful that replenishing your liver will reduce cholesterol, triglycerides, and adrenaline, which will allow your adrenal enzymes to open up and breathe again.

Whichever product of the fructose arrives first, in you I would triple the recommended dose on the package, and take it any time of the day but before bed is probably the best to get restorative sleep again. On the first day, take it when it arrives straight away with some water.

Once you become used to using glycogen instead of fats for energy, energy hormones and supplements will have a significantly better effect. It can't be emphasised enough that a high circulation of ephiprene and fatty acids will block 95% of anything you've tried with your practitioners etc. It is the body's way of slowing things down until you target the root cause - low blood sugar.

Where doctors and so-called specialists go wrong is by thinking that because you have high cholesterol, you must have high liver glycogen. Cholesterol is made from protein and fats as well as sugar. A high fat content in the body relative to sugar will halt all adrenal, liver and thyroid processes.

Regards
Dan"

I am sorry for my ignorance, but what is fructose powder supposed to do?
Restore liver glycogen?
But how does it do that?
Thanks

 

[LizRey86]

Hi
My name is Clare, I am 32 years old and for he past six years I have been suffering from severe fatigue, weight gain, depression, irritability and I am always cold even during the summer. My doctor says my thyroid is normal but my recent results shows my TSH is 4.7 range 0.37 - 4.7.
Here in the U.K they will not treat until it is 10 as I do not have antibodies.
I have done the Adrenal saliva test privately and it shows extremely low am. cortisol, low at lunch time and high early and late evening. My am. serum cortisol is 229.
I suffer with severe PMT
I am getting nowhere with my Doctor and out of desperation I have purchased some Cortef and I have been taking 22.5mg a day for three weeks. I have also purchase some Thyroid - S but I read it is best to sort my adrenals before I start taking it.
I do not feel the Cortef has helped much and was thinking of changing to Prednisolone, or would Pregnenolone be better use.
I have just read that the Cortef can further lower progesterone, can anyone please tell me if this is right.
I am due my period and today I feel dreadful.
I have read today of Ray Peat's Progesterone Oil and would like to purchase some. Can anyone point me in the direction of where to get it.
If anyone can offer me any advice regarding any of the above I would be very grateful.
Many thanks Clare

Hello! I have been dealing with low cortisol for 3 years also, lots of similar symptoms.
I have found, unfortunately, anything that lowers cortisol is going to make things worse. Pregnenalone, progesterone, milk, B vitamins all exacerbate my symptoms.
The cortef is life saving but it can take 2,3 maybe even 4 months to start ovulating again, so be patient with it.
I would not go to prednisone or anything else, the cortef is bioidentical and is the safest form to take.
If you have heard of the book “safe uses of cortisol” by william ck jeffries buy it, its worth it completely.
Ive been able to come off all supplements and medications with the cortef over the past 4 months and continue to improve. I went from sleeping 1-3 hours of broken sleep a night to around 6 hours and diarrhea 6-8 times a day to normal bowel movements. Extreme pms, hypoglycemia are almost completely gone. In just 4 months.
The Peat lifestyle is wonderful but you may need to eat that way later on in your recovery, mainly because his recommendations are aimed at lowering cortisol. Obviously you do Not want to do that right now.