Cortisol- ACK!

I just had some blood tests done- my fasting cortisol blood test was high, quite a bit above the range- yikes!
I've suspected that I'm having cortisol issues for the past several months (years?), and this test not only confirms that I had high cortisol, but that my current protocol is not working. I think the cortisol symptoms began when I started NDT a couple years ago, and then got even worse when I switched from NDT to synthetics 4 months ago.
People always discuss that taking thyroid can increase adrenaline symptoms, but I don't recall reading that it would make cortisol problems worse. However, I do suspect the meds are at least a part of the problem. Can thyroid meds increase cortisol, even though they're supposed to help lower it?

I'm not sure what else I can do-- I sleep well, eat regularly to keep blood sugar up. I might be able to increase salt a bit more, but I always at least salt my food to taste. Any suggestions? What am I missing?
Even if some of these things are a little off, I can't imagine my cortisol would be so high just from eating 1/2 hour too late occasionally.

Hi Katty,
I was searching under Peatarian/cortisol on the forum and found sugar, salt, sodium bicarbonate, basically everything Peaty helps lower cortisol.

"In experiments, progesterone was found to be the basic hormone of adaptation and of resistance to stress. The adrenal glands use it to produce their antistress hormones, and when there is enough progesterone, they don't have to produce the potentially harmful cortisol. In a progesterone deficiency, we produce too much cortisol, and excessive cortisol causes osteoporosis, aging of the skin, damage to brain cells, and the accumulation of fat, especially on the back and abdomen."
http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/pr ... ries.shtml

I know you have had problems supplementing Progest-e in the past, have you tried pregnenolone?

Thanks for the reply Haagendazendiane!
I've tried pregnenolone too. Causes horrible acne. I'm guessing it's getting converted to estrogen. I haven't tried pregnenolone dissolved in oil, so maybe that would help. I'm a little nervous because can't pregnenolone be converted into other stress hormones as well? I'd hate to take it and have more cortisol-- but maybe I'm misunderstanding how it works.
I'm doing the sugar, salt, etc. I'm wondering if lowering my thyroid meds will help take care of this.

Are you still getting adrenaline symptoms from the thyroid? I don't know about decreasing your meds... I think cortisol is part of a low thyroid problem. Have you tried doing smaller thyroid doses with food? And more calories/protein in general?

From http://www.functionalps.com/blog/2012/0 ... e-and-tsh/:

"Stress, besides suppressing the TSH, acts in other ways to suppress the real thyroid function. Cortisol, for example, inhibits the conversion of T4 to T3, which is responsible for the respiratory production of energy and carbon dioxide. Adrenaline, besides leading to increased production of cortisol, is lipolytic, releasing the fatty acids which, if they are polyunsaturated, inhibit the production and transport of thyroid hormone, and also interfere directly with the respiratory functions of the mitochondria. Adrenaline decreases the conversion to T4 to T3, and increases the formation of the antagonistic reverse T3 (Nauman, et al., 1980, 1984)."

"After eating breakfast, the cortisol (and adrenalin, if it stayed high despite the increased cortisol) will start returning to a more normal, lower level, as the blood sugar is sustained by food, instead of by the stress hormones. In some hypothyroid people, this is a good time to measure the temperature and pulse rate. In a normal person, both temperature and pulse rate rise after breakfast, but in very hypothyroid people either, or both, might fall."

"By watching the temperature and pulse rate at different times of day, especially before and after meals, it’s possible to separate some of the effects of stress from the thyroid-dependent, relatively “basal” metabolic rate. When beginning to take a thyroid supplement, it’s important to keep a chart of these measurements for at least two weeks, since that’s roughly the half-life of thyroxine in the body. When the body has accumulated a steady level of the hormones, and begun to function more fully, the factors such as adrenaline that have been chronically distorted to compensate for hypothyroidism will have begun to normalize, and the early effects of the supplementary thyroid will in many cases seem to disappear, with heart rate and temperature declining. The daily dose of thyroid often has to be increased several times, as the state of stress and the adrenaline and cortisol production decrease."

"Using thyroid will usually reduce the amount of progesterone needed. Occasionally, a woman won’t feel any effect even from 100 mg. of progesterone; I think this indicates that they need to use thyroid and diet, to normalize their estrogen, prolactin, and cortisol."

Katty said:

Thanks for the reply Haagendazendiane!
I've tried pregnenolone too. Causes horrible acne. I'm guessing it's getting converted to estrogen. I haven't tried pregnenolone dissolved in oil, so maybe that would help. I'm a little nervous because can't pregnenolone be converted into other stress hormones as well? I'd hate to take it and have more cortisol-- but maybe I'm misunderstanding how it works.
I'm doing the sugar, salt, etc. I'm wondering if lowering my thyroid meds will help take care of this.

Click to expand...

Wow, I've never heard of that side effect of pregnenolone. Are you absolutely certain that was what caused it?
I just ordered some and that makes me afraid to try it because I've had issues with that before. I thought it was supposed to create progesterone if needed, which I think it would be if you have high cortisol
Was it a clean source of pregnenolone? Were there any additives?

Here is a thread discussing problems with pregnenolone.
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=227&p=1801&hilit=Cortisol#p1801

tomisonbottom said:

Katty said:

Thanks for the reply Haagendazendiane!
I've tried pregnenolone too. Causes horrible acne. I'm guessing it's getting converted to estrogen. I haven't tried pregnenolone dissolved in oil, so maybe that would help. I'm a little nervous because can't pregnenolone be converted into other stress hormones as well? I'd hate to take it and have more cortisol-- but maybe I'm misunderstanding how it works.
I'm doing the sugar, salt, etc. I'm wondering if lowering my thyroid meds will help take care of this.

Click to expand...

Wow, I've never heard of that side effect of pregnenolone. Are you absolutely certain that was what caused it?
I just ordered some and that makes me afraid to try it because I've had issues with that before. I thought it was supposed to create progesterone if needed, which I think it would be if you have high cortisol
Was it a clean source of pregnenolone? Were there any additives?

Click to expand...

Yes, I'm certain it was the pregnenolone. I got acne where I never get it as soon as I started taking it. As soon as I stopped taking it, the acne went away. Tried it again (can't remember, but probably a couple weeks later) and exact same thing happened again.

It was a clean source- Beyond a Century brand, no additives.
I've heard Dr Peat say if you take the powdered form, then the liver has to convert it, which takes work and some can get converted to estrogen. Peat said if you dissolve the pregnenolone in oil (or some say just eat some butter or fat when you take the powder) then the pregnenolone can go straight into circulation (doesn't have to go through liver) and is less likely to turn into estrogen.
I was just taking the straight powder, so that was probably part of the problem.

I always try to take pregnenolone with food but I have occasionally taken it without food. I didn't know about taking it with butter katty, thanks for mentioning that info. I can't wait until I can switch to haidut's pregnenolone formula since its mixed with oil. Right now I'm taking such a high dose that I have to stick with the powder.

I bump a thread by haidut about tyrosine and cortisol in case you hadn't seen it.

I just posted a thread showing activated vitamin B6 is a cortisol antagonist and not only lowers cortisol in plasma but also reverses some of conditions caused by high cortisol.
viewtopic.php?f=75&t=5978

ilovethesea said:

Cortisol, for example, inhibits the conversion of T4 to T3

Click to expand...

why does t3 raise cortisol for some of us?