Hi. I'm a 21 year old male and I have hypothyroidism, moderately low saliva cortisol in the am and afternoon, and EXTREMELY low morning saliva and morning serum DHEA. I'm a mechanical engineer so as you'd expect I'm in the same boat as all of you trying to figure this out myself.
Labs:
Serum DHEA-S: 90 mcg/dL (Should be 200-400. 90 is EXTREMELY LOW FOR MY AGE). Blood was drawn at 8:00am.
Saliva DHEA-S: 3.4 ng/mL (Should be at least 23 for my age and health. 3.4 is ALSO EXTREMELY LOW FOR MY AGE)
Total Testosterone: 1154 ng/dL (Range: 250-1100. Mine is very high, more on that below)
Free Testosterone: 123.5 pg/mL (Range: 35-155. Still high but not crazy. Probably because of SHBG being high)
SHBG: 83 nmol/L (Range: 10-50. High. Not sure why. It's been high since before I started supplementing. See supplementation below)
Saliva Cortisol:
8:00am: 6.7 ng/mL (Should be 9.5)
1:30pm: 2.3 ng/mL (Should be 2.55)
7:00pm: 1.7 ng/mL (fine)
Midnight: 0.4 ng/mL (perfect)
My problem is that I don't know the best way to go about my adrenal treatment. Here's some quick insight.
I'm currently on 75mg of Armour Thyroid taken at 8:00am everyday, 10mg micronized DHEA taken at 9:30am everyday, 200mg Thorne Adrenal Cortex(ACE) taken at 10:30am everyday, 150mg at 1:30pm, 50 mg at 6:00pm, and 50mg at bedtime.
The thyroid labs very clearly indicate hypo so that's not why I'm here. I'm increasing them 15mg every 4 weeks. I'm curious how to supplement quickly and efficiently in the morning while making sure all of my meds absorb. I believe DHEA should be taken on an empty stomach and I'm doing it 1.5 hours after Armour to be safe. And I'm taking my 200mg dose of ACE 1 hour after the DHEA to give it time to absorb. Also, I take all the ACE with food because I heard it absorbs well with food in the STTM book. I wish there was a simple way to take them all very early. Does anybody have any ideas or suggestions?
Also, here is another piece of the puzzle: My DHEA is extremely low yet my Total Testosterone is so high it's out of the range. I can't workout or run because of adrenal fatigue but if I do I gain muscle so easily you wouldn't believe it. This is strange because high T doesn't usually go with low DHEA since DHEA is what makes Testosterone. Thoughts?
I have A LOT more labs and I have the data all neatly organized in an excel spreadsheet so if you need more info to make a suggestion just ask!
Naturopath had me start on 200mg of adrenal cortex. The first day I took 100mg (just because I’m usually extra sensitive to meds) and I felt slightly fatigued, but thought it was my normal sleepiness issues. Today I took all 200mg this morning, and about an hour after I felt so immensely fatigued, heavy, fogged, and took a 2 hour nap. I still feel pretty heavy and lethargic.
I only recently have been reading about adrenal stuff and I am trying to understand why this is happening. He said it’s suppose to make me energized during the day, and then sleepy at night. Maybe I should take it at night instead??
Regardless, I will call him when the office is open on Tuesday, but I was curious why this might be happening. I have ADHD so maybe that makes my reaction different ?
Also, I usually have good energy levels in the morning and it slowly lowers and lowers till about 8pm, then BOOM tons of energy and motivation.
So I'm tackling my adrenal/cortisol issues by taking loads of adaptogens like Rhodiola, Ashwaganda, Ginseng, etc and have read that adding Adrenal Cortex to the mix can be beneficial, for example taking more in the morning and less in the evening to mimic the natural Circadian rhythm.
anyone use ACE successfully?
Please post your story below if you've had a negative experience with hydrocortisone or adrenal cortex extract. This thread will become part of the future wiki for this subreddit.
Use of these hormone supplements can help people get out of a severe state of adrenal dysfunction, and are life saving for those with Addison's disease. However, there is evidence that taking high doses long term can cause suppression of adrenal function, which would make things worse for those who don't truly need it.
Answer these types of questions: How long did you take it? Did your symptoms come back? What were your symptoms before and after? Did your symptoms change after going off of it? Did you work with a doctor or an alternative medicine practitioner? Did you build up a tolerance? Did your body become dependent on it? Did you have side effects?
I have this one. https://ancestralsupplements.com/adrenal
Hi everyone.
Is adrenal cortex safe to take? I’ve read that people in late stage (stage 3) with low cortisol should maybe stay away from it (because of adrenaline and paradoxical reaction issues) but I’ve also heard people rave about it. Also any input on cortex vs whole gland or even pituitary gland extract? I was thinking about getting the adrenal gland supplement from Ancestral Supplements (contains whole gland and owner confirmed no one has complained about increase adrenaline on it) but I’m reading so many different viewpoints/opinions.
Thanks.
Does aderenal cortex help your adrenals heal from low cortisol or does it just treat the symptoms? a bit confused on this one thank you.
Recently started taking Relora 500mg at dinner time and before bed. I take 50mg of Adrenal Cortex in the morning. I have done a Saliva Cortisol test. My levels are Low, High, High. Don't feel much of a difference yet. The Relora does relax me. Anyone else try the same supplements?
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Did it somehow helped you with sleep?
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Did it somehow helped you with frequent urination?
Was I the only one that didn't make the connection that the adrenal cortex released all the cortical hormones? I was having such a hard time differentiating between the cortex and medulla hormones too.
I've been taking a product for about 6 months that contains bovine adrenal and liver, and also includes a small amount of pork brain and stomach and something proprietary called "bovine adrenal PMG extract". It seems like it helps.
I did some additional research and found that adrenal cortex alone might be better, since the whole adrenal gland contains adrenaline which isn't always a good idea with AF.
Last I checked my daily cortisol pattern is completely flat lined (I just recovered from dipping into full blown clinical Adrenal Insufficiency that was caused by a bad medication reaction). I have no idea what my adrenaline level is now, but when I checked a couple years ago it was extremely low after a prolonged intense stress event.
I've been under a very high level of stress for 18 months but that has just resolved and my home environment is now more suitable for healing.
Is there some way to know which is the right way to go? Does anyone have experience with the two different types of bovine adrenal products when dealing with very low cortisol levels throughout the day?
Zanki says endocrine phys was one of the first decks he created and the cards for these are one sentence for each step in the pathway. I'm not really finding these to be that helpful. Haven't got to his Biochem deck yet, but hope this isn't how they are set up :o
If anyone has any other suggestions on how to hammer through these suggestions definitely welcome!
Has anyone here had good results with adrenal cortex or glandular extract/concentrate.
I'm tempted to give it a try, but I've read a few articles about it potentially messing up your adrenal glands.
I understand that RAAS triggers Aldosterone release.
I also understand that the Adrenal Cortex is the site of production for Aldosterone and Cortisol.
I also also understand that Hypothalamus signals Pituitary to release Adrenocorticotropic Hormone to Adrenal Cortex to release Cortisol. Am wondering if Aldosterone gets triggered by this pathway too.
The 90 page MCAT review doc says the origin is from the mesoderm, and the KA 300 page P/S doc says it’s from the endoderm. Which one...?
And since it's a sex hormone, wouldn't it be correct to say that 3 types are produced? Wiki says adrenal cortex produces mineralocorticoids, glucocorticoids, and androgens (including estrogen). But it doesn't mention progesterone.
Just as the title says. I am looking for some information on this as I am currently going through TRT and really curious about it. I haven't been able to find anything. Maybe I just suck at search keywords. Any help is appreciated!
Hi guys, has anyone tried supplementing with bovine adrenal cortex? Did it help, did you take it temporarily and improved or is it something you have to take all the time to continue feeling better? Would love to hear your experiences
Been stage 3 AF for years now
At the advice of a friend I added thorne research ACE to my sleep stack which is just fish oil, and I know for a fact I'm sleeping much better. I've cycled it the last two months, a few weeks on and a few weeks off and I sleep thousand times better during the inclusion cycle.
I sleep more deeply, wake up faaaar less, have more energy the next day, and my dreams are more vivid.
What is happening? How can 1 little pill that's supposedly adrenal cortex extract help my sleep out so much?
What will be the long term side effects? The internet seems to have all sorts of conflicting and contradictory information. Some websites say it's harmless, other's say I'm going to shut down my adrenal glands.
Anyone try this stuff? Anyone know anything about it?
I asked thorne for a hormone assay to see how many hormones are actually in it, they refuse, but they say their manufacturing process washes them all out.
I suffer from Adrenal fatigue for yeas now (maybe even since I was a child) but only recently I found a name for it. I haven't tested my cortisol levels and yes I know I should do that, but at the moment I am questioning weather my cortisol is low or high? I have great inability to wake up in the morning (since forever) and I was taking Adderall for that. I stopped Adderall once for all recently since I just can't handle side effects. I finally found Adrenal Cortex Substance (50mg ) which seems to be the only supplement that helps getting me out of bed. I was so happy until I figured out (after few weeks of using it)that it's giving me some physical high cortisol symptoms. It makes my face look very dull and sunken, my cheeks shrink and gaps under eyes become bigger as if my face appears more masculine. The quality of my skin over all declines. I start gaining weigh around the abdomen area (I am actually very skinny with inability to gain weight- why I suspect low cortisol originally). It might make me slightly impatient/snappy at times, but then again I am snappy anyway. Other than bad physical symptoms I have great energy and mood improvements with it. I feel so much more alive, confident with more positive outlook on life. I am so confused and don’t know what to do. My original symptoms are very similar to Addison Disease symptoms. Extreme fatigue, Weight loss and decreased appetite, Low blood pressure, Salt craving, Low blood sugar, Muscle or joint pains, Irritability, Depression, always feeling cold which is why I suspected low cortisol. I have suffered from most of these my whole life and they are getting worse. I know I need to do something about this, so I am in a desperate search for answers until I see a doctor. Has anyone experienced something similar before? If so, is it possible to keep using Adrenal Cortex and counter side effects.
I recently started taking Adrenal Cortex 50mg once in the morning. I also take Relora 500mg at dinner time and before bed I use a liquid Magnesium spray.
I've been taking these for about 10 days. My saliva Cortisol has run Low, High, High.
The Adrenal Cortex supplement makes me very sleepy after taking it. Anyone else experience this?
I suffer from Adrenal fatigue for yeas now (maybe even since I was a child) but only recently I found a name for it. I haven't tested my cortisol levels and yes I know I should do that, but at the moment I am questioning weather my cortisol is low or high? I have great inability to wake up in the morning (since forever) and I was taking Adderall for that. I stopped Adderall once for all recently since I just can't handle side effects. I finally found Adrenal Cortex Substance (50mg ) which seems to be the only supplement that helps getting me out of bed. I was so happy until I figured out (after few weeks of using it)that it's giving me some physical high cortisol symptoms. It makes my face look very dull and sunken, my cheeks shrink and gaps under eyes become bigger as if my face appears more masculine. The quality of my skin over all declines. I start gaining weigh around the abdomen area (I am actually very skinny with inability to gain weight- why I suspect low cortisol originally). It might make me slightly impatient/snappy at times, but then again I am snappy anyway. Other than bad physical symptoms I have great energy and mood improvements with it. I feel so much more alive, confident with more positive outlook on life. I am so confused and don’t know what to do. My original symptoms are very similar to Addison Disease symptoms. Extreme fatigue, Weight loss and decreased appetite, Low blood pressure, Salt craving, Low blood sugar, Muscle or joint pains, Irritability, Depression, always feeling cold which is why I suspected low cortisol. I have suffered from most of these my whole life and they are getting worse. I know I need to do something about this, so I am in a desperate search for answers until I see a doctor. Has anyone experienced something similar before? If so, is it possible to keep using Adrenal Cortex and counter side effects.
