Adrenal Fatigue: Is it dangerous to "try" Hydrocortisol ?

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DavidCarolina
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Adrenal Fatigue: Is it dangerous to "try" Hydrocortisol ?

Post by DavidCarolina » Fri Jul 20, 2012 1:43 am

Anyone out there with experience with trying hydrocortisol for potential adrenal fatigue? I've also heard licorice is a possible holistic alternative.

Im supposedly a "treated" OSA cpap guy who's still having problems. They've ruled out heart/neurology/ etc problems but if all my research is worth anything, I know every body system affects every other in ways we cant even imagine. I was recently reading for example that food allergies (which create immune responses) can simulate every disease known to man.

More specifically, would it be dangerous to try adrenal supplementation for about a month? Some say that it shuts down your natural production, others say it wont hurt to try.

My AHI numbers are generally very good 1.5 or lower and frequently below .80 but im still battling body fatigue, night awakenings, extreme agitation after hypopneas, racing heart (excercise intolerance). I used to be that guy who was jogging up mountains. Now Im still having trouble working a full day and Im looking for alternative solutions as always, thanks.

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Re: Adrenal Fatigue: Is it dangerous to "try" Hydrocortisol ?

Post by Julie » Fri Jul 20, 2012 5:46 am

Hydrocortisol is a steroid. Not something you should even think about trying without talking to an MD about it. Ever.

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Re: Adrenal Fatigue: Is it dangerous to "try" Hydrocortisol ?

Post by ChicagoGranny » Fri Jul 20, 2012 5:54 am

hydrocortisol
What is it? Google doesn't show much.
adrenal fatigue
How do you know this is what you have? Sounds like you are making dangerous guesses.

night awakenings, extreme agitation after hypopneas, racing heart (excercise intolerance)
How do you know that a "racing heart" is caused by "exercise intolerance"? More dangerous guesses?

How do you know you have"exercise intolerance"? How was it diagnosed? Guessing?
night awakenings, extreme agitation after hypopneas, racing heart
With those symptoms I would discuss with the sleep doc about having a sleep study using CPAP to retitrate and observe what is going on while you sleep with CPAP. They claim to be able to detect 88 health problems in the sleep lab.

Good luck.

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Re: Adrenal Fatigue: Is it dangerous to "try" Hydrocortisol ?

Post by Maxie » Fri Jul 20, 2012 7:36 am

Ditto Granny's comment! See what your doc says and let us know. Good luck with this!

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Re: Adrenal Fatigue: Is it dangerous to "try" Hydrocortisol ?

Post by greatunclebill » Fri Jul 20, 2012 7:47 am

be careful with any steroid. i have taken prednisone, both oral and iv, over the years for severe gout attacks and breathing problems. now i have a general muscle weakness problem and my doc is telling me that prednisone is known to cause permanent muscle weakness.

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Re: Adrenal Fatigue: Is it dangerous to "try" Hydrocortisol ?

Post by sylvie » Fri Jul 20, 2012 8:11 am

David, I also have been having similar symptoms like you. For me, I believe that if I don't have zero, or close to it, obstructive apneas, it leaves me not feeling so good (and I'm really sick of it). So.....in the last 2 nights I have raised the head of my bed 9 inches, and the obstructive apneas have been zero and one (which happened right before I woke up). It has made the biggest difference. Positional therapy must have been the key for me. (The hypopneas, REs, and snoring are under 5.) I placed a wedge pillow at the bottom of the bed to create a "recliner" effect, because otherwise the incline bothers me. Maybe this would help you?
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Re: Adrenal Fatigue: Is it dangerous to "try" Hydrocortisol ?

Post by MaxDarkside » Fri Jul 20, 2012 9:18 am

I dare say Cortisol is nothing you should try without being diagnosed by an endocrinologist who has determined the problem and prescribes it with both of you fully knowing the risk it poses. Read through the wiki noting the bad effects.
It messes with your...

immune system
inflammation control
memory (long and short)
bone formation
blood sugar control
collagen loss
gastric-acid secretion
sodium and potassium balances
kidney diuresis
blood pressure
reproductive system

And your cortisol levels might already be HIGH because one of the factors wiki says increases it naturally is sleep deprivation, something we OSA people often experience in varying degrees. Cortisol levels is something Mayo measures in people with adrenal problems / POTS (POTS also comes with exercise intolerance, by the way, and POTS and adrenaline problems are directly correlated in some POTS patients).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cortisol

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Re: Adrenal Fatigue: Is it dangerous to "try" Hydrocortisol ?

Post by LoneStar » Fri Jul 20, 2012 11:32 am

I have adrenal fatigue as confirmed by multiple tests by my doctor, a functional medicine specialist. Often adrenal fatigue (AF) is accompanied by thyroid dysfunction, though not in my case.

My doctor is HEAVILY against treating AF with anything in the cortisol family. She initially had me on AdrenAll, a natural supplement. As I improved, I was switched to AdaptenAll, also a natural supplement. Both are to support adrenal function.

Do not self-treat this! If you can find a functional medicine specialist (http://www.functionalmedicine.org/pract ... spx?id=117), they are best at figuring out these types of problems.

My PCP was clueless and insisted that I must not be using my CPAP all the time; that was why I was so tired. Uh, no. She was not interested in my APAP data readouts. She ran some tests (but did them wrong). So I did a little research and found a functional medicine specialist. She knew the right tests to run, and how to correctly interpret the results.

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Re: Adrenal Fatigue: Is it dangerous to "try" Hydrocortisol ?

Post by lagasan » Fri Jul 20, 2012 1:01 pm

I have Primary Adrenal Insufficiency (AKA Addison's Disease) that was diagnosed by an endocrinologist. It is a very rare and deadly disease without treatment. My adrenal glands were destroyed by my own immune system. Adrenal Fatigue is something that holistic doctors diagnose and is dismissed by most endocrinologists. I'm not saying adrenal fatigue does not exist, just be wary. I recommend that you see an endocrinologist if you are still having problems with fatigue. I recommend that anyone over the age of 40 see an endocrinologist every 5 years. I think we have a gap in our care when we do not see endos.

Hydrocortisone and Florinef (Fludrocortisone) are the drugs used to treat someone with primary adrenal insufficiency. But these drugs are only used when the adrenal glands no longer work or have failed to the point where the glands do not produce enough cortisol and aldosterone. If you take these drugs when the adrenal glands are still working, these drugs will cause the glands to shut down and atrophy. In effect, if you take these drugs when you do not need them, you may kill your adrenal glands.

I know it is awful when you have debilitating fatigue. But please see an endocrinologist. It is relatively simple to diagnose Adrenal Insufficiency with a few blood tests. And the endo will look at all of your symptoms and tests, not just focus on adrenal glands.

I hope you get some answers soon.

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Re: Adrenal Fatigue: Is it dangerous to "try" Hydrocortisol ?

Post by lagasan » Fri Jul 20, 2012 1:03 pm

And I will add, if you take these drugs when you do not need them you could have serious blood sugar and sodium and potassium problems.

Anne

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Re: Adrenal Fatigue: Is it dangerous to "try" Hydrocortisol ?

Post by Guest » Fri Jul 20, 2012 5:39 pm

THANKS sylvie. This is the exact type of pragmatic response I was looking for. I also respect those who know something about the dangers of steroids. Lets face it, theres a huge amount of DIS information out there.

I also seem to do much better with two pillows-head elevation--to prevent hypopneas, and i also struggle with a good AHI number with any disruptive hypopnea -exhaustion, dyspnea , fatigue, nausea.

Sleep Docs, even very good sugical ENTS, will "tell" you that a good AHI number means your "succesfully" treated.

I can tell you for a fact this is a lie, or at best misguided wishful thining.

ANY hypopneatic event, including correlative with low 02 can cause very significant daytime troubles. We all know the drill here, some of us are almost completely cured and others can barely move with good AHI numbers.

I think I'll do the saliva test on cortisol and see where I shake out.


Thanks all.
sylvie wrote:David, I also have been having similar symptoms like you. For me, I believe that if I don't have zero, or close to it, obstructive apneas, it leaves me not feeling so good (and I'm really sick of it). So.....in the last 2 nights I have raised the head of my bed 9 inches, and the obstructive apneas have been zero and one (which happened right before I woke up). It has made the biggest difference. Positional therapy must have been the key for me. (The hypopneas, REs, and snoring are under 5.) I placed a wedge pillow at the bottom of the bed to create a "recliner" effect, because otherwise the incline bothers me. Maybe this would help you?

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Re: Adrenal Fatigue: Is it dangerous to "try" Hydrocortisol ?

Post by SleepyToo2 » Fri Jul 20, 2012 6:04 pm

The problem with steroids is that they affect EVERY system in the body. They are hormones, and an oversupply will disrupt other hormones - blocking the production of some, and increasing production of others. Their use for medicinal purposes is usually very short term, and the dose is gradually reduced because sudden stopping can cause significant health problems. As others have said, you cannot self-diagnose this - remember that just as PAP is NOT the answer to everything that can possibly go wrong with our body, neither are steroids. You probably need to see a good gastroenterologist to check for any reflux problems (sometimes causes positional symptoms), as well as a good endocrinologist to check a lot of your hormone levels - they may focus on the most common ones to start with, and see if "fixing" minor problems results in improvement in your symptoms. Good luck in your search for answers.

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Re: Adrenal Fatigue: Is it dangerous to "try" Hydrocortisol ?

Post by sylvie » Sat Jul 21, 2012 8:45 am

Guest wrote:THANKS sylvie.
You're welcome, guest. I'm all about pragmatic. I also use the Somnodent, and I know that it is working since my 90% pressure is much lower than when I use the xPAP alone (my tongue is largely out of the way). Also, I started taking Lithium Orotate and Lecithin, as I read on another post that Lithium Orotate has proven to increase grey matter (apnea damages this) and Lecithin aids in brain function. I just got the Pilairo today too, and it feels like heaven, so I'm anxious to see the data tomorrow. And just for experiment's sake, I lowered the bed a few inches last night and got more apneas. So tonight I'm placing another brick under the bed to see what the data is then. I'm thinking there's a magic number of elevated inches to raise a bed to get near perfect scores. (Of course I know there's a ton of factors involved in everything I just said.)
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Re: Adrenal Fatigue: Is it dangerous to "try" Hydrocortisol ?

Post by BlackSpinner » Sat Jul 21, 2012 10:59 am

Guest wrote: I also seem to do much better with two pillows-head elevation--to prevent hypopneas, and i also struggle with a good AHI number with any disruptive hypopnea -exhaustion, dyspnea , fatigue, nausea.

Sleep Docs, even very good sugical ENTS, will "tell" you that a good AHI number means your "succesfully" treated.
If two pillows help then it is much better to raise the entire head of the bed by either a wedge pillow or blocks. Two pillows just creates a bend in the body which can create more problems. Silent GERD may be the cause some of your problems due to wake ups so lift the whole head of the bed.

The definition of "successful" is part of the whole medical problem we have. The classical joke is "the operation was a success but the patient died". The ENT is right, you are "successfully" treated because your AHI is low, if AHI is the benchmark.

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Re: Adrenal Fatigue: Is it dangerous to "try" Hydrocortisol ?

Post by The Choker » Sat Jul 21, 2012 4:24 pm

BlackSpinner wrote:

If two pillows help then it is much better to raise the entire head of the bed by either a wedge pillow or blocks. Two pillows just creates a bend in the body which can create more problems. Silent GERD may be the cause some of your problems due to wake ups so lift the whole head of the bed.
I second that! Silent (or noisy) gerd could be causing many arousals and leaving you fatigued. Pillows may make it worse. Put 4-inch blocks under the headposts of your bed. We have them at my home.

Cortisol may be like nuking a city to get one terrorist.
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