Hydrocortisone and restoring adrenal health

[galaxy]

Has anyone who's used hydrocortisone successfully weaned off it and restored their adrenals to full strength?

 

[MarcoFL]

If you are just low at one of a four point saliva test you might try Thorne adrenal cortex which might help for a mild issue. You need to make sure it is the one striped of hormones as others can make things worse that contain hormones. I am low at my am so have added this and think it is helping. This is much easier to manage if it works. Good luck!

 

[Vince Carter]

Has anyone who's used hydrocortisone successfully weaned off it and restored their adrenals to full strength?

I cant think of having seen anyone/thing like that on the forum.

 

[Ronnny]

Has anyone who's used hydrocortisone successfully weaned off it and restored their adrenals to full strength?

If you have been taking prednisone for a long period of time, you just can't stop taking it. You have to taper it down very slowly. I used it for a long time.Had very bad outcome.

 

[galaxy]

Based on the recommendation here I'm low at 3 points Recommended Labwork - Stop The Thyroid Madness

The idea is to see if the hydrocortisone helps as a diagnostic tool then look for ways of restoring the adrenals if possible.

 

[Vvs1]

I don't know too much about HC. I tried Dhea per Dr Sayas advice, and it didn't help fatigue even though Dhea was over range at next testing. My saliva cortisol was about half of the top range, and made a huge drop midday.

I take a lot of adaptogens, sometimes use licorice, and also a supp called Adrenal Reset. It has pregnenolone, which gets depleted during overactive adrenals.

What also helped me was compounded t3 because my reverse t3 was too high.

 

[Jones]

If you have been taking prednisone for a long period of time, you just can't stop taking it. You have to taper it down very slowly. I used it for a long time.Had very bad outcome.

Just to clarify for readers, low dose hydrocortisone is much different than being on prednisone for long-term. Long term prednisone use has many side effects and like you said, should not be abruptly discontinued.

But I've had lots of patients do incredible well on somewhat long courses of hydrocortisone to help restore adrenal health while fixing the root cause.

 

[Jones]

If you are just low at one of a four point saliva test you might try Thorne adrenal cortex which might help for a mild issue. You need to make sure it is the one striped of hormones as others can make things worse that contain hormones. I am low at my am so have added this and think it is helping. This is much easier to manage if it works. Good luck!

I would also add 5-10 minutes of HIIT within 30 minutes of waking, has been shown to increase cortisol levels to help create that normal cortisol curve. I agree with the Thorne recommendation, they are third party tested with no contaminants, no fillers etc.

 

[galaxy]

Jones - What have you seen done to restore the adrenals while concurrently taking low dose hydrocortisone.

 

[Jones]

Jones - What have you seen done to restore the adrenals while concurrently taking low dose hydrocortisone.

By stopping the assault - whatever that may be. New job, stress reduction techniques, husband-ectomy... finding a way to live in a modern world that makes sense for you.

And since those things are usually the most difficult to correct, herbs and nutrients that are specific to adrenal gland health, trace minerals, b-vitamins, magnesium, correcting methylation issues, etc.

Is the cortisol high or low? what times of days? whats your sleep like? melatonin and cortisol have an inverse relationship, you cannot correct one without correcting the other. These are all factors to consider.

 

[galaxy]

Great thanks Jones.

 

[Tommy Wall]

I read somewhere that Hydrocortisone can increase ones anxiety but lessen fears.

 

[Sakuraba39]

I have, but, as Jones previously stated, it can take a long time. It took a while to dial everything in AND it (stessors/dosage/sleep patterns, etc) always changing.

 

[galaxy]

If you don't mind Sakuraba can you give a little more detail as to what you did?

 

[Sakuraba39]

If you don't mind Sakuraba can you give a little more detail as to what you did?

Everything Jones typed is what happens and needs to be done.

It's easy, in theory, but the most difficult thing I've ever had to do. If you think dialing in T is difficult, just hope you don't get adrenal fatigue/exhaustion. There are so many variables that fluctuate daily that it makes hormonal/nutritional levels nearly impossible to control. And, most times, you never know which variable is causing what symptom.

These bodily systems are reciprocally determined. The main things needed are: A. Elimination of the stressor(s). This is the most difficult part and could take many years; B. Rest...sleep, and lots of it....relaxation...meditation (or whatever) cognitive rest...physical rest...whatever it takes to calm your CNS and adrenals; C.) Diet...quitting destructive foods like sugars, grains, coffee, soda, alcohol, etc; and D. Medications/supplements....finding what you need in what combination and dosages, etc.

About stressors: Depending on your issue, eliminating stress is the most difficult because the world doesn't stop just because you have adrenal fatigue. Your bills keep coming...but you might have to work less...which means less income, which typically means more stress...it's vicious.

But, if you value your life, you have to make changes because, brother, it only gets worse if you don't. Use any metaphor you like...once structure is compromised, it puts additional strain on the rest of the unit....they are forced to overcompensate....then they break down...then the foundation is in peril...if you don't address the main issue as soon as possible, the entire building collapses.

A great deal of these stressors are self-induced. Your body (adrenals & CNS) don't differentiate between eustress and distress. So, you'll have to take a good look at your life to determine what needs to change. A lot of people fail themselves here. If you can't be honest about your life and what caused the overload in the first place, then that lengthens the recovery period.

You, most likely, cannot hydrocortisone your way to health. It will take a concerted combination of all the things I listed above. I won't even list all the stuff I tried because there were so many for various times and dosages and they may not even pertain to your issue.

The longer you wait, though, the worse it will get. The worse it gets, the longer it will take to recover. You have a compromised foundation, galaxy. Don't wait until the walls cave in to make significant changes to your life.

 

[Gianluca]

Has anyone who's used hydrocortisone successfully weaned off it and restored their adrenals to full strength?

I have been using HC for several months now, and I have a feeling my adrenals are recharging, I was able to get one salivary cortisol reading a couple of months ago in the am prior taking HC and my cortisol actually increased. I hope you are on Pregnelonone and optimaizing that one, increasing my Pregn dose really helped allot with Anxiety and feeling calm and joyful, that helps the adrenals allot.

But I have been thinking lately about HC treatment and why not staying on a safe low dose long term? maybe just those 10/5mg daily to help the adrenals doing the job, or just actually use it long term "by the feel" like Dr Crisler mentioned to me few months ago, maybe 5mg here and there during the day as needed.

I think HC can be an excellent tool to use wisely as needed, here and there, long term why not?

 

[Vtail]

I don't know too much about HC. I tried Dhea per Dr Sayas advice, and it didn't help fatigue even though Dhea was over range at next testing. My saliva cortisol was about half of the top range, and made a huge drop midday.

I take a lot of adaptogens, sometimes use licorice, and also a supp called Adrenal Reset. It has pregnenolone, which gets depleted during overactive adrenals.

What also helped me was compounded t3 because my reverse t3 was too high.

Sounds like you're using Defy, so I'm assuming you were prescribed sustained release compounded T3 from Empower? If so, what is your dosing schedule with the SR compounded T3? I was told to take it in the am on an empty stomach. But I've read on other threads that some guys split the dose in the am/pm, even though its sustained release.

 

[captain]

Dr Crisler would have you take HC till you felt it. You would take 5 and wait 30 min and if didn't help you take 5 more and so on. Only thing I noticed was that I could see better after taking it. He recommended to increase salt intake and use good sea salt. Sleep also has to do with cortisol levels.

 

[Vvs1]

Sounds like you're using Defy, so I'm assuming you were prescribed sustained release compounded T3 from Empower? If so, what is your dosing schedule with the SR compounded T3? I was told to take it in the am on an empty stomach. But I've read on other threads that some guys split the dose in the am/pm, even though its sustained release.

Yes, I take 1 or 2 of the compounded T3 from Empower in the morning. I dont know if its SR.

I did stop taking T3 and my reverse T3 came back higher than ever at 30.

I've read some sites that say we need t4 in addition to t3 since the body has t4 receptors.

 

[captain]

That's where you get into the debate of the need to look at RT3. If you supply T4 you will increase RT3. I know it helped me to lower RT3. Then you have some say its foolish to mess with it. If you feel better lowering it that sounds good to me but if you can't handle seeing the T4 being lower it may not be for you. You would need to fix why RT3 is high to keep it in range.