DEPRESSION, ANXIETY, AND ADRENAL FATIGUE SYNDROME

jamk1446

I was diagnosed (by blood labs) with adrenal insuficiency a few years ago and was prescribed Cortef.

It sounds as if your dose of Cortef isn't right but you have the confounding factor of weening off the anxiety/depression meds. Did they give you an estimated time to return to normalcy from them? I think it will be hard to judge an accurate HC dose until then. Be prepared that the road to adrenal recovery can be a long one. Most people need a minimum of a year on HC, I needed almost 3 years, gradually tapering down.

The dosage of Cortef was 10 mg as follows:

5 mg @ 8-10am
2.5 mg @ noon
2.5 mg @ 4pm.

I felt the cortef and my body responded with panic, elevated HR, and high BP. I have never had a BP of 150/110 in my entire life.

Weird because I read others being on 30mg-100mg of cortef a day.

10mg total isn't a lot but as I mentioned, you have the anxiety/depression meds to contend with, that may be throwing things off. Your plan of addressing one issue at a time- weening, diet, adrenal may help you figure out what specifically is working and what isn't. But you should have routine follow up labwork to help adjust the HC accordingly.

dallas4u

It's odd that you have a "naturopath' prescribing medication. In Texas the law does not allow that. In any event, you are the one who gets to pay the price so it's up to you. I hope you are telling the real doctor everything the 'naturopath' is doing. That will give them a chance to save you from the worst of the damage that you're at risk for.

Good luck.

I will also share with you that I have Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). I had all the text book symptoms (erratic periods, acne, facial hair) and sought treatment from my teens to 30s. I went to multiple MDs (including my primary doc, endocrinologists, and ob-gyns) but no answers. I was pretty dismissed for this condition until I turned 32 when PCOS became "mainstream" and scientifically acceptable to acknowledge. They finally gave me an ultrasound and then I was put on Metformin. My periods regulated, acne went away, I lost 40 lbs, and no more facial hair. Metformin was an absolute godsend Wish I was put on it when I was a teenager.

I get the impression from your posts that you have never been dismissed by a doctor or had a disabling condition where you could not function or get answers from any dr or specialist. Consider yourself lucky.

MissJanet55

It's odd that you have a "naturopath' prescribing medication. In Texas the law does not allow that. In any event, you are the one who gets to pay the price so it's up to you. I hope you are telling the real doctor everything the 'naturopath' is doing. That will give them a chance to save you from the worst of the damage that you're at risk for.

Good luck.

I will also share with you that I have Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). I had all the text book symptoms (erratic periods, acne, facial hair) and sought treatment from my teens to 30s. I went to multiple MDs (including my primary doc, endocrinologists, and ob-gyns) but no answers. I was pretty dismissed for this condition until I turned 32 when PCOS became "mainstream" and scientifically acceptable to acknowledge. They finally gave me an ultrasound and then I was put on Metformin. My periods regulated, acne went away, I lost 40 lbs, and no more facial hair. Metformin was an absolute godsend Wish I was put on it when I was a teenager.

I get the impression from your posts that you have never been dismissed by a doctor or had a disabling condition where you could not function or get answers from any dr or specialist. Consider yourself lucky.

It also took many years for mainstream medicine to accept that chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia were real. Western medicine is traditionallly very slow to accept these things. For good and for ill. Doesn't mean they're not real.

Rhumax67

You've got a heavy load of medical problems. As far as the hydrocortizone--it can worsen your mental health issues, blood pressure and make you gain weight.You should check with your mental health providor, it might be best to put a hold on any further reductions of the benzos & SSRIs until your adrenals are working again.

I know exactly how you feel about the hunger & the 2 pizza thing--I've actually come close to eating the 2 pizzas.Just hang on & do the best you can. Try to make sure you exercise at least 30 min a day (weight bearing--walking is good) It's really dangerous to go off steriods cold turkey. They have to be tapered. I've been dropping 1 mg a mo. I'm down to 4. How fast depends on how long you've been taking it & the underlying disease. I'm on prednisone still a steriod but different from yours. The drug was a life savior, but boy the side effects suck!! You don't really have a choice, once they get your adrenals working you should be much better.

crazy4fids

bump

happyheathen927

There actually is a Paleo for Dummies book, co-written by author/blogger Melissa Joulwan (http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/), but it's not that complicated. Eat meat, fish, veggies, healthy fats, limited fruits and nuts. No processed foods. No grains or legumes. Some folks do dairy, some don't. That's about it. The aim is to limit or eliminate foods that cause inflammation in the body. Grains are a big culprit. Eliminate the causes of inflamation, and the symptoms go away.

happyheathen927

Oh, and one of the known side effects of prednisone is type 2 diabetes. Ask me how I know.