Could the problem be cortisol?

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Okapi42
Okapi42 Posts: 495 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm wondering whether anyone else has a problem with cortisol, and how it's affecting your ability to lose weight.

My hormones are all out of whack - that's been confirmed by my doctor - and one of the problems is that my cortisol is sky-high. I know it's a steroid hormone related to stress, but I'm not sure what exactly it affects.

Lately, I've not been losing anything, and I'm having bad flare-ups of the problems I usually had when my cortisol was elevated. The most annoying is arthritis-like joint pain in my hands, wrists, and feet. But almost just as bad is how insanely thirsty I get - I've drunk at least 4 litres of water today and my mouth is still really dry. (It's not a diabetes/insulin problem, my blood sugar is being monitored). Possibly as a consequence, I'm not sleeping properly, either, and it's hard to do much exercise.

The endocrinologist told me that this was caused by my weight (rather than my weight gain being one symptom of the hormonal issues, as I suspect), and that losing 20 lbs would "cure" it. I'm down 25 lbs now and it's worse than ever...

Any ideas?

Replies

  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    I was trying to get my head round this the other day. The nearest I got to an explanation was that high cortisol would stimulate glucose production (see below) in excess of demand which would then be stored as fat. The last bit is questionable - is more produced than used - and would we not see elevated blood glucose or can insulin counteract the cortisol.

    CarbsProFat-Gluconeogenesis.jpg
  • dooplegoon
    dooplegoon Posts: 66
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    I have a thought...

    As cortisol is processed through the liver it creates cortisone. And doesn't cortisone trigger your body to store fat?
  • trinity9058
    trinity9058 Posts: 149 Member
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    With all due respect to the hard working and smart people on this board, this is not the place to be asking about the effects of high cortisol on weight loss. It would be a good idea to look for a Cushing's Disease message board. The information that you find there would be invaluable and would shed a huge amount of light on what you're going through. Even if you haven't been diagnosed officially with Cushing's, just knowing the effects of high cortisol on the body would be of great help. Hope I was helpful lol.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    got a link to a good one ?
  • Okapi42
    Okapi42 Posts: 495 Member
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    Hmmm, I think you have a point. It's not Cushing's, but I suppose the same sort of things might apply.
  • trinity9058
    trinity9058 Posts: 149 Member
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    I wasn't sure if we could post links on here for some reason lol. Sorry bout that :)

    This is a good one and the people on it are very knowledgeable and more than happy to help. There is also a lot of good information on it.

    http://cushings.invisionzone.com/
  • vienna_h
    vienna_h Posts: 428 Member
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    I've also got high cortisol levels.

    I've always been naturally thin, never worked out too much, ate what I wanted, etc. But I had surgery last summer and instead of recovering quickly, as was expected, I just kept getting more and more tired. I couldn't get out of bed for months! At first, the doctors thought it was my iron (ferretin) levels that were too low (I was very iron deficient) so I was treated for anemia. Taking iron pills did NOTHING. It wasn't until February that I had my cortisol tested, 3 times, and it was always sky-high. Like you, I don't have cushing's disease. I was told I probably had an infection and the cortisol was high as my body was trying to recover. I ended up gaining at least 15lbs. I couldn't do anything, even after simple chores like buying groceries, I would have to spend the next couple days in bed to recover. And I have a lot of trouble sleeping (still do).

    Since April, I've gotten a lot of energy back, though I'm not 100%. (Lost my job anyway though). So I've been able to focus my energy on working out and trying to recover physically. Yet even though the past couple months I've been trying to eat well and workout regularly (low intensity cardio and some strength training) My weight hasn't changed. I haven't seen ANY improvement :(

    I'm just sharing my story, but I think the high cortisol might be stagnating my return to my normal weight. Its very frustrating. To me, cortisol is the only factor I can think of to be doing this to my body. I could be wrong though.
  • lpina2mi
    lpina2mi Posts: 425 Member
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    I'm wondering whether anyone else has a problem with cortisol, and how it's affecting your ability to lose weight.

    My hormones are all out of whack - that's been confirmed by my doctor - and one of the problems is that my cortisol is sky-high. I know it's a steroid hormone related to stress, but I'm not sure what exactly it affects.

    Lately, I've not been losing anything, and I'm having bad flare-ups of the problems I usually had when my cortisol was elevated. The most annoying is arthritis-like joint pain in my hands, wrists, and feet. But almost just as bad is how insanely thirsty I get - I've drunk at least 4 litres of water today and my mouth is still really dry. (It's not a diabetes/insulin problem, my blood sugar is being monitored). Possibly as a consequence, I'm not sleeping properly, either, and it's hard to do much exercise.

    The endocrinologist told me that this was caused by my weight (rather than my weight gain being one symptom of the hormonal issues, as I suspect), and that losing 20 lbs would "cure" it. I'm down 25 lbs now and it's worse than ever...

    Any ideas?

    Previously, I could only lose 8-12 lbs, then RA would kick-in and I would quickly gain 4 lbs overnight and more would creep onto me. With MFP I have been experimenting with different percentages of protein-carb-fat, after reading about good fats and their role in preventing or calming inflammation. Since increasing my fats, I have lost 14lbs and mostly kept RA in check. I also find that following a low glycemic diet helps tremendously.
  • MsEndomorph
    MsEndomorph Posts: 604 Member
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    How exactly was your cortisol tested? 24 hour? First thing in the AM?
  • Okapi42
    Okapi42 Posts: 495 Member
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    Right, it's been a while, but I thought I'd give an update on this thread...

    I've been increasingly frustrated - no matter what I did, I was steadily gaining weight. Over the course of the last year, I regained the 17kg I'd lost, and more.

    At my last appointment, I showed my new doctor (I moved countries again for work) my average of 13,000 steps a day on the pedometer and my food diary, and she stood up and shook my hand - then had a closer look at my blood work rather than blaming me like all the previous ones did.

    Long story short - I've been diagnosed with a general metabolic/hormonal imbalance characterised by stupidly high cortisol, which has been elevated as far back as I still have medical records. About 10 years.

    I've been on medication (metformin) for it for two weeks now, and the difference is insane. I'm no longer tired all the time, my memory/concentration problems are pretty much gone, and most amazingly, I've been losing weight at an insane rate of over 1kg per week. I'm sure it will slow down, but for now, it's very motivating!

  • Azuriaz
    Azuriaz Posts: 785 Member
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    What will happen if your body stores fat and doesn't want to burn it even in a deficit? Eat muscle and organs? Are there stressed rat studies on this one?
  • Yi5hedr3
    Yi5hedr3 Posts: 2,696 Member
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    Cut your carbs, raise your fat. That should do it!
  • Sandcastles61
    Sandcastles61 Posts: 506 Member
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    Hi OP.... So glad you have finally found a doctor to get to the bottom of things for you! Congratulations on your weight loss so far and great job sticking with it over the past couple of years :) Best wishes
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
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    Cortisol is the "stress" hormone. If you have high cortisol, you need to address the causes.
  • Okapi42
    Okapi42 Posts: 495 Member
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    47Jacqueline wrote: »
    Cortisol is the "stress" hormone. If you have high cortisol, you need to address the causes.

    In my case, the cause appears to be an overproduction because of a general metabolic imbalance, rather than a problem with the adrenal gland specifically, so at the moment, the doctor is recommending medication rather than surgery/radiation.
  • goldthistime
    goldthistime Posts: 3,214 Member
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    Okapi42 wrote: »
    Right, it's been a while, but I thought I'd give an update on this thread...

    I've been increasingly frustrated - no matter what I did, I was steadily gaining weight. Over the course of the last year, I regained the 17kg I'd lost, and more.

    At my last appointment, I showed my new doctor (I moved countries again for work) my average of 13,000 steps a day on the pedometer and my food diary, and she stood up and shook my hand - then had a closer look at my blood work rather than blaming me like all the previous ones did.

    Long story short - I've been diagnosed with a general metabolic/hormonal imbalance characterised by stupidly high cortisol, which has been elevated as far back as I still have medical records. About 10 years.

    I've been on medication (metformin) for it for two weeks now, and the difference is insane. I'm no longer tired all the time, my memory/concentration problems are pretty much gone, and most amazingly, I've been losing weight at an insane rate of over 1kg per week. I'm sure it will slow down, but for now, it's very motivating!

    So glad to hear you have found a solution.

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