Posted by jerrympls on April 8, 2003, at 20:27:57
In reply to low cortisol- Jerry mpls and bozeman, posted by Pfinstegg on April 8, 2003, at 8:48:21
> I recently read a single article about how war veterans and rape victims with PTSD often have very LOW 24-hour cortisols. Their adrenal glands apparently become exhausted by the stress of their terrible experiences and can not produce a normal surge of cortisol in response to a "normal"stressor. Is this similiar to what you both experience?
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> Do you need to take the extra cortisone on a regular basis? I would be concerned that that would make your adrenal glands gradually smaller and less reactive over a period of years, so that you would become dependent upon the cortisone, and that you also might develop some of the major side effects such as osteoporosis. This can happen quite rapidly with regular cortisone use. I have seen a patient treated with 5mg. daily of dexamethasone (for an autoimmune disorder) develop 8 spontaneous vertebral fractures and a tremendous amount of pain and disability, after just five years. If someone absolutely has to take regular cortisone, they should probably also be taking one of the bone-protective drugs like Edronax.
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> I am unsure about what might be a better aproach, but was thinking along the lines of what people do when they have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. I know that it is a very difficult condition to treat, but I'd like to get more familiar with some of the ideas which various people have put forth on the board here about CFS. Up until now, I haven't been reading those.
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> PfinsteggFascinating! What you state above is striking similar to my reaction to stress. I've had only the 24-hr cortisol urine screen - twice. I have a great endocrinologist who likes to be sure about things. Also, I had some sort of adrenal function test where they took blood and then gave me a shot of something that "would trigger my adrenal glands to react.." then, after 30 mins they took another blood sample. That test came back normal. Anyways- I wouldn't say the hydrocortisone i take greatly increases my mood - however, I can certainly tell when it seems to wear off - say around 7-8pm - even though hydrocortisone has a long half-life - I begin to feel very lonely and get a knot of hoplessness in my stomach - hard to explain. I have been trying to keep myself educated on the effects of long-term cortisol treatment. I see my endo dr. on the 25th - so we'll see what he says. He also has me on testosterone replacement - and I think that helps a little too. I often wonder if the Lexapro, Seroquel, Dexedrine, Xanax - yada yada are working against the testosterone/cortisol therapy. Not sure.
Anyways, thanks for the info - and I'll keep y'all posted after I see my dr.
OH - and my hemoglobin is low too - but he doesn't have me on anything for that. Anyone have any info regarding those low levels??
poster:jerrympls
thread:217030
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030407/msgs/217565.html