THE Adrenal Fatigue Thread - Page 4

[momtoNatalee]

Originally Posted by Metasequoia

If you're going by blood work, yes. Saliva tests are the only way to go for AF. Check out the different results between my blood & saliva results in the first post.

I see, thank you!!

[KMK_Mama]

Just thought I'd update....I went back to my doctor for my follow-up and it seems that adrenal fatigue isn't my only problem. Here is what else is wrong.

Estrogen was through the roof.
Progesterone was way too low.
Iron was low.
Thyroid was low.

He said most women have a higher progesterone than estrogen, I was the other way around. This explains why my periods last 14-18 days & why my breastmilk dried up with all my kids at 8 months :. He also said that ALL these things cause headaches so hopefully this 15 month long headache will go away soon.

BUT, he also said that if I had gone to a "regular" doctor which I have been going to, they would just tell me everything was fine because technically everything was within normal ranges....just on the lowest of low end of normal and then the huge discrepancy in my hormones.

So, I he gave me a prescription for Armour thyroid, progesterone to take 2 weeks out of my cycle, and a list to go to the health food store with....to get iron and a bunch of herbs.

[Metasequoia]

Ahhh, the dreaded "estrogen dominance," I bet you get wicked PMS.

My sex hormones are off too, my doc says they'll level out a bit once my adrenals heal (since they are responsible for producing the sex hormones) & once I get my cycles back. Ds is 15 months & still nursing like a 3 month old. All of my sex hormones are below range.

Glad you got some answers - are you going to treat the AF too?

[fishface]

BUT, he also said that if I had gone to a "regular" doctor which I have been going to, they would just tell me everything was fine because technically everything was within normal ranges....just on the lowest of low end of normal and then the huge discrepancy in my hormones.

What kind of doctor did you go to?

[tanyalynn]

I guess the estrogen/progesterone imbalance is normal for AF? One thing that prodded me to get professional help was that I seemed to have lots of estrogen (lots of eggwhitey cervical fluid) and a 6-day luteal phase, which implied not enough progesterone--and I don't know diddly-squat about hormones, I just know this isn't normal for me. Mine's started to get better, last month was an 8-day luteal phase, so I have hope of getting back to normal, sometime.

[KMK_Mama]

Originally Posted by Metasequoia

Ahhh, the dreaded "estrogen dominance," I bet you get wicked PMS.

My sex hormones are off too, my doc says they'll level out a bit once my adrenals heal (since they are responsible for producing the sex hormones) & once I get my cycles back. Ds is 15 months & still nursing like a 3 month old. All of my sex hormones are below range.

Glad you got some answers - are you going to treat the AF too?

PMS? Not really.....I get cramps and I bleed for about 15-18 days, but I don't get moody or anything.

I am treating the AF....I am taking Cytozyme AD, CoQ10, fish oils....this is what he told me to take at my first appt.

Fishface--I saw a naturpath....after going to regular MD's for many tears with no answers.

[momtoNatalee]

Originally Posted by TanyaLopez

I guess the estrogen/progesterone imbalance is normal for AF? One thing that prodded me to get professional help was that I seemed to have lots of estrogen (lots of eggwhitey cervical fluid) and a 6-day luteal phase, which implied not enough progesterone--and I don't know diddly-squat about hormones, I just know this isn't normal for me. Mine's started to get better, last month was an 8-day luteal phase, so I have hope of getting back to normal, sometime.

I have alot eggwhitey cervical fluid too, I dont know what 6-day luteal phase is....

[Metasequoia]

Originally Posted by KMK_Mama

PMS? Not really.....I get cramps and I bleed for about 15-18 days, but I don't get moody or anything.

I am treating the AF....I am taking Cytozyme AD, CoQ10, fish oils....this is what he told me to take at my first appt.

Fishface--I saw a naturpath....after going to regular MD's for many tears with no answers.

Wow, good for you. In menopause (& in most cases of severe pms) the mood swings stem from estrogen dominance - I'm sure the fish oil helps with that.

I'm not familiar with Cytozyme AD, I'll have to look it up.

When in the "fight or flight" mode, our bodies put out cortisol, the stress hormone, so that we can fight the saber toother tiger or deal with the stress of being stuck in traffic. When we're constantly stressed, we run out of cortisol our bodies convert everything into it just to keep up, so we end up low on sex hormones eventually. It sounds like progesterone is the first to go in your case. Dr. Roby writes about a hormone allergy regarding progesterone - I haven't done too much research on his theory, but it might be helpful to you.

[myjo]

I just wondered if anyone knows if there are any other reasons for estrogen dominance besides stress and estrogen analogs in our environment (eg. plastics, chemicals, food additives, etc.)

I always thought my estrogen dominance was from the later problem (environmental). I didn't realize stress could also cause estrogen dominance. That sure explains a lot.

[tanyalynn]

MomtoNatalee--luteal phase is just the time from ovulation to when your period starts. I'm chartering per Taking Charge of Your Fertility (by Toni Weschler, what an amazing book, I learned a ton about my body, and it was weird to learn all that after having lived in my body for almost 30 yrs at that point), so I can tell when I ovulate. When I started charting and saw it was only 6 days from ovulation to menstruation, I was shocked. Typical is 12-16 days, and I was around 14 days back when I felt normal/healthy. If it's less than 10 days (I think that's the right number), it's considered a fertility problem (assuming you want to get pregnant, which although I definitely don't now, I'd like to keep the possibility for in a few years).

[momtoNatalee]

Originally Posted by TanyaLopez

MomtoNatalee--luteal phase is just the time from ovulation to when your period starts. I'm chartering per Taking Charge of Your Fertility (by Toni Weschler, what an amazing book, I learned a ton about my body, and it was weird to learn all that after having lived in my body for almost 30 yrs at that point), so I can tell when I ovulate. When I started charting and saw it was only 6 days from ovulation to menstruation, I was shocked. Typical is 12-16 days, and I was around 14 days back when I felt normal/healthy. If it's less than 10 days (I think that's the right number), it's considered a fertility problem (assuming you want to get pregnant, which although I definitely don't now, I'd like to keep the possibility for in a few years).

Thanks for explaining that, after reading so much of this thread I think I understand now why I have been having panic attacks

[tanyalynn]

Thanks for explaining that, after reading so much of this thread I think I understand now why I have been having panic attacks

Isn't it nice to start getting answers? I love MDC for that.

[Pookietooth]

I have hypoglycemia and low blood pressure -- mine was 88 over 50 or so last time, and that was up from a previous time of 80 over 40! My naturopath does energy testing, and she says my adrenals test weak. She wants me to take two 20 minute naps a day! hah!
I know I have adrenal fatigue. I am tired a lot, and dizzy, and get that fear thing you're talking about along with a general anxiety a lot of the time. I am taking pregnolone as a cream, but only on certain days of my cycle (8-20). It's pricey!

[haleyelianasmom]

Sorry I didn't read through this thread thoroughly, but I'm tired and need sleep... But I'm curious, how do yuo know you have adrenal fatigue? Can your doctor order the blood tests mentioned in the first post? Do you need the saliva tests? What treatments can you take while breastfeeding? What books do you suggest? I have the Diet Cure and it suggests many supplements, but I'm not sure about taking those, especially DHEA, while nursing.

I'm very stressed lately and I find myself getting highly irritated way too quickly. It is taking langer for me to "recover" from stress, too. I just feel like I'm not dealing with things well and I hate the way I've become short with my toddler, who I think is pretty high-needs and teething. yikes.

I love that MDC has a thread for everything

ETA: oh yeah, and no PPAF yet (so I'm not sure if it is related to my hormones), dd is 22 months old.

[NocturnalDaze]

You can get a blood test but the saliva test is much better. The saliva test also takes a collection during 4 different times of the day so you get a better picture of how your adrenals react throughout the day.

Some people take hydrocortisone to replace the missing cortisol. Some people go a more natural route and take supplements and eat a healthier diet (low sugar, high protien) to try to heal the adrenals.

DHEA is safe to take while nursing if you need it. You should have that tested before taking any supplements for it. (The canary club saliva test does test DHEA as well.)

[Metasequoia]

I would take oral pregnenolone over DHEA as DHEA often has masculanizing side effects on women, including rage.
My pregnenolone isn't pricey at all, I think I posted the brand in the OP. And I *think* I answered all of your other questions (to the best of my knowledge), Chrissy, in the OP as well.

And holy frijoles Jen! 80/40, that's worse than my 90/50. I experienced a lot of dizziness after Ds was born, about a year ago, I think my adrenals were *really* suffering at that point. I couldn't even drive.

[haleyelianasmom]

What about licorice? Does that help? My "diet cure" book indicates that it does, but I don't want to spend too much. I think I'll hold off on any saliva or blood tests unless this continues and gets worse.

Is pregnenolone okay while breastfeeding?

ETA: Does anyone know if it is derived from vegetarian sources? I'm a strict vegetarian. Also, I haven't started my cycles yet. Could the hormones cause my cycles to return?
Sorry I have so many questions, I have just felt so drained lately and I'm looking for answers

[Metasequoia]

Originally Posted by haleyelianasmom

What about licorice? Does that help? My "diet cure" book indicates that it does, but I don't want to spend too much. I think I'll hold off on any saliva or blood tests unless this continues and gets worse.

Is pregnenolone okay while breastfeeding?

ETA: Does anyone know if it is derived from vegetarian sources? I'm a strict vegetarian. Also, I haven't started my cycles yet. Could the hormones cause my cycles to return?
Sorry I have so many questions, I have just felt so drained lately and I'm looking for answers

The pregnenolone I'm taking is vegetarian, the brand is "Pure Encapsulations."

I am also bfing, Ds is 15 months old & gets about 90-95% of his nourishment from breastmilk, not much food intake, yes, it's safe while bfing but you should see where your levels are before taking anything.

Pregnenolone has not caused my cycles to return yet - that was a concern of mine too.

I've read conflicting things about Licorice, KellyMom has mixed views about it & all of the herbal sites I searched on said not to take it while bfing. However, my doctor is concerned about my low blood pressure & would like me to try it, but I haven't yet - not sure what I'm going to do about that.

If I were you, I'd really try to get the saliva test done & start treatment - the worse it gets the harder it is to recover. If you weren't bfing, I'd say go for the licorice.

[haleyelianasmom]

Thanks for the info. Maybe I'll try the tests. I might go with a DO in the area (it says he's holistic and does hormone replacement, so I'm assuming he does the saliva tests, but I'd probably have to call to find out for sure). Maybe it isn't adrenal fatigue, maybe it is... I just am terrible at night and explode at poor dd. I'm okay at handling the screaming that lasts all day, but when she acts super tired and then won't go to sleep even after nursing a lot, I become very short with her I just don't handle things well. Who know, I just want to be able to handle this better without falling apart every night :

[APmom2Libby]

HI ladies...sorry to but in on your discussion, but I have been spending a TON of time on the stopthethyroidmadness.com website and HIGHLY suspect I have adrenal fatigue as well as possible Hasmito's. I am going to a doc on the top thyroid doc list for a complete work up and ALLLLL the labs!

But, I was hoping to go in with some good info for him to start off with. I would like to start taking my temp with a glass mercury thermometer, but I am having the hardest time finding one....does anyone know where I could get my hands on one?

Thanks so much and sorry for butting in, but I thought this would be a great place to ask this question!