I take Cortisol for adrenal fatigue..how do I come off?

Hello everyone,

IH, you have some very interesting information on the Adrenal and the Thyroid. I am currently being treated for hypothyroidism and adrenal fatigue. I currently take 2 grains of Armour and 15mg of Cortef in the AM and 10mg of Cortef in the PM. I also take Lugols Iodine tablet in the AM. My question is with the adrenal supps you recommend, how would one make the switch over from the meds to the supps? My doctor told me if I want to wean off the Cortef I should reduce the dose by 5mg per week. Should I overlap the supplements with the Cortef as I am tapering down?


Also I read on another thread that you recommended only 1000mg of L-Carnatine for someone who was on Armour thyroid. Are there any other changes to you reg. that I should be aware of for someone with my adrenal and thyroid condition?

I forgot to ask 1 more questions:

I am also hypoglycemic and usually eat every 3 hours. How does the Lipoic Acid play a part? You say ration the Lip. Acid but what are the pros and cons. Should one with hypoglycemia just omit this supplement?

jasonshadow - Lipoic acid is actually terrific for hypoglycemics, however the form I recommend for everyone else bio-enhanced R-Lipoic acid is too strong for most hypoglycemics. In this case, the "regular" kind will work, which is alpha lipoic acid.

There's no problem taking the supplements with the Cortef, like Standard Process for example.

Hopefully in time the iodine will require less Armour.

Other than the Lipoic acid factor, there's no other changes.

Well I want to get off the Cortef b/c it essentially supresses my own production of Cortisol. So my thought was too taper off Cortef while starting the Adrenal supporting supplements. Do you have any expierence with this?


What about the Carnatine and thyroid. I read somewhere on the site that you recommended someone who takes Armour to only take 1000mg of Carnatine. Is this correct? If so why?

You mentioned taking Acetyl L-Carnitine to reduce stress and output of Cortisol. Does Acetyl L-Carnitine reduce stress signals or actually reduce Cortisol?

jasonshadow - I recommend Acetyl L-Carnitine over regular L-Carnitine. The reason is that it penetrates the blood-brain barrier and acts as an antioxidant to the brain. It can also reduce cortisol levels.

Using a 1,000 mg of ALC instead of the 3,000 mg I normally recommend is safer just in case thyroid levels are negatively affected.

Studies show that about 4 grams of Carnitines can lower thyroid function. I'm of the opinion that it balances the thyroid high or low, so the lower amount is only a precaution.

As far as tapering off cortef, as long as you're being monitored should be okay. The Standard Process products are for temporary use, so they can act as a jump start and recovery.

I recommend Acetyl L-Carnitine over regular L-Carnitine. The reason is that it penetrates the blood-brain barrier and acts as an antioxidant to the brain. It can also reduce cortisol levels.

Using a 1,000 mg of ALC instead of the 3,000 mg I normally recommend is safer just in case thyroid levels are negatively affected.

Studies show that about 4 grams of Carnitines can lower thyroid function. I'm of the opinion that it balances the thyroid high or low, so the lower amount is only a precaution.

As far as tapering off cortef, as long as you're being monitored should be okay. The Standard Process products are for temporary use, so they can act as a jump start and recovery.


Well since my Cortisol levels are low to begin with and as you said L-Carnitine loweres Cortisol it doesn't make much sense for to take this one. Would you agree?

jasonshadow - ALC is "smart enough" not to lower cortisol in such a situation. Think of ALC as supplying the raw material to allow the body to cope to help reduce cortisol if needed.

One herb that is very helpful for low cortisol is licorice. It contains substances that inhibit the breakdown of cortisol and serve as an anti-inflammatory.

CausticSymmetry wrote:jasonshadow - Lipoic acid is actually terrific for hypoglycemics, however the form I recommend for everyone else bio-enhanced R-Lipoic acid is too strong for most hypoglycemics. In this case, the "regular" kind will work, which is alpha lipoic acid.

There's no problem taking the supplements with the Cortef, like Standard Process for example.

Hopefully in time the iodine will require less Armour.

Other than the Lipoic acid factor, there's no other changes.

IM,

Just a few follow-up questions:

Based on our previous discussions you recommend only dose of 1000mg of Acetyl L-Carnitine and regular ALA.

1. My question is does the timing matter?
2. Should I just use 500mg (1000mg total) for the first 2 meals?
3. Why ALA per meal?
4. Why does Biotin get used if ALA is used?

Thanks,
J

jasonshadow - ALC is synergistic with Lipoic acid. The best time to take these is right before eating, anywhere from 15 minutes to right before the meal. This also applies to the other supplements, since it acts as a buffer to glucose disposal end products and metabolism.

Biotin gets used up by Lipoic acid, so additional biotin is necessary to prevent a short of this. Taking extra biotin is good for the hair, plus it is helpful to have extra biotin due to it's impact on glucose.

CausticSymmetry wrote:jasonshadow - ALC is synergistic with Lipoic acid. The best time to take these is right before eating, anywhere from 15 minutes to right before the meal. This also applies to the other supplements, since it acts as a buffer to glucose disposal end products and metabolism.

Biotin gets used up by Lipoic acid, so additional biotin is necessary to prevent a short of this. Taking extra biotin is good for the hair, plus it is helpful to have extra biotin due to it's impact on glucose.

Maybe I didnt ask my question correctly. Because you said based on my medical history I should only take 1000mg of ALC and take only regular Lipoic Acid. Now because ALC comes in 500mg I figured I could split the 1000mg into 2 meals. Unless you think I should cut the Lipoic Acid 500mg in half to give me 4 doses. My other delima is I usually eat 6 meals a day. Am I supposed to take the ALC and Lipoic Acid before all 6 meals? I just want to make sure I'm doing everything exactly correctly and to my fullest potential.

jasonshadow - With that many meals per day, you'll want to limit the supplements to the two or three largest of the six.

A 1,000 mg of ALC is only on the side of caution, as 3,000 mg is fine for just about everybody.

I would suggest using 1,000 one time if you keep it at a 1,000 mg.

Hello,

I would like to wean off cortef, I'm actually taking 20mg the morning (I have a lack of cortisol in the morning showed by the saliva test), because I would like a more natural way to heal my adrenal. I bought some teincture for the adrenal (with licorice, herbs and other good thing to support the adrenal, here http://www.herbaffair.com/Adrenal-Herbal-Tincture-p/t1300.htm). My idea is to go slowly and to cut the dose by two, i.e 10mg and take the teincture one hour later, for the first week. Then to cut the dose by two 5mg for week two etc. And finally to only take the teincture.

What do you think?