Anyone taking cortisol for adrenal fatigue????

Hi everyone,

I have a question. I have been suffering anxiety for 6 years following my hysterectomy. I do believe that low estrogen can cause anxiety, but also found out my cortisol is very high, after my dr tested me for adrenal fatigue. My cortisol is low in the morning, and spikes around 11am-to 12pm and stays spiked throughout the day and night. It explains why I have anxiety all day and all night and can't sleep at night.

Now question is....She prescribed me Cordef (hydrocortisone) low dose that should be taken in the morning, and other herbs to take during the day to lower it. I have not tried the cordef yet because I am afraid it will raise my morning cortisol and give me morning anxiety as well, OR if I take it, will it help lower the higher spikes I start to get at noon time?

Can anyone offer some experience or advice if you have been diagnosed with adrenal fatigue???

I had pituitary surgery over a year and a half ago and taking away a tiny little tumor there, took away all my hormones in my body. So I was in menopause way before I had my hysterectomy. I went from having Cushings Disease, to now having Addisons. Basically my adrenals aren't working yet and I take 15mg of hydrocortisone daily. (I also take thyroid meds, estrogen & growth hormone shots.)

I would look up Cushings Disease and see if you have any of the other symptoms that come along with it. You could have cyclical Cushings which would cause the diurnal rhythm to be off. I was low/normal in the morning, but got higher during the day and my levels overnight were soo high! They should be next to nothing overnight. They should be high in the morning and the lower during the day til they are 0 at night.

It just sounds like more than adrenal fatigue. The cortisol will definitely raise your morning levels. It only lasts 6 hrs in your body, so you don't have to worry about the rest of the day. But that means you will be high all day still from your regular cortisol spikes.

Have you done any tests for this and if so what are they? I may be able to help you work through all the results if you want to share.

Hi Kay,

Thanks for the info. My thyroid is fine, and I am on Estrogen and Testosterone pellets. I suffered from terrible anxiety for 6 years and always thought it was hormonal. I have a feeling it is more than just hormones. Even when my E is up I still have this anxiety during the times when my cortisol is high. It is terrible to feel this way. I am taking ativan low dose to just take the edge off.

She is going to run my prolactin to see if that is high, but no other tests that I am aware of. She just gave me some adrenal herbs to lower it, and hydrocortisone in the morning, which I am nervous to take. I don't need more anxiety in the morning. That is the time I feel exhausted, but much calmer.

What tests do you think I should request??

Hi Casper,

The dr doesn't think I have cushings by the way I look! So I am more confused. I was taking the cordef, but for some reason I couldn't sleep all night and my dr said to stop it. Does cordef make you wired where you can't sleep? What numbers are you talking about? The adrenal test I had, those numbers? Please let me know. Thanks.

Yes, steroids can keep you up all night and cause insomnia.

And the docs have a range of what your cortisol levels should be. High cortisol numbers would be above that range (and Cushings) and low cortisol numbers would be Addisons (adrenal fatigue). But you CAN have Cushings as WELL as Addisons. Because with Cushings, you can be cyclical, meaning your levels are all over the place and not JUST in the range. There's quite a bit to it.

This is an interesting thread for me because I have had labs where my dhea is low, but recently had low thryoid and testosterone, and the readings said "H" for cortisol....

I guess my question is if a person has a High cortisol reading, but low dhea, what does that mean? I did have the lab work taken in the morning. But how do you know where your cortisol is during the day and at night without getting it tested? I do not sleep at all if I don't use ambien, it is basically so bad, it is ambien dependent at this time.

I am very confused about the whole thyroid/cortisol/dhea issue and how to deal with it....also, is cordef a steroid? as in predisone or cortisone? If so, doesn't that cause a lot of weight gain? how do you take care of one while taking care of the other?

I guess I wonder if someone is treating your low dhea would that mess up your cortisol reading? I had a decadron (sp) shot in early May for swelling of my throat after a tonsillectomy. Could that cause an abnormal reading on a cortisol test?

I have found that I do not do well with anything even related to cortisone or predisone....any help with this info would be appreciated