Hi all,

Been battling with high cortisol symptoms for maybe a year now..(my main symptoms are cold feet, hands and dry brittle hair, and inflamed red scalp)

I just started taking DHEA last week, (50mg a day) and have been feeling just great. I hope that the effects don't diminish. I was afraid to take it earlier because of the fact that it converts into estrogen and DHT (which is bad for hair.)

I had my cortisol tested by saliva a year ago.
Here are my results:

Morning: 18 (13-24 nM) Normal
Noon: 16 (5-10nM) Elevated
Afternoon: 19 (3-8nM) Elevated
Night: 15 (1-4nM) Elevated

And my DHEAS was 6.1 (5.2 - 14.2 umol/L)

Testosterone Free: 40.6 (24-95 pmol/L)

Anyways, along with DHEA I've been taking an adaptogen vitamin twice daily.

My questions are, how long should I supplement with DHEA?
Should I be taking the adaptogen or not?
And, does taking DHEA suppress your own production of DHEA, so when you do finally stop you may experience a crash?

It was propecia (finasteride) that caused the whole mess, and I've tried to fix everything including take natural dessicated thyroid, vitamins, iodine, putting every kind of oil on my head short of motor oil.

I firmly believe now that I'm on the right track, and the fin messed up my adrenals and DHEA production, all I need to do is balance those out and I will be fine.

I do not consider myself a stressful or anxious person, and I always try to relax and have fun! I've also been off the finasteride for about two years now.

Thank you!