Hi all,

I'm new to this and to CureZone. The reason I'm here is that I feel like I'm going in circles with batches of misinformation on adrenal fatigue recovery and leaky guy healing.

Here's the deal and I welcome (beg for ;) any insight.

BACKGROUND:

I'm 40, female, perimenopausal (no real change in my menstrual cycles yet except for introduction of very bad PMS and similar emotional/physical unpleasantness at ovulation).

I live in Canada, by the way, where we have fewer private labs doing the kind of testing that Dr. Perlmutter (of Grain Brain) uses for highly thorough testing of gluten and other sensitivities.

I've had Adrenal Fatigue for (I think) a couple of years. Exhaustion, extreme brain fog, worsening digestion, joint pain, muscle pain, insomnia, emotional burn-out/volatility, worsening PMS to point of it being PMDD-ish, etc.

I've also probably had Leaky Gut Syndrome for years and years. Was diagnosed with IBS 20 years ago and my constant digestion issues have only worsened since then. More on that in a minute.

I just got my results of the 4-sample salivary cortisol and female hormone panel. I *think* the lab is reputable (this is Rocky Mountain Labs in Alberta, Canada) but I can't confirm that. I've hunted for buzz about them -- positive or negative -- and found nothing.

In any case, my cortisol is at the bottom of the "normal" range, and I know from how I've felt that if I'd done the test 3 weeks earlier, it may well have been far below the normal range. My pattern is that I go from feeling god awful and pretty much non-functional for 3-4 weeks at a time to feeling slightly better for several months. Then a stressor comes along and it kicks me back down again. Anyway, my results were as follows:

Morning cortisol: 4.1 ng/mL (range is 2-11 ng/mL) so not too bad
Noon cortisol is 1.6 on range of 1.0 - 7.0, so significant drop.
Late afternoon cortisol is 0.95 on range of 0.50 - 3.5.
Bedtime cortisol is 0.36 on range of 0.20 - 1.3.

Here's where it gets tricky to understand, and by the way the samples were taken during midluteal phase.

DHEAS is listed as "above range": 11 ng/mL on range of 3.0 - 11.
Testosterone is listed as low: 19 pg/mL on range of 15-45.
Progesterone is listed as normal -- 140 on range of 50-250 pm/mL.
Estradiol is listed as normal -- 3.9 on rage 1.0 - 9.0.

HIGH DHEAS WITH LOW CORTISOL AND LOW TESTOSTERONE: WHAT GIVES?

So I'm trying to figure out why I have low cortisol and testosterone with high DHEAS. The only literature I've seen to discuss high DHEAS mentions tumors on or near the adrenal glands, or PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome). No idea about the possibility of a tumor, but I do not have symptoms of PCOS as far as I can tell.

Any ideas??

THE THERAPY THAT HAS BEEN RECOMMENDED TO ME -- I HAVE BIG DOUBTS:

I have a naturopath (new) who ordered the salivary index tests for me but I don't have a lot of faith in her. She prescribed Relora-Plex, AdrenaSense (contains 3 adaptogens) and vitamin B12. No vitamin C, D or E mentioned and of course now I learn (from CureZone and subsequent research!) that Relora *lowers* cortisol and that the adaptogens likely do the same.

On the adaptogen topic, I am skeptical of the idea that an adaptogenic herb can either raise or lower anything -- that it can be magically targeted to whatever particular issue you have. Most research implies that Siberian Ginseng, Rhodiola and Ashwaghanda lower cortisol. NOT what I need.

So supplement-wise, I have no idea what to do other than probably get a really good quality vitamin C supplement and slowly get going with it. I feel like I should toss out the AdrenaSense and Relora, and the licorice tincture, and just go with diet and a slow introduction of vitamins A, B, C, D, and E plus magnesium, calcium and zinc.

WHAT ABOUT DIET FOR BOTH LEAKY GUT AND ADRENAL FATIGUE?

As for diet, I'm even more confused. I have had years of food sensitivities that I could never fully identify (though some things are obvious -- gluten, garlic, dairy) and have thus recently embarked on a paleo diet -- no grains. It's been about a month. This makes a lot of sense for me and I feel a bit better digestion-wise, but I've read that AF folks need to be cautious about low-carb diets....

I'm not sure how to tackle the beast that is leaky gut syndrome in a way that does not worsen my adrenal fatigue. I am willing to bet that the gut problem came first and is the root of everything else.

My naturopath is not much help. She recommended an "elimination diet" that includes things like snow peas and sorghum flour and bell peppers. Uh, I don't think that sounds like a good gut cleanse/elimination diet.

Anyway, there you have it. No one person seems to have all the answers, and I don't have access to a well-informed practitioner of any sort at the moment. I sense that CureZone may be my best bet to gather and sift through the experiences of others in order to find out what has worked for folks with a similar profile to mine.

I recognize that this will be a long road. I just want to make the right choices.

Big thanks in advance to anyone who has persevered through my post and has an idea or two!