Hi James,

I think I found a clue--maybe--anyway, I feel better today. Are you taking the Adrenal Rebuilder tablets from Dr. Wilson, or something else? I notice that they have thyroid glandular in it. I've been on Synthroid for 4 years for hypothyroid. A lab test came back showing I had too much thyroid, so the doctor (MD) cut my dose back some more. After still having all the trouble getting to sleep, and the fluid retention, I cut back the dose further for a few days to see if it would help (not knowing how much glandular is in the Adrenal Rebuilder). Mistake! It didn't help but made me even more exhausted than ever.

I'm hoping to get off the synthroid someday if I can find an ND to carefully monitor everything while doing it. I have an appointment with my endocrinologist on June 20 (finally, after waiting for 3 months). He's totally against everything except pharmaceuticals, so I don't expect him to help me much on the adrenal problem.

As a history for me, with horrible diet (living on junk and fast foods only), tons of coffee, high stress life, little sleep, etc., I began in November having sudden allergies and sinus headaches that felt like a bullet was in my right brain. I got Antibiotics since it looked like a sinus infection. It went away for a couple of weeks and came back worse than before, so they put me on another antibiotic. This first one felt like my entire insides were "nuked"! My entire digestive system was "blasted away", and I had incredible pain from it. I only was able to take 3 pills of my second Antibiotic before I had violent and severe inflammatory allergic reactions to anything I put into my mouth. Any food at all would cause my face to turn beet red, and the inflammation would travel to my neck and my throat would start to close up. I felt like I was going into shock, with rapid pulse, weakness and dizziness--the whole nine yards.

My digestive system was shot with "leaky gut" and candida already present, and my adrenals weren't able to come to the rescue because they were bad too. My ND helped me get my gastro system repaired and candida free, but after a month of starting to get better and feeling good, I went back to my coffee and Sugar diet just to live and meet the demands of life. A few weeks later, it all came undone again, only 100 times worse. (My MD didn't do anything either, except say to avoid what bothers me).

My ND told me to avoid whatever I was allergic to, but she didn't realize the severity of this setback. I basically went back to the program but ended up on a 12-day fast since anything would cause severe symptoms. She basically told me to just do my best. No tests or further help. Meanwhile my adrenals were trying to keep me going without food, but they couldn't.

I ended up in the emergency room with what was close to total adrenal failure. I needed 2 huge sodium IV's, and got a massive dose of prednisone and benedryl (antihistamine) IV also. I had almost all the symptoms of Addison's disease, which is adrenal shutdown, including the weird skin pigmentation characteristic of it. My lab work was totally out of balance, and my blood pressure had dropped to 80/50. They said they should admit me, but they were out of beds, so they just gave me a prescription for prednisone and told me to see my doctor soon. The next week, he told me that Prednisone was bad, and didn't give me any more, or any further instructions or referrals. Also, my endocrinologist wouldn't see me since it wasn't for the thyroid--he won't consider another endocrine gland withoug a referral from my primary doctor!

Since then, my ND decided to work on the adrenals, but I wasn't getting better, and still had allergic reactions to the herbal pills she put me on. I really wish that somewhere in this, that she had run some test of some kind instead of just giving me something and saying "try this and see how you feel". I still would like the saliva test for cortisol and DHEA, plus thyroid, and other hormones.

Sorry to bore you with all this, but I totally understand the frustration (and expense!!) of trying to get someone to help and to get some answers and real solutions. The MD's are clueless except for shoving a prescription at you (with dangerous side-effects), and usually only see one body system at a time and miss the whole interaction of the body systems on each other.

I'm still going to stay the course, continue with the adrenal program, keep up the thyroid, and keep hoping to get better.

Thanks for your encouragement, and I wish you good health!
Marilyn