Re: Adrenal Fatigue Newbie Very Frustrated Looking for Wisdom

9:45 am 3.2 7.0-10
2:45 pm 3.2 3-6
7:45 pm 2.2 2-4
12:45 am 4.0 <1.5


Are these times based on when you first woke up? Cause I'm used to seeing the times like early morning, noon, 4pm and 10pm. Anyways...

Your 1st reading is WAY outside (below actually) of range it should be at the top of range (10), so you definitely need cortisone then. Your next one is barely in range, it should be in the middle (4.5). Your evening one is in range and looks ok. Your midnight one is too high.

Take the 5mg in the morning and it might be enough to raise your morning to where it should be and then boost the afternoon up a scoshe. Usually, you're supposed to take the cortisol every 4 hrs. But your am one is the only one that is in the tank.

Pick up some Relora or some Interplexus Seriphos (you can get it at iherb and several other places too -- just google for best price) and take one OR the other (not both) at night around 10pm. You should try to go to bed by 10pm too. If you are having problems staying asleep, try melatonin and tryptophan together. When my high cortisol was at its worst, I was taking 30mg of melatonin and 2.5g of tryptophan to get any kind of decent sleep. Eventually, I went from waking every hour, to every 2 hours, to every 3, then to every 4. I now only wake up once or twice a night and can usually go back to sleep. I buy Swanson's brand of melatonin 3mg 120caps in bulk -- like 6 bottles at a time--it's pretty cheap.
http://www.swansonvitamins.com/SW502/ItemDetail?n=0


I tried the 10mg strength and it didn't seem to be as effective for some reason. I currently take Swanson's Relora when I'm having trouble sleeping, or I've had caffeine too late at night and I'm tossing and turning. I took Seriphos for about 6 months when my cortisol levels were higher. The last time I took it, it seemed like it was just too strong for me so I switched to Relora.

Hawthorne is really good if you get the pounding heart at night. I would get it just going to the bathroom at night. I started taking the hawthorne and it really helped with that. One afternoon I lay down for a nap with my heart pounding just from climbing the stairs. I was soo tired that I didn't want to get up again, just to take the hawthorne. I fell asleep and woke up an hour later and my heart was still pounding. From then on, I made a point to take the hawthorne when I went to bed for the night or to take a nap. I usually take Natures Way or Solaray brand.

I wouldn't be afraid of taking 5mg. Healthy adrenals normally make around 30-40mgs daily, anyways. You might find it helpful to join the NTH-adrenals board on yahoo. Tell them what your cortisol saliva results are and that you've been given 5mgs of cortisol.