Re: Anyone know of a good endocrinologist in the Seattle area?

I've been suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) most of my adult life and it was a naturopath that diagnosed me with overgrowth of candida and food sensitivities which led to a healing crisis and relief after I got on a anti-candida diet and quit all Sugar and fruit so I wouldn't grow any candida. My naturopath knew I also could have adrenal fatigue because I'd been relapsing a chronic virus for several years due to such a depressed immune system from candida (most of the body's immunity is in the gut and healthy gut flora is destroyed by candida, this terribly weakening the immune system). Adrenal fatigue can result from an immune problem that goes on for too long and there's a very definite link from CFS/candida overgrowth and adrenal fatigue which results in lowered cortisol output. When a person does have adrenal fatigue, the best recourse for treatment is to eliminate candida and find a knowledgeable naturopath or physician who will use the gold-standard test for adrenal fatigue, the saliva test, which measures everything important to the diagnosis including levels of numerous hormones including cortisol such as DHEA, sex hormones, etc, and blood Sugar levels as well as the curve of cortisol production in the body which helps the naturopath understand the exact nature of the adrenal fatigue and how long it's been going on. (Most allopathic physicians including endocrinologists don't recognise the lower levels of adrenal fatigue associated with Chronic-Fatigue-Syndrome and candida and therefore don't use the vitally important saliva test for evaluation, therefore making it hard to get a good analysis of the adrenal fatigue and provide necessary supplements to treat it.) Isocort is made from lamb adrenal glands and is very weak, making it necessary to take huge doses to depress the adrenals, so whoever prescribed Isocort didn't probably do too much harm, but the association between candida and adrenal fatigue is very strong and most naturopaths are sharp enough to know all about as well as the link with thyroid production being too low while adrenal fatigue is not being treated. Thyroid supplementation due to weak adrenals isn't necessarily the best course of action until the adrenals begin to recover and produce more cortisol, so small doses of Armour Thyroid as okay, but any more than 40 a day is a little too much to help the thyroid recover as well. After I relapsed and began to believe I'd conquered CFS, I didn't know that I'd become too low in beneficial flora in my gut and I also drank some alcohol again after 18 years off it to control candida and leaky gut (which I'd developed from the prolonged candida), so I began low-level relapsing of a virus again and, after realizing the problem after being sick for over a year (it's sneaky because it doesn't seem like you're sick at first and only have a cold which doesn't go away or catch a new one, so it takes awhile to figure out), I resolved the candida overgrowth by taking massive doses of probiotics to replenish my beneficial flora, therefore stopping the Chronic-Fatigue-Syndrome relapses. However, after that, I had very low adrenal function which had taken a very serious hit from the Chronic-Fatigue-Syndrome relapses and I also developed fibromyalgia-like illness and inflammation in my joints as well as all the symptoms of adrenal fatigue including lack of sleep, heart-pounding in the middle of the night or before bed, low blood sugar, low blood pressure, lowered immunity due to too low cortisol, and an irregular heartbeat also caused by low cortisol and aldosterone, both important to blood regulation. I was so sick that I could believe how bad I felt and, after I contacted my naturopath who'd moved to the San Juan Island from Seattle to practice before retiring, she immediately sent me a diagnostic saliva test and even though it costs a little over a hundred dollars, it's worth it. Most allopathic doctors wouldn't know how to do a saliva test because it isn't covered by insurance and they're used to using the ACTH test instead, which isn't as accurate for stage 3 adrenal fatgiue (an not Addison's Disease). I discovered from the test results that I'd developed a pretty severe case of adrenal fatigue the required a lot of rest, some supplements, good diet, and understanding of how to manage all stress levels to keep the adrenals from having to do anything other than run the body. My hypothalamus-pituatary-adrenal (HPA) axis which requires messages from the hypothalamus to the pituitary to stimulate the adrenals when they become too low was causing me terrible symptoms such as the release of adrenaline in the middle of the night keeping me awake so I was only sleeping 4 to 4.5 hours a night for several years trying to heal the adrenals, and now, after so much work to heal them, I've reached another level which is better but still not up to normal levels yet. This is all a way of saying that, when someone has a bad experience with a naturopath, so many good ones are available and they are the best route to take to achieve a normal, healthy life again when adrenal fatigue rears its ugly head. The surging industry called Functional Medicine is pretty savvy about candida and adrenal fatigue as well, but it's not for anyone who doesn't have money. A naturopath a better way to go. Good luck to everyone! Better days ahead! Tweet