As of today I am 30 days into the next phase of my journey.
I call it the “Beginning of the End”, because for me that’s what it is, the end of feeling like crap!
On June 10th I started taking hydro-cortisone and for the first time in many, many years I know that recovery is possible.
After years of inadequate treatment for Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, plus two other autoimmune diseases, I developed what’s called HPA Dysfunction. That is Hypothalamus Pituitary Adrenal Dysfunction – better known as Adrenal Fatigue.
The treatment for HPA Dysfunction, if severe enough, is physiologic doses of hydro-cortisone.
Week 1
Week one starts off well enough, I was already coming from a pretty bad place, I had experienced what’s called a “crash” the previous month. My days start at 7am with my first dose, 10 mg of HC + 25 mcg of Cytomel, next dose at 11am 7.5 mg of HC + 25 mcg of Cytomel, a 3pm dose of 5 mg of HC and 2.5 at bedtime, just as the lights are going out. A 10pm bed time is a must when healing from HPA Dysfunction.
The motto here is slow and steady wins the race. I feel good, one of the first things I notice is the return of mental clarity, an evenness in my emotions. At this point I am still quite tired and I lay down at least 1 to 2 times a day for short naps.
Night time was a bit of an issue. I woke up frequently through the night, a couple of times I jolted awake, heart racing, I felt a little panicky as if I had awoken from a nightmare. Because I had done my research before starting HC, I knew that what I was experiencing was a drop in cortisol and/or blood sugar and a spike in adrenalin. Good thing there is a fix for this, I upped my night time dose from 2.5 mg of HC to 5 mg and took it with a big spoon of peanut butter. There, much better.
Week 2
Week 2 looks and feels a lot like week 1, there is a sameness about the whole thing. It feels like things need to run like a military operation, with no deviation from the plan. This will take some getting used to, but it’s a heck of a lot better than the alternative. That’s for sure.
As week 2 moves along I feel a steady and reliable return of energy. Already I feel less of a need to nap, but I do anyway. I know I won’t be running any marathons, but it seems like every day activities like household chores feels like less of a chore. The general feeling of getting through the day used to be a chore and I would want to shut down physically, mentally and emotionally. This seems to no longer be the case. Getting up at 7am is a breeze, this would have been an impossible task before HC.
I have had a nine year struggle with aching joints and muscles, it started after getting Sarcoidosis/Takayasu Arteritis in 2002. The tenderness would come with any kind of prolonged activity. I mention this only because since starting HC I have not taken any anti-inflammatory medications, while generally being more active than I have in years.
Week 3
This week starts out a little rough, we had a welcomed visitor from out of town. I wasn’t feeling as “peppy” and thought it was the excitement from having an extra person in the house. As it turns out I was about 4 days from starting my period. The imbalance of progesterone to estrogen was too much for my body to manage.
PMS Sucks!
Anyway, I started to feel like I did before starting HC. It was crazy to go from feeling so good only to feel like it was all a dream. It seemed like a terrible joke. I consulted with a wise group, who have not only been through this themselves but also support others through their journey. They are life savers to say the least. My question to them was “What the heck happened and what do I do about it?”
The long and the short of it is, not much. I am not menopausal, not yet anyway! Like taking anything that effects your hormones, (birth control would be an example of this), it takes a few months for the rest of your body to catch up. Next cycle I will try stress dosing, which means I will take an extra dose of HC, probably starting with a 2.5mg increase and see how it goes.
The other thing I am trying is a supplement called EstroSmart Plus. I have taken this supplement in the past and it helped immensely. It however is not recommended by the wise group of life savers for two reasons – 1. it has zinc and zinc lowers cortisol and 2. it has green tea extract – which can be too stimulating for the adrenals. I like the quality of this supplement and when I took it in the past at the lowest effective dose for me, which was 2 daily, I saw great results. So, because there is still some kicking around I have decided to take 1 daily along with an extra 80 mg of Vitex. My thinking behind this decision is that if 2 daily worked wonders I should be able to get away with taking 1 a day, so that the 3 mg of zinc and 50 mg of green tea extract should be inconsequential to my cortisol levels/adrenal glands – I don’t know. It’s an experiment, if it starts to interfere with my overall progress I will stop taking it. Simple as that.
Week 4
This was a crazy week for me. It feels like I only just started on this new drug, I feel great, then I don’t, my family is on vacation, including extended family, summer break for the kids. It was July 1st weekend here in Canada and we were being invited to fire works, bbq’s, shopping excursions, having sleep overs….all the regular holiday stuff.
I went rogue for a few days, did not go to bed on time, did not get up on time, because of that I had to adjust my dosing schedule. I don’t recommend it.
By mid week I was back on track but still not feeling great. My period has lasted longer than it should, my breasts stayed tender well into the beginning of my cycle, everything was still unbalanced. At this point I was getting a little worried that my first few weeks on HC were a figment of my imagination. Oh, I hope not.
More updates to come.
Take care and stay healthy.
