Help with cortef?? Please advise...

[Guest guest]

Hi ladies (and gents if applicable)..

I went to see one of my docs today and he agreed to a trial run of 5

mg. cortef 1x-2x daily. Now that I have it, I am nervous about using it.

My hx is: dxd with Hashi's five years after being blindsided with 140

pound weight gain (all told in about 8 months), crippling fatigue

(sleeping 16-18 hours daily at age 24) - rxd stimulants to stay awake,

loss of periods, GI issues, horrific brain fog (NO short term memory -

can never get my words out correctly either)..

I have been on Armour for a couple of years and this year worked up to

4 grains. Most of the small stuff is about 50% better (regular

periods, off depression meds, off stimulants, off stomach meds) but I

still have cognitive problems (short term memory and inability to

recall familiar words is a really BIG problem for me) and weight - it

has risen since my affair with Armour.. So, I thought about cortef..

And my doc hesitated because of my disdain with my weight, but he

agreed to try.

My main reasoning for cortef trial is that 4 grains of Armour hasn't

gotten me to even 75% yet.. Also, I am sensitive/allergic to

EVERYTHING!! When I was a kid, I had NO allergies at all; however I

was sensitive to smelling chemicals (perfumes, for instance, made me

throw up and get a " hypoglycemic " feeling).

After having my only child six years ago, I can't even clean my house

(we have a cleaning lady so it isn't even dirty) but if I smell any

chemicals, essential oils, cosmetics, etc, I get faint and really

pukey. I also have bad reactions to almost every food known to man -

if I smell a banana peel, I begin to wheeze, if I eat bread, my rectum

itches BADLY, and if any adidic fruit passes my lips my mouth is

ulcered and my lips get sore. All salycilites (aspirin, berries,

mints, tea tree oil, etc) make my mouth numb..

So, I hear that cortef can be nightmarish to wean off of... And I

just spent a year getting off other rxs..

Ay thoughts??

My cortisl tests show low in morning and low normal throughout the

rest of the day. My tsh is .021, my free tf is mid normal, and my

free t3 is low normal as of last tests.

Anywhoo.. I would love to hear any thoughts.. Will cortef help me?

[Guest guest]

The first problem are your thyroid levels, specifically the Free T3.. if it's still low normal... you're still hypo. Hence all the symptoms...

tsh is .021

free t4 is mid normal

free t3 is low normal as of last tests.

You're obviously not converting properly...

Lets dig into that.

First, questions...

When do you take the Armour, time(s) per day?

How long before you had your blood draw did you take your dose?

What vitamins and supplements do you take, and when?

About how many calories are you taking in during an average day and how many times do you eat per day?

Do you consume soy products?

Do you consume products that have high fructose corn syrup (such as soda, prepackaged foods.. .the list is huge)?

If your adrenal levels are low in the morning, the cortef will help... though I'm not real fond of it.... you'll want to take in first thing in the morning.... You don't have to worry about weaning off of it, if it's taken correctly and you REALLY need it... The problem comes from using it incorrectly and when it's not needed that causes the problems, IMHO.....

Topper ()"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body. But rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in hand, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO-HOO what a ride!"

On Thu, 05 Jan 2006 01:54:43 -0000 "msl5858" writes:

Hi ladies (and gents if applicable)..I went to see one of my docs today and he agreed to a trial run of 5mg. cortef 1x-2x daily. Now that I have it, I am nervous about using it.My hx is: dxd with Hashi's five years after being blindsided with 140pound weight gain (all told in about 8 months), crippling fatigue(sleeping 16-18 hours daily at age 24) - rxd stimulants to stay awake,loss of periods, GI issues, horrific brain fog (NO short term memory -can never get my words out correctly either)..I have been on Armour for a couple of years and this year worked up to4 grains. Most of the small stuff is about 50% better (regularperiods, off depression meds, off stimulants, off stomach meds) but Istill have cognitive problems (short term memory and inability torecall familiar words is a really BIG problem for me) and weight - ithas risen since my affair with Armour.. So, I thought about cortef..And my doc hesitated because of my disdain with my weight, but heagreed to try.My main reasoning for cortef trial is that 4 grains of Armour hasn'tgotten me to even 75% yet.. Also, I am sensitive/allergic toEVERYTHING!! When I was a kid, I had NO allergies at all; however Iwas sensitive to smelling chemicals (perfumes, for instance, made methrow up and get a "hypoglycemic" feeling).After having my only child six years ago, I can't even clean my house(we have a cleaning lady so it isn't even dirty) but if I smell anychemicals, essential oils, cosmetics, etc, I get faint and reallypukey. I also have bad reactions to almost every food known to man -if I smell a banana peel, I begin to wheeze, if I eat bread, my rectumitches BADLY, and if any adidic fruit passes my lips my mouth isulcered and my lips get sore. All salycilites (aspirin, berries,mints, tea tree oil, etc) make my mouth numb..So, I hear that cortef can be nightmarish to wean off of... And Ijust spent a year getting off other rxs..Ay thoughts??My cortisl tests show low in morning and low normal throughout therest of the day. My tsh is .021, my free tf is mid normal, and myfree t3 is low normal as of last tests.Anywhoo.. I would love to hear any thoughts.. Will cortef help me?

[Guest guest]

The first problem are your thyroid levels, specifically the Free T3.. if it's still low normal... you're still hypo. Hence all the symptoms...

tsh is .021

free t4 is mid normal

free t3 is low normal as of last tests.

You're obviously not converting properly...

Lets dig into that.

First, questions...

When do you take the Armour, time(s) per day?

How long before you had your blood draw did you take your dose?

What vitamins and supplements do you take, and when?

About how many calories are you taking in during an average day and how many times do you eat per day?

Do you consume soy products?

Do you consume products that have high fructose corn syrup (such as soda, prepackaged foods.. .the list is huge)?

If your adrenal levels are low in the morning, the cortef will help... though I'm not real fond of it.... you'll want to take in first thing in the morning.... You don't have to worry about weaning off of it, if it's taken correctly and you REALLY need it... The problem comes from using it incorrectly and when it's not needed that causes the problems, IMHO.....

Topper ()"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body. But rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in hand, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO-HOO what a ride!"

On Thu, 05 Jan 2006 01:54:43 -0000 "msl5858" writes:

Hi ladies (and gents if applicable)..I went to see one of my docs today and he agreed to a trial run of 5mg. cortef 1x-2x daily. Now that I have it, I am nervous about using it.My hx is: dxd with Hashi's five years after being blindsided with 140pound weight gain (all told in about 8 months), crippling fatigue(sleeping 16-18 hours daily at age 24) - rxd stimulants to stay awake,loss of periods, GI issues, horrific brain fog (NO short term memory -can never get my words out correctly either)..I have been on Armour for a couple of years and this year worked up to4 grains. Most of the small stuff is about 50% better (regularperiods, off depression meds, off stimulants, off stomach meds) but Istill have cognitive problems (short term memory and inability torecall familiar words is a really BIG problem for me) and weight - ithas risen since my affair with Armour.. So, I thought about cortef..And my doc hesitated because of my disdain with my weight, but heagreed to try.My main reasoning for cortef trial is that 4 grains of Armour hasn'tgotten me to even 75% yet.. Also, I am sensitive/allergic toEVERYTHING!! When I was a kid, I had NO allergies at all; however Iwas sensitive to smelling chemicals (perfumes, for instance, made methrow up and get a "hypoglycemic" feeling).After having my only child six years ago, I can't even clean my house(we have a cleaning lady so it isn't even dirty) but if I smell anychemicals, essential oils, cosmetics, etc, I get faint and reallypukey. I also have bad reactions to almost every food known to man -if I smell a banana peel, I begin to wheeze, if I eat bread, my rectumitches BADLY, and if any adidic fruit passes my lips my mouth isulcered and my lips get sore. All salycilites (aspirin, berries,mints, tea tree oil, etc) make my mouth numb..So, I hear that cortef can be nightmarish to wean off of... And Ijust spent a year getting off other rxs..Ay thoughts??My cortisl tests show low in morning and low normal throughout therest of the day. My tsh is .021, my free tf is mid normal, and myfree t3 is low normal as of last tests.Anywhoo.. I would love to hear any thoughts.. Will cortef help me?

[Guest guest]

Topper-

okay..

When do you take the Armour, time(s) per day? - ONCE IN AM 4 GRAINS

(NOT SUBLINGUAL - TOO MUCH MEDICINE GAGS ME)

> How long before you had your blood draw did you take your dose?

PROBABLY TOOK MEDS AT 7 OR 8 AND HAD BLOOD DRAW AT 10-11AM

> What vitamins and supplements do you take, and when? I DON'T TAKE

ANY RELIGIOUSLY (USED TO, BUT I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO GET OFF OF

EVERYTHING EXCEPT ARMOUR)

> About how many calories are you taking in during an average day and how

> many times do you eat per day? 3-4X DAILY, MUST BE 2,000 CALORIES

> Do you consume soy products? I HAVE TOFU ABOUT ONCE EVERY 2 WEEKS

> Do you consume products that have high fructose corn syrup (such as

soda,

> prepackaged foods.. .the list is huge)? WAY TOO OFTEN!! I DRINK A

COKE EVERY DAY..

WHY AREN'T YOU FOND OF CORTEF??? IS THERE AN ALTERNATIVE OR SHOULD I

JUST NOT TAKE IT AT ALL?

>

> The first problem are your thyroid levels, specifically the Free T3.. if

> it's still low normal... you're still hypo. Hence all the symptoms...

>

> tsh is .021

> free t4 is mid normal

> free t3 is low normal as of last tests.

>

> You're obviously not converting properly...

>

> Lets dig into that.

>

> First, questions...

>

>

>

> If your adrenal levels are low in the morning, the cortef will help...

> though I'm not real fond of it.... you'll want to take in first thing in

> the morning.... You don't have to worry about weaning off of it, if

it's

> taken correctly and you REALLY need it... The problem comes from

using it

> incorrectly and when it's not needed that causes the problems, IMHO.....

>

> Topper ()

> " Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of

arriving

> safely in an attractive and well preserved body. But rather to skid in

> sideways, chocolate in hand, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out

> and screaming " WOO-HOO what a ride! "

>

> On Thu, 05 Jan 2006 01:54:43 -0000 " msl5858 " <msl5858@y...> writes:

> Hi ladies (and gents if applicable)..

>

> I went to see one of my docs today and he agreed to a trial run of 5

> mg. cortef 1x-2x daily. Now that I have it, I am nervous about

using it.

>

> My hx is: dxd with Hashi's five years after being blindsided with 140

> pound weight gain (all told in about 8 months), crippling fatigue

> (sleeping 16-18 hours daily at age 24) - rxd stimulants to stay awake,

> loss of periods, GI issues, horrific brain fog (NO short term memory -

> can never get my words out correctly either)..

>

> I have been on Armour for a couple of years and this year worked up to

> 4 grains. Most of the small stuff is about 50% better (regular

> periods, off depression meds, off stimulants, off stomach meds) but I

> still have cognitive problems (short term memory and inability to

> recall familiar words is a really BIG problem for me) and weight - it

> has risen since my affair with Armour.. So, I thought about cortef..

> And my doc hesitated because of my disdain with my weight, but he

> agreed to try.

>

> My main reasoning for cortef trial is that 4 grains of Armour hasn't

> gotten me to even 75% yet.. Also, I am sensitive/allergic to

> EVERYTHING!! When I was a kid, I had NO allergies at all; however I

> was sensitive to smelling chemicals (perfumes, for instance, made me

> throw up and get a " hypoglycemic " feeling).

>

> After having my only child six years ago, I can't even clean my house

> (we have a cleaning lady so it isn't even dirty) but if I smell any

> chemicals, essential oils, cosmetics, etc, I get faint and really

> pukey. I also have bad reactions to almost every food known to man -

> if I smell a banana peel, I begin to wheeze, if I eat bread, my rectum

> itches BADLY, and if any adidic fruit passes my lips my mouth is

> ulcered and my lips get sore. All salycilites (aspirin, berries,

> mints, tea tree oil, etc) make my mouth numb..

>

> So, I hear that cortef can be nightmarish to wean off of... And I

> just spent a year getting off other rxs..

>

> Ay thoughts??

>

> My cortisl tests show low in morning and low normal throughout the

> rest of the day. My tsh is .021, my free tf is mid normal, and my

> free t3 is low normal as of last tests.

>

> Anywhoo.. I would love to hear any thoughts.. Will cortef help me?

>

[Guest guest]

This isn't looking right to me..... something is goofy....

You took that dose some two to four hours before labs were done and the levels were that low? Makes me think there is something going on here with how your body is absorbing what you are taking.....

Can we do some more digging?

How do you take it.... you swallow.... is there food in your tummy, how long since you've last eaten?

How long do you wait to eat after?

How much water do you drink when you swallow the dose?

How is your digestion, is your body processing the food okay, no constipation, diarrhea or excessive gas (not funny.. this is an important function of our bodies, even if we do giggle)?

You are on Armour brand... prescription?

Tell me that you are not drinking the coke with the pills....

You may want to look into vitamins again... supplements. We, as a group, hypos often need to be careful of our levels of B vitamins, iron, ferritin, calcium and selenium..... many more vitamins and minerals too, but those seem to be biggies for us.... being low in B vitamins and ferritin often goes hand in had with poor absorption and utilization of the hormones. Without sufficient selenium in the system the body is unable to convert T4 to T3.... so your hypo even when taking replacement hormone....

But I'm still bothered about how you could have taken 4 grain that close to a draw and still had numbers that low..... are you absorbing that poorly or is your body that starved for hormone that it's sucking it all up that quickly???

I think you might be a puzzle..... we'll need to pick at your some more....

...if that's okay....

It looks like your eating is okay... as far as calories and several meals..... Too many hypos under eat, thinking that will help with the weight issues, when it really just makes everything worse.....

Topper ()

On Thu, 05 Jan 2006 13:43:41 -0000 "msl5858" writes:

Topper-okay.. When do you take the Armour, time(s) per day? - ONCE IN AM 4 GRAINS(NOT SUBLINGUAL - TOO MUCH MEDICINE GAGS ME)> How long before you had your blood draw did you take your dose?PROBABLY TOOK MEDS AT 7 OR 8 AND HAD BLOOD DRAW AT 10-11AM> What vitamins and supplements do you take, and when? I DON'T TAKEANY RELIGIOUSLY (USED TO, BUT I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO GET OFF OFEVERYTHING EXCEPT ARMOUR)> About how many calories are you taking in during an average day and how> many times do you eat per day? 3-4X DAILY, MUST BE 2,000 CALORIES> Do you consume soy products? I HAVE TOFU ABOUT ONCE EVERY 2 WEEKS> Do you consume products that have high fructose corn syrup (such assoda,> prepackaged foods.. .the list is huge)? WAY TOO OFTEN!! I DRINK ACOKE EVERY DAY.. :(WHY AREN'T YOU FOND OF CORTEF??? IS THERE AN ALTERNATIVE OR SHOULD IJUST NOT TAKE IT AT ALL?