This person is depressed, always tired, often anxious, craves alcohol almost as much as coffee. This person also craves carbohydrates and always seems to be snacking. This person may simply try to live on his or her artificial nervous energy and caffeine boosters throughout the day instead, punctuated by the occasional bagel or donut and skipping real, regular meals. This person has what practitioners of mainstream natural medicine call adrenal exhaustion or burned-out adrenals.
It just so happens that this particular person also has food sensitivities plus parasitic and chronic viral infections. He or she has a lot of chronic personal stress, is drinking too much, and isn't getting enough rest. He or she is commonly awakens in the middle of the night with what feels like a surge of adrenaline, which may relate to her body's way of compensating for insufficient cortisol at these times. The question is, does this sound familiar to what you are experiencing?
As high cortisol production has been getting more publicity and primary discussion, but how about if a person is running low on cortisol production? What if that someone is losing ability to produce cortisol on daily basis? What will actually happen to that individual? What would his or her symptoms be?
There are several possible causes of this person's low cortisol level. For starters, and from a brain-based perspective, her food sensitivities and infections are generating inflammatory cytokines, which adversely alter the paraventricular nuclear (PVN) cells of her hypothalamus and are likely effectively dampening their output. It is known that certain inflammatory cytokines adversely modulate brain neurotransmitters and the activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. These conditions, and the other causes of her low cortisol problem, need to be addressed individually and not with a bunch of adrenal supplements.
That said, when cortisol is chronically depressed, there is a particular supplement called licorice root extract (not the candy!), that can help preserve the half-life of cortisol and help extend its activity. It doesn't affect actual cortisol production but rather helps maintain what little cortisol happens to be available and allows your body to use it more effectively.
Now, let's pause for a moment and take a look at some of the symptoms of chronically low cortisol.
COMMON SYMPTOMS OF CHRONICALLY LOW CORTISOL/ADRENAL INSUFFICIENCY
- Chronic fatigue
- Decreased tolerance to cold or stress
- Poor circulation
- Low blood sugar symptoms (hypoglycemia). This is NOT a dietary sugar or starch deficiency!
- Craving caffeine, sugar, and stimulants
- Carb (and/or alcohol) cravings in general
- Low blood pressure
- Apathy or depression
- Poor libido
- Poor stamina
- Joint aches and pains
- Muscle weakness
- Salt cravings
- Needing excessive amounts of sleep and/or awakening to anxiety-provoking adrenaline surges in the middle of the night
- Low resistance to infection
- Having a possibly subnormal basal body temperature
- If adrenal deficiency is coupled with a loss of DHEA production, hair loss in pubic and underarm areas can occur.
You know the symptoms, and you will be asking questions, "What's my next step? How should I deal with it?". Let's look at a list of considerations to tackle low cortisol production, but each individual may vary in terms of effectiveness and time frame of improvement.
SO WHAT SHOULD YOU DO IF YOUR CORTISOL IS TOO LOW?
- First, you need to determine and address all potential sources of inflammation or infection.
- Have your ferritin levels tested. Ferritin is the best measure of your iron levels, and you need iron to produce cortisol. Large amounts of an iron-containing protein are present in the adrenal cortex, and are involved in the synthesis of corticosterone. If your iron is low, you will also tend to have a low cortisol level and what appears to be adrenal fatigue. Also, the thyroid and adrenal glands tend to work best when your ferritin level is somewhere between 80-110 ng/mL. If it gets much higher, I start worrying about iron overload. If it is much lower than about 40, you may have chronic anemia. Women will routinely complain of hair loss when their ferritin levels are between 40-60 ng/mL, fatigue and light-headedness occur when between 20-40 ng/mL, and a level of 20 ng/mL or lower can manifest in heart arrhythmias, breathlessness, irritability, nerve pain, or restless legs syndrome, to name just a few symptoms.
- Take licorice extract in the morning and early afternoon (if needed) to make the most of the cortisol you have. Use it with caution if you have an issue with high blood pressure. Don't use it late in the afternoon as it can interfere with your sleep. Follow the recommendations on the label to start, then increase the dose as needed for feelings of improvement.
- Control your blood sugar or switch to a fat-based diet.
- Take turmeric/curcuminoid supplements to help dampen potential inflammation/neuro-inflammation.
- Evaluate symptoms for neurotransmitter deficiencies
- Taking certain specific amino acid precursors together with needed accessory nutrients may help at least temporarily relieve your symptoms. This can at least make you more comfortable while you are finding the cause of your low cortisol or otherwise depressed neurotransmitter levels.
- Get a proper evaluation of your pituitary health through a qualified health care provider. Severely impaired ability by your pituitary to produce ACTH is most commonly caused by a tumor, though simple prolonged chronic stress may also lend itself to diminished secretion. Evidence for this can sometimes show in depressed TSH plus depressed total serum T4 (thyroid hormone) levels. See your doctor for more thorough testing.
- If your depressed cortisol levels are related to adrenal autoimmunity, know that some people have found supplementing with high quality neonatal bovine adrenal glandular supplements significantly helpful.
Stay tuned for next post.
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