Heal your Adrenals with this Easy Program

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Éiriú Eolas (pronounced “AIR-oo OH-lahss”), the amazing scientific stress-control, healing, detoxing and rejuvenation program which is THE KEY that will help you to change your life in a REAL and immediately noticeable way. Available online at eebreathe.com

If you are “adrenals are shot”, then your stress-coping abilities are severely depleted. That is, you’ll just stress out.

Adrenal fatigue can affect anyone who experiences frequent, persistent, or severe mental, emotional or physical stress. It can be a contributing factor in health conditions ranging from allergies to obesity. Despite its prevalence in our modern world, adrenal fatigue is for the most part ignored and misunderstood by the medical community.

The adrenals are located on top of your kidneys and they are responsible for producing noradrenaline and adrenaline which are important for your “fight or flight” acute response. Your adrenals are also responsible for producing steroid hormones from cholesterol, including DHEA, progesterone, estrogen, testosterone and cortisol.

Cortisol has a fundamental role in coping with chronic prolonged stress (psychological, physical or emotional). Cortisol is anti-inflammatory; it increases stamina, boosts mental and physical energy and has a role in your immune/defense system response. It is here where the low fat scam takes its toll. But several things may go wrong other than low cholesterol levels. For instance, your adrenals and your HPA axis might be overstressed or dysfunctional.

The hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is what can be considered the head master of your adrenals. As the name suggests, the HPA axis is composed of the hypothalamus, the pituitary gland (both in the brain), and the adrenal glands.

Our hypothalamus is that part of the brain considered to be the master gland of the endocrine system due to its homeostatic (balance) effect over all our hormonal system.

This is why the HPA axis regulates many functions such as blood pressure, digestion, circadian rhythms, sex drive, body temperature, balance and coordination, heart rate, sweating, water balance, blood sugar levels, adrenal hormones, thyroid hormones and metabolism.

The HPA axis, as the head master overseeing your adrenals, has an effect in your reactions to stress. What is more, chronic stress can suppress the HPA axis, leading to lower production of cortisol by the adrenals.

If there is an imbalance of the HPA axis, it will disrupt your body’s ability to maintain the homeostasis of the hormonal system. Thyroid function may become compromised by any disruption to the HPA axis, so stress can definitely have an effect on thyroid function. A dysfunctional HPA-axis can cause estrogen, testosterone, and progesterone to become imbalanced as well.

If you have leptin resistance due to a high carbohydrate intake, that will make your HPA axis most unhappy as well. Leptin is a major hormone that ultimately influences all other hormones and the functions of the hypothalamus in the brain. Thus, leptin controls the function of the HPA axis. As it happens, it seems that leptin enhances your flight or fight response and it inhibits the secretion of steroid hormones (cortisol) by the adrenals.[1] Thereby it promotes the stress response and it discourages anti-inflammatory effects.

An imbalance in your HPA axis is known to cause symptoms such as muscle or joint pain, dizziness, fatigue, low body temperature, a compromised immune system, constipation or diarrhea, abdominal pain, depression, and less mental acuity.[2]

People with low cortisol levels have a tendency towards allergies, especially hay fever, and the beginnings of arthritis. Low cortisol is associated particularly with autoimmune disorders, such as asthma, arthritis, allergies, ulcerative colitis, and fatigue.

Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Syndrome

 

Adrenal fatigue refers to the concept of too much stress depleting your adrenals and causing a decrease in the output of adrenal hormones, particularly cortisol. Even though mainstream medicine denies its existence, adrenal fatigue has been called hypoadrenia, neurasthenia, non-Addison’s hypoadrenia, subclinical hypoadrenia, adrenal neurasthenia and so forth.[3]

Low cortisol levels may make you less able to respond when you need to, and it has been associated with low grade, frequent emotional (and sometimes physical) abuse and neglect.[4] There is a strong link between low cortisol and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Low cortisol has also been associated with a lack of positive good feeling.

Years of poor sleep, excessive stimulants such as coffee, chronic psychological stress (anything from a divorce to an economic collapse without mentioning stressful climate changes…), surgeries, traumatic events, and environmental toxicity can have a very heavy toll in your adrenals.

The adrenals, in their effort to regulate blood sugar extremes from a lifetime of a high carb diet, become overburdened, eventually burning them out.

People can look normal, yet they are living with a general sense of unwellness. People who suffer from adrenal fatigue often have problems regulating their blood sugar, they tend to experience more delayed food allergies, they are more vulnerable to infections and they tend to have pains and mood problems such as anxiety and depression other than sleeping problems. People with frequent respiratory infections, rhinitis, asthma, frequent colds, allergies, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, diabetes, autoimmune disorders tend to have adrenal fatigue. In fact, allergies seem to get worse when there is more stress since cortisol is needed to counteract the inflammatory reactions.

People with adrenal fatigue tend to skip breakfast. They wake up without appetite and the only thing they want is coffee. This has the effect of stimulating their adrenals, extracting the very last juice of them so they can start-up the day. Under more stress, they can faint easily if they skip further meals or just drop exhausted anywhere. So if you are to heal your adrenal function, you must absolutely eat a big fatty breakfast.

Other hormones produced by the adrenals also may leave the ladies prone to more facial hair or acne.

People can crave more salt since the adrenals are also responsible for releasing a hormone related with salt and water. In adrenal fatigue, more sodium is lost than usual, leading to drops in blood pressure, tiredness and lots of salt craving. It is a crime to deprive a person with adrenal fatigue of salt. As it happens, salt has anti-inflammatory effects since it is a natural anti-histaminic. Why do you think it is recommended for sinus congestion?

Since the adrenals produce the rejuvenating steroid hormone DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone) – precursor for estrogen, progesterone and testosterone – people with adrenal fatigue tend to have bone loss, loss of muscle mass, depression, aching joints, decreased sex drive and so forth.

Another thing often overlooked is that if you are meant to normalize a low thyroid function, you must absolutely heal your adrenals first, otherwise, nothing will happen. Thyroid function often normalizes when you support your adrenals and remove delayed food allergies. Thyroid problems often mean gluten intolerance, and if gluten is removed on time, and you support your adrenals, the damage is reversible.

Adrenal Fatigue Protocol

 

Adrenal fatigue symptoms and signs include chronic stress, tiredness, excess facial or body hair growth in women, several food sensitivities, multiple chemical sensitivities, hair loss, acne, salt cravings, recurrent infections, low blood pressure, tend to skip breakfast in the morning (lack of appetite and/or drink only coffee), or feeling cold. Keep in mind that you’ll never normalize a low thyroid function (diagnosed either by lab tests or clinical symptoms) if you don’t address adrenal fatigue.

First, try titrating doses of vitamin C since it is a very important nutrient for adrenal function and repair, other than cholesterol. Most folks need only to up their intake of this important nutrient in the form of supplemental vitamin C (most fruits are so loaded in sugar that it makes them useless for the little C that can be obtained from them). For more information on vitamin C, see Heal Thyself with Homemade Liposomal Vitamin C.

Low Dose Hydrocortisone

Dosage as follows[5]:

– Start with 2.5 mg (a quarter of a 10-mg tablet or half of a 5-mg tablet) per day between 6 and 8 am for one week.
– Increase the dose to 5 mg per day between 6 and 8 am if you saw no positive response with the lower dose for one week.
– Increase the dose to 10 mg per day between 6 and 8 am if you saw no positive response with the previous dose for one week
– Maintain your dose of 10 mg in the early morning and add 5 mg at noon if you saw no positive response with the previous dose for one week.
– Maintain your dose of 10 mg in the early morning and 5mg at noon, add 5 mg at 4pm if you saw no positive response with the previous dose for one week.

If at any point you experience carbohydrate cravings, bloating or insomnia, feel hyper, or have any other negative symptoms, either stop or reduce the dose. This is not meant to be a permanent therapy, you can stop this protocol a few days after you feel better, regardless of the dose you were taking. In case of illness or trauma or physical stress, you can take hydrocortisone again with double the dose.

Ask your physician for a hydrocortisone prescription. Most doctors will prescribe therapeutic or  lower doses of cortisone for inflammatory conditions, do they shouldn’t have a problem prescribing such a low dose of hydrocortisone. We are not talking here about therapeutic dosages. This is very important to understand.

Hydrocortisone is the chemical form of the cortisone your adrenal gland produces. The average daily production of hydrocortisone in your body is about 30 to 40 mg. If you have adrenal insufficiency (low adrenal function or adrenal fatigue), you may be producing much less and have symptoms as a consequence. By supplementing your low production with 5 to 20 mg of hydrocortisone, your body’s supply becomes normal and symptoms should promptly disappear.

The misunderstanding with this low dose hydrocortisone protocol stems from the use of high-dose cortisone therapies like prednisone, medrol, etc. With such high doses there are significant side effects such as high blood pressure, osteoporosis, Cushing syndrome, immune supression and so forth. But these effects have absolutely nothing to do with low-dose hydrocortisone treatment. In fact, the reason why most doctors are reluctant to prescribe it is because the dose is way too low in order to make any difference whatsoever. Keep in mind that mainstream science is completely ignorant about adrenal fatigue. The low doses we are talking here is even much lower of what your body normally produces, even if your adrenal’s output of hydrocortisone is normal. High-dose mainstream treatment of cortisone is several times your body’s daily output, that is, 60 to 300 mg of hydrocortisone per day. So if someone tells you that you are crazy for being in cortisone because it has serious side effects, you can reassure them that you are taking below levels of physiological doses of what your body already produces. Remember, it is not prednisone, it is hydrocortisone. 5 mg of hydrocortisone is the same as about 1 mg of prednisone. Fludan.com sells hydrocortisone in powder form which people can then weight with a scale for mg, such as a jewel scale. If you are unable to get a hold of hydrocortisone or experience unsuitable symptoms on it, you can use low dose progesterone cream to support adrenal function.

Keep in mind also that the best test to see if you will benefit from this therapy is the trial one, that is no lab test will be able to tell you with accuracy if your adrenals need a boost. People who have negative tests often benefit from low dose hydrocortisone therapy.

Of course, these are temporary measures. As useful as they may be, they will never replace the need for eating a diet that is most supportive to your body’s physiology and functioning. For more information on a healing diet that will prolong your life and support your adrenals, see Primal Body, Primal Mind by Nora Gedgaudas. Eating animal fats and protein, cutting out on sugar, grains and foods full with anti-nutrients is essential to heal our bodies.

 

A note of caution

Those with chronic fatigue, recurrent infections and joint pains should keep in mind that iron overload (ask your physician to test for ferritin, transferrin, TIBC and iron) should be ruled out. Ferritin levels should be ideally less than 80 and transferrin saturation should be ideally less than 40%. If you are above those levels, you might want to donate some blood or refer to the Iron Disorders Institute. A great book on the subject is The Elephant Iron by Roberta Crawford. In addition to that, people with iron overload are discouraged from taking vitamin C without proper monitoring.

For an immediate stress-relief breathing and meditation program, check out Éiriú Eolas (pronounced “AIR-oo OH-lahss”), the amazing scientific stress-control, healing, detoxing and rejuvenation program which is THE KEY that will help  you to change your life in a REAL and immediately noticeable way. Full program available online for free at eebreathe.com.


Notes

 

[1] Malendowicz LK, Rucinski M. et al. Leptin and the regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. Int Rev Cytol. 2007;263:63-102.

[2] Rodger H. Murphree. Treating and Beating Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: The Definitive Guide for Patients and Physician. Harrison & Hampton Publishing; 2 edition (January 2003)

[3] James L. Wilson. Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome. 2001, Smart Publications.

[4] Sue Gerhardt. Why Love Matters: How Affection Shapes a Baby’s Brain.Routledge; 1 edition (24 Jun 2004)

[5] Sidney MacDonald Baker. Detoxification and Healing: The Key to Optimal Health. McGraw-Hill; 2 edition (August 27, 2003)

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Comments

  1. Bobby  September 30, 2017

    I have been a marathon runner for years, recently completely crashed. I have been dealing with an Endo regarding my hormone profile but the more I read about adrenal issues I think thats what is really the issue. My performance has plummeted, my SHBG is sky high, and my testosterone levels are nonexistent. What do you think I should do?

    reply
  2. Ghraham  November 19, 2017

    My 2 years old son made an operation in the hypothalamus to remove a hamartoma. After operation, he is taking hydrocortisone tablets to balance cortisone level.

    My question is: Will these tablets affect the adrenal gland in the future from producing natural cortisone?

    reply
  3. Emily  November 28, 2017

    Hi there Gabriela,

    Thank you for writing this post. Highly informative and thorough.

    I’d like to ask a couple of questions:

    1. What amount would you regard as ‘low dose’ progesterone?

    2. And for adrenal purposes (not contraceptive/estreogen opposing purposes), does progesterone cream have to be taken on particular days during the cycle? Or can it be taken daily without breaks?

    3. Finally, is it safe to take long term if serum levels don’t rise too high and side effects don’t crop up?

    Thank you,

    Emily

    reply
    • Gabriela Segura, MD  November 28, 2017

      Hello Emily,

      Bellow you’ll find my progesterone cream protocol. I usually recommend for 3 months at a time as an experiment and ideally, it should be applied intravaginal or in a mucous lining in the labia. Alternatively, it can applied on the skin, but the absorption can be more erratic.

      -After ovulation on day 14 (that is, if we ovulate) we are supposed to produce around 20 to 30 mg of progesterone per day.

      -The progesterone cream is usually a 2% natural progesterone, so 1/4 gives around 20mg per day. A normal low progesterone dose is of 20-60mg/day (100mg per day maximum).

      PRE-MENOPAUSE/PMS issues:

      from day 12 to day 26: 1/4 to 1/2 of a teaspoon once or twice per day.

      Alternatively (I distributed it roughly according to the Wiley protocol):

      1/8th of a teaspoon from days 12 and 13
      1/4th of a teaspoon from days 14 to 19
      1/2 of a teaspoon from days 20 to 22
      1/4 of a teaspoon from days 23 to 26 or until a day or so before your period starts (if you don’t know when your period is going to start, just stop the cream when your period starts and count 12 days before you start it again).

      Once per day (or twice if symptoms persist).

      ————–

      MENOPAUSE and POST MENOPAUSE:

      24 to 26 days a month, 1/4 to 1/2 of teaspoon once or twice per day.

      It is important to have some days off as some spotting can occur (if this happens, use the PMS/Pre-menopause schedule and after 3 to 4 months of no spotting, you can resume the post-menopause schedule).

      reply
      • Eddie  November 28, 2017

        Hello Dr. Segura, as i’ve mentioned before, I have adrenal fatigue. Can I as a male use the progesterone cream? If so, what dosage should I use? Thanks

      • Gabriela Segura, MD  November 28, 2017

        FOR MEN: 8-10mg of progesterone per day for men (around 1/8th of a teaspoon) in the morning.

  4. Eddie  November 29, 2017

    Hi Dr. Segura, I seem to have the symptoms of high estrogen. Will using the progesterone benefit this symptom? Thank you.

    reply
  5. Jenn  January 24, 2018

    Good Morning! Once you find the dosage that works for your body. How long are we supposed to be taking the Hydrocortisone for for healing? Is there a taper protocol we should be following. I have adrenal fatigue and have a script of 5mg Cortef.

    reply
    • Gabriela Segura, MD  January 24, 2018

      You could try for 3 months or so and then taper off. It is meant to be symptomatic relief, but the main work is to address key root causes for the adrenal fatigue. Whether emotional distress, chronic infection etc.

      reply
  6. Leanne  May 12, 2022

    How do people come off of progesterone taken only during the literal phase? I’ve been on 100mg progesterone capsules days 15 until my period for a year and feel worse and want to stop. Can I stop cold turkey or do I need to wean off of it? My actual goal is to heal my HPA axis and adrenals instead.

    reply

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