Latest Update on My Medicine for Hypothyroid and Adrenal Fatigue

Hi my friends,

It's been a while since I've posted about my medicine, and it's been an interesting year! So I wanted to share what I've learned. First, I want to say wow - it's all a big experiment! And that's tough sometimes because I want the answer right now. But the only way to learn is try, test, observe and somehow be patient along the way. So my dear friends, keep at it and you will find answers too. Here is my medicine and general update...

Update on Thyroid Medicine

For a year I have been on the Thyroid compound prescription I special order from Collier's Pharmacy (details below) in Arkansas. I continue to love it. On the new compound medicine, I take 180mgs day which seems like the right dose for me. On Naturthroid, when I raised above 130mgs I had super freaky hyper and hypo symtpoms. Yet on the compound I can take 180mg beautifully. Weird, isn't it? So I am super happy to report feeling great now though on the compound. We affectionality call it "The Miss Lizzy Compound" -- you can ask for it by name at Colliers. Neat. 

Update on Hydrocortisone

The other super big change...I weaned off Hydrocortisone! This was a huge step. I started Hydrocortisone three years ago to help with low cortisol and adrenal fatigue. And Hydrocortisone definitely helped me. But I was always a little worried that the Hydrocortisone was causing some weight gain, and perhaps had something to do with hair loss, though I wasn't totally sure. This summer I decided it was time to try weaning off Hydrocortisone. Here is what I did:

1. On STTM Janie felt she had avoided adrenal fatigue because of the high doses of Vitamin C she took daily. So I increased my Vitamin C to 2k mgs a day along with 1k mg Bioflavonoid (per Dr. Wilson's suggestion). And btw -- chewable vitamins really make it much more fun!
2. I started the process of decreasing my Hydrocortisone by 2.5mgs a week. 
3. If I was stressed during the process, I would hold the dose, and then continue when I felt ready. The idea was to take care of my body and not cause shock.
4. If had I felt any adrenal fatigue symptoms, I would have stayed on the Hydrocortisone but luckily it seems my adrenals are really well healed now! YAY!!!

It took about 3 months to fully wean off the Hydrocortisone (long time, I know!). And I happy to report, I feel great. It was definitely worth it for me to be on the Hydrocortisone but it was time to try without. It's been two full months, and so far I seem to be keeping my weight down with greater easily. Over the coming months I will be observing weight gain/loss and hair volume/regrowth to see if the Hydrocortisone might have be related. And of course I will share what I learn!

xxoo

Lizzy

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Here is the info for Collier's. The pharmacist Rodney at Colliers is SO awesome. He gave us his direct phone extension for ordering the compound (479) 935-4336. Ask for "The Miss Lizzy Compound" and he will hook you up. (A doctor's prescription is of course needed and he can explain what to do.) 

Experimenting with DHEA

 If you've been at my site you know the whole story about hypothyroidism and adrenal fatigue, but even after all this time my treatment is a work-in-progress.  This means treating everything in life as an experiment (in fact you can browse my ongoing experiments on edison – the experimenter's journal).

Of course, using oneself as the test subject can be frustrating, and even a bit scary. Here is the latest update about my life as an experiment... 

At my last doctor's visit in April, I had lab work done. Turns out in the past few years my DHEA had dropped a ridiculous amount, into an abnormal range. We aren't sure why, but since DHEA is produce by the adrenals we suspect the drop is related to my thyroid and adrenal systems and treatment. Anyway, I was feeling in good health overall but figured it was worth trying a DHEA supplement to see what would happen. My doctor said that was fine. Fortunately, or not, the only way to figure stuff out is by trying it.  So there I was again, my own test dummy.

When trying something new I always hope I will have great and immediate results like I did with Hydrocortisone, Naturethroid and the Vitamin B Complex. However, with DHEA it seems that the results have been immediate, but not so good.  Namely, I noticed a lot of hair loss.  Imagine my horror this past month, after virtually no hair loss since getting thyroid treatment, to suddenly be shedding like crazy. And to make things worse I noticed the return of other hypothyroid symptoms like brain fog, inability to cope or get motivated.  

I have to say I've been freaked out, as I am sure you might feel at times when your body just isn't doing the right thing.  Luckily my mom talked me off a theoretic ledge this morning and helped me pinpoint that the DHEA may be the issue.  I started reading on the Yahoo Adrenal group about it, and sure enough some people have had similar problems with DHEA, specifically with hair loss.

The lessons learned is that experiments can be frustrating, especially when they affect your physical health. But we have to keep at it, keep learning and evolving because this stuff just isn't going to fix itself.  But I have to remember to forgive myself when things don't go great.  The learning is what matters, as long as I can get myself back on track.

I am pretty sure DHEA didn't work for me, so I am stopping it and will report back about my findings. Of course, DHEA might work great for some people and I would love to hear if you've had a good experience.

xxoo

Lizzy