Hi! Well, I had a good visit with my doc on Thursday. I had been trying the adrenal glandulars (with some good results) and the Isocort (not good results--increased my anxiety) for my adrenal fatigue. I had told my doc that if the glandulars and the Isocort didn't help enough, could we please try Cortef? I even dropped off some photocopies of the sections on Cortef from Teitelbaums's, Shame's and John Lee's books. And you know what? She actually read them and THANKED me for copying them for her!!!! :eek:

So, we're on to Cortef. 5 mg in the a.m. and 2.5 mg at lunch. I started the meds yesterday (stopped taking the glandulars), and I noticed that my hypoglycemia was back with a vengance. So today, I took the glandulars about an hour after the Cortef, and that seemed to work better.

I guess I was just wondering what you guys had/have experienced on the Cortef. Has it made a difference? Was it a slow, subtle improvement or an immediate improvement? I'd love to hear any and all experiences on it.

Christy

Hi Christy
I have been taking Cortef for about 18 months. I was sick for about a year before they diagnosed me with panhypopituitarism, meaning I had secondary Addison's in addition to other problems. I noticed an immediate improvement on Cortef. Of course, they had me on 60 mg at first, which made me horribly manic, but I am now down to 20 mg -- 10 in the morning, 5 at 1 p.m. and 5 at 5 p.m. -- and things have stabilized. I don't know how it will work for adrenal fatigue as opposed to complete adrenal insufficiency, which is what I have, but I wish you good luck.

Hi Christy, I have Primary Addison's so need a bigger dose of Cortef than you. In fact they started me on Prednisone last year upon diagnosis, and I have just recently switched to Cortef. I take 20 mg in the morning and 10 in the afternoon. I like it better than Prednisone, although I could take Prednisone just once a day. The Cortef seems to give me the energy that I need and I haven't had the nausea that I had before. I am gaining a little weight but am trying to really be active. I no longer have the need to sleep 10 hours a night plus take a nap! Sounds like you found a doctor that will listen. I switched doctors too and am pleased with my new one. Funny how this disease makes you search to find a good doctor....

Thanks, guys. I appreciate the feedback. I am on day six of the Cortef, and I feel better in so many ways. Joint/muscle pains are nearly gone, the brain fog is improved (not gone, but better), and, most importantly to me, the depression and anxiety are tremendously improved. I don't feel like I want to kill myself and everyone around me anymore, which is a really good thing. :) I've been having days where things seem more hopeful, more good. I am very encouraged that I have finally found what I've been looking for all these years. Wouldn't that be something?

My hypoglycemia is the last thing to conquer. It's better in the a.m. (where I don't have to take the glandulars), but the afternoon is still pretty bad. I'm thinking I might ask my doc to up the dose to 5 mg at lunch as well.

Thanks for responding. :)

Christy