Has anyone tried licorice root to help with adrenal fatigue? I've not been diagnosed with Addison's yet, but everything pointed to the fact that i was headed there given all the symptoms as well as my health background with primary ovarian failure. Well, I've been on a glandular adrenal supplement for over 2 years and have gotten significant help with that, but recently tried returning to work and was unable to handle the stress and my health started to deteriorate fast. So, for the last few days i've been taking licorice root and last night for the first time in over 2 weeks i actually slept for 5 hours in a row :)without waking up. And when i did wake up it wasn't with a fast 'jerk' like usual, but a gradual waking up and then a gradual opening my eyes... I have been unable to drive for the last week because i was getting 4 hours per night approx. and that 4 hours in 2 hour sections. :(
I'm looking foward to seeing how things wil progress.
Also i just found a website which says that they used licorice root to treat Addisin's disease until the 1930's.

Word of caution - I started this thread yesterday and last night my system seemed to go into overdrive with heart palps and feeling faint....not sure, but it looks like the licorice root may have interacted with my celexa, or quite possibly with my synthroid dose. It was a rough night and my system finally settled down around 2 a.m. this morning and i got about 4 hours sleep after that. So back to the drawing board. The licorice root bottle says to take up to 3 tabs with each meal and i had increased it up to 2 with each meal the last 2 days so it could be i just need to decrease it a bit. Other than the overdrive feeling yesterday evening and during the night, I sure appreciated having the energy yesterday to go for a decent walk and get things done around the apartment which I haven't had for a couple of weeks so i hate to give up on it completely. Sure is a balancing act. (When your doctor can't help you and thinks it's all in your head and humours you, you're left with trying a variety of things in a desperate search for improved health. This is my plight.)

Just wanted to update you all on the licorice root.

That is interesting. Perhaps you should not take it with dinner as the adrenals typically like to rest more at night. Wonder if it had a cumulative effect.

Thanks for your reply rumpled.

However, after over two years of using adrenal glandular supplement and having a major setback and now having minimal success with the licorice root, I'm beginning to think that these will end up being temporary patches and that eventually i will need to be on hydrocortisone. The extremely frustrating part is that my immune system seems to be slowly killing my adrenals and it's like dying a very, very slow death with symptoms increasing by the week until the cortisol blood levels are low enough for me to go to ER and get the blood work and get the hydrocortisone once and for all. I know my problems won't end then, but i just want to be able to function well enough to look after myself and get more than 4 hours sleep per night.

Thanks for your reply rumpled.

However, after over two years of using adrenal glandular supplement and having a major setback and now having minimal success with the licorice root, I'm beginning to think that these will end up being temporary patches and that eventually i will need to be on hydrocortisone. The extremely frustrating part is that my immune system seems to be slowly killing my adrenals and it's like dying a very, very slow death with symptoms increasing by the week until the cortisol blood levels are low enough for me to go to ER and get the blood work and get the hydrocortisone once and for all. I know my problems won't end then, but i just want to be able to function well enough to look after myself and get more than 4 hours sleep per night.

I have not been diagnosed with adrenal disease, but when reading about symptoms it seems that I do. I followed a diet that I found on the net and they added supplements progesterone crm. They treat the whole endocrine system, since each part needs the others. It has been a year, and I have been taking a supplement with adrenal supplement, but am afraid to take the licorice root since it says not to take it more then ten days out of the monthe and can raise your blood pressure. I have seen a difference in the way that I feel but still become tired, and hungry very quickly. About three to four hours. I am able to work, but once home can't seem to do much more. I was wondering what your symptoms are and how they started?