adrenal? should this happen after exercise?

[rumpled]

Sherry... how much are you taking at 9pm? Usually one does not take steroids at night as it interferes with sleep and the body (a normal body) would have a cortisol level next to nothing at night anyway. If you are not sleeping, well, that could contribute to your overall poor health.

Replacement levels have to be such that you take enough but if you take too much, you will get fatigued and get sick from having the opposite - Cushing's disease. Just as bad. Get salt tablets to help with cravings.

[sherryE57]

Rumpled,
Thanks for posting to me. Here is the lowdown of meds? Also am I going to feel like this all the time? Are you ready!!Metoprolol(hbp)Clonazepam,Vytorin ,carisoprodol( previous back surgeries)Niaspan,Wellbutrin,DHEA,Eleval ,Levothyroxine,Perocet,Hydrocortisone20 in morning,10at 4 p.m. and 10 @9.p.m. Fludrocortisone ACET .i mg 1/2 every day,Micardis,Fish Oil capsules, and Calcium D, and finally Zoloft. Do you think that is enough? What are your thoughts and how long have you had Addison's?

[rumpled]

Yikes. I won't comment on anything but cortisol.
A normal body is highest at around 8am, around half that between 2-4pm, and at next to nothing at around midnight. That is so the body can sleep. HC has a half life of roughly 6-8 hours.

Now, you take a a big chunk at 8, half that at 4... but now you are kinda going against the body with that big boost of 10mg at 9pm... while I think a lot of people think they need it through the night, in the long term, you instead really need to give the body a rest or you get Cushing's effects like bone necrosis, cataracts, weak muscles, osteoporosis... or Cushing's syndrome.

Why oh why did they pt you on so much? You cannot change doses quickly - you have to wean down to change so you do not go into a crisis. I have no adrenals and I take 15mg, 5mg. 2.5mg and my docs consider that to be high. I am only on that high of a dose due to my high ACTH and chronic pain.

I got my addison's in March 2006 when my adrenals were removed to cure Cushing's disease. The pit tumor is still there.

[sherryE57]

Guess What Rumpled! The dr called today and besides all the other stuff I have I am now in Menapause!! Of course,I thought I was but the blood test confirmed it.So are you saying that at 9pm I should try not taking the Hydrocortisol 10 mg?I also take the Flurocortisone at night too. Do you take this? How are you doing now compared to before? Will all this level out so I can have a life?Now I'm so weak legged and weak armed I don't do much at all. Is there hope?Sorry for bugging you so much but I am trying to find the light.

[rumpled]

I am sorry to hear that you are in menopause. Er, I had a hyst (total) so I deal with that too. I am sorry to say that I take more medications than you. I am panhypopituitary so I have to replace all my hormones. I also take florinef. Night is fine for that - I used to do that. I take a couple of thyroid meds, estrogen, testosterone, a couple of pain meds, florinef, salt, cortef, migraine meds... cripes I cannot keep track of it all.

Talk to your doc before changing your meds (I am not your doc!!!) but um, just from a practical standpoint, that dose at that hour is going to impact sleep. All the docs I have (I have multiple endos!) say not to take any after 3 or 4 - I only take a teeny bit at 4 or 5 so I can have some quality of life per their instructions.

Yeah, um no one should compare themselves to me unfortunately as far as condition since I had Cushing's before, and now it seems that hid a muscle disease so now I am permantently disabled. I am not in good shape. I have attended addison meetings though and I have met some who are working and exercising and doing really well, and others who are doing less well... it really depends. I have to say though the lady I met who is doing the least well has a really bad case of prednisone induced-Cushing's sadly which gave her bone necrosis. My docs are very very careful that replacement is just enough and not too much. It can really be quite damaging.