Audrey-B

Hi David - i'm no expert on adrenal meds, but have been doing a tonne of research on my dads behalf due to his (wont use the word here) Doctor giving him Valpro, which is used for epileptic seizures and manic symptoms!! Unbelievable!! Fortunately my dad read the information leaflet and refused to take the Valpro.

So doing my research i found out that adrenal meds fall into basically 2 categories, Corticosteriods which includes Prednisone. Corticosteriods aren't the best to take as many contain synthetic hormone 17 times higher than required by the body, which can lead to suppression and even shut down of your adrenal function.

The next category is Hydrocortison eg: Cortef, Hydrocortone which contains a bio-identical form of Cortisol. When taken in the right doses as required by your body and in pure form, these meds can be very effective and don't have the potentially serious side effects of the Corticosteriods.

There is some great info on the net about other ways of helping your adrenals in addition to taking the right kind of meds. Magnesium and B Vitmains, in particular B12 which people with adrenal fatigue often are low in are good to take. You should have your levels tested first before beginning any supplementation.

I told my GP what my dad's GP had prescribed him and he said he had no idea why this doctor had prescribed the Valpro. He told me to look up "compounding chemists" on the net and phone up one of these chemists in my area and ask them for some doctors names who prescribe treatment for adrenals. He said this is a good way of finding the right doctor as not all doctors are adept at treating adrenals. I'm fortunate my thyroid doctor is good at this and did a saliva hormone test prior to beginning treatment for my thyroid as too much or too little cortisol can affect your thyroid med's and make them not as effective.

Hoping you find the right meds as living with adrenal fatigue is awful.