My self-diagnosis was correct: I have Adrenal Fatigue

This is going to be a short post because I'm trying to cope with extremely low levels of energy.

I had an Adrenal Fatigue crisis 2 weeks ago, then last week I had the most abysmal migraine with very unusual presentation (more about that next time).  

First off, I'm really proud that I was able to diagnose my own medical crisis and seek help before I had serious consequences.  

My blood test came back: 'Further exploration is needed for possible Addison's Disease'.  

I told you that if the doctor confirmed it, he would prescribe steroids and the last thing I'm going to do is take steroids.

My blood serum reading was way below the very lowest point on the register of what's 'normal'.  

As soon as I knew what was wrong with me (light-headed upon rising or lying down, extreme muscle weakness, extreme fatigue, blurred thinking etc) I downloaded Dr Wilson's book, then skipped to the chapter dealing with medication and found 'Adrenal Cortex Extract', then ordered a bottle by Thorne Research of these capsules from amazon.

The bottle states '3 capsules a day', I'm sticking to the dose rigidly.

On top of that, I started taking:

DMAE

DHEA

L-Carnosine.

Plus LOTS of Vitamin C.

Anyone with this complaint, has to take TONS of vitamin C, the equivalent of 19 oranges a day, as per the advice of Dr Lee in his book 'What Your Doctor May Not Tell You about menopause'.  

On top of that, I'm taking Agnus Castus, Zinc and applying Natural Progesterone Cream twice a day, half a teaspoon each time (which is double the dose recommended but you need to 'find your own dose', as I've read in two books recently).  As well as a whole load of other stuff but I've especially named these medications, in case anyone is coming to this blog for the first time.

The DMAE and the DHEA didn't seem to be doing much, while I was really ill.  But now that I'm getting stronger, I can see they are having an effect.

You should note that: DHEA does not work while you're fatigued!

Now the funny thing was, that even when I was in the chronic stage, I still looked this side of normal.

During adrenal episodes, my appearance can deteriorate dramatically and that can add to the depression associated with this health crisis.  But this time that did not happen and I put this down to my taking the combination of DMAE, DHEA and L-Carnosine.  (They're all anti-ageing and boost your concentration and energy levels.)    

My eyes did not become that awful dark yellow and lifeless colour, in fact they remained bright white and shiny.  As far as my hair and skin go, they look better now than they have in about 7 years.  My hair is full and strangely glossy and my skin really looks amazing.  Zinc has done wonders, but I think DHEA has a lot to do with this improvement too.  In fact, you wouldn't know I was ill from looking at me!  This made my symptoms seem hallucinatory to my family, which was a drag, but who cares, because now its on a doctor's chart just how ill I was, so they no longer look at me funny.  

Conversely, this gradual, but definite improvement in my appearance, has given me the courage to believe in what I'm doing for my longterm health and has also restored my faith in the possibility of being well again.

Last time I had this health crisis, when I was 35, it lasted 3 months and was a living hell.  Mainly because it first presents as anaemia, which I didn't know and consequently didn't treat!

This time Thankfully, I recognised the signs of anaemia, treated it quickly with liquid iron (Floradix), and now, as I'm taking the Adrenal Cortex, I can feel an improvement already in the deeper fatigue issues, even though I'm only half way through the tub of capsules.

It no longer kills me just to stand up, and I actually have some reliable strength.  This weekend I spent the whole weekend cleaning, washing and ironing.  I had a pile of ironing that was 6 weeks deep!  That proves how long I'd been really ill, because usually I like to keep on top of the (damn) ironing.  

I started taking L-Carnosine about a week ago.  I noticed an effect after 24 hours.  I take two capsules a day (one after breakfast and the other after lunch).  Something very positive has happened inside my head since taking this substance, and I think its got something to do with all the accumulated metals that were sloshing around my brain?  

I think I mentioned before that in perimenopause, we become extremely low in ZINC, due to low progesterone and this means that Copper builds up in the brain to the levels that cause depression.  Its my personal view that L-Carnosine is cleansing me of the copper build up and consequently, my head feels a lot 'clearer'.  Either that or its helping my 5-htp to work harder?

DHEA, DMAE and L-Carnosine are all anti-Alzheimers.  Its my personal view that Alzheimer's/dementia is predominantly a nutritional disease, by that I mean, something is being missed from our diets as we age, that we badly need increasing amounts of, in order that the ageing brain stays healthy.  

Ideally I would like to post lots of relevant links but I'm going to bed now, as the hours from 10pm till 1.00am are when our bodies detox, especially our brains!

Getting on well with Natural Progesterone Cream - Zinc discussed - DMAE discussed

Double Doses of Natural Progesterone Cream
I've continued to apply double doses of Progesterone Cream.

I think I may have overdone it because I ended up controlling my symptoms residual migraine pain and bruising but felt very 'sleepy' after a few days.  Now that I've received my copy of:

What your doctor may not tell you about menopause


I can see that the risk overdose is quite common.  I'm not too worried about this at this stage because if I am overdosing, its for two reasons: one is I came of HRT  very abruptly and want urgently to oppose all the (horses) Oestrogen that's sloshing around my body.

Two, is that because my last migraine was so excruciating, I wanted to soothe a sore brain.  Natural progesterone is also a pain-killer!

Applied to forehead
I stopped applying it directly to my forehead after 3 days, as my head no longer throbs or twinges.   

Adrenal Fatigue Neck Pain
I have been getting discomfort from both sides of my neck though.  I've noticed this has been happening for at least the last 3 months.  This tells me something very important, that only I can work out, as I've watched my body so closely.

Ovary Pain
Another strange thing I noticed for the past 2 months, for certain, is that I got quite sharp pain from my ovary and fallopian tube area.  Last month it was the right hand side, this month the left.  The pain lasts for a couple of days and it really is quite stubborn and loud.  I can only imagine that this is because its basically shutting down and maybe trying to give out its very last?  Of course the ovaries will continue to produce Oestrogen, probably until 85 years of age, but the progesterone side of things is honestly kaput!  

Anovulatory Status Check
Very low progesterone is very a clear indication that my ovaries have stopped ovulating.  In my case this is putting an added strain on things because now my adrenals are having to make much more progesterone.  This process is probably OK for most people, but because I have significant adrenal fatigue, it causes my Thyroid to overwork itself and if I'm also suffering from stress, then apparently the stress hormone cortisole 'steals' progesterone, so you're even more deficient.  Hence a lot of women's periods stop after they've had a shock of some kind, like death of a parent, loss of employment of finding out your husband has been banging his secretary.    

Low Progesterone Since age 35
Since the age of 35 I have felt like crap.  But only now am I finding out why that has been the case.

I wish I'd taken PMS more seriously over the years.  But because my mother had suffered badly with it, I just accepted it as 'my lot'.  

Now I'm finding out that if I had applied progesterone cream back then, my symptoms would have lessened and I would have had a better marriage??

Extreme PMS Due to Low Progesterone
I have muddled my way through years of torture with  extreme PMS (I say extreme because it always ends up with my threatening to become violent), years of adrenal fatigue, years of low progesterone, years of not putting my needs first.  All in all added up to significant years of self-neglect, which have all finally caught up with me and the result is that my perimenopause is dreadful.

Here's a great article by the way, that explains the involvement of your adrenals in a decreasing progesterone situation: Adrenals, Stress & Progesterone Levels.

Its fascinating observing all the tiny changes taking place in my body since I stopped taking HRT and started using this natural hormone cream.  

Breast Improvements Since Stopping HRT
The first thing I noticed was that my nipples became paler.  (I've never had dark areolae but for the 17 months that I took HRT, they were always a very angry colour the whole time? and kind of hot?  Now Thank Goodness, they're their normal colour again and normal temperature!

Effect of Natural Progesterone Cream on Breast Tissue

I also noticed that since using the cream on my breasts, they are significantly less lumpy and don't feel so hot and uncomfortable.  This makes sense, because its suppose to guard against fibrocystic breast problems.  

(I'm not certain if the HRT made my breasts lumpy, or whether the lumpiness was just exacerbated by taking it, as breast tissue changes after 35 anyway.)

DMAE

I've received my first bottle of DMAE capsules from the U.S.  DMAE is the abbreviated name ascribed to the biological substance called Dimethylethanolamine.

What Is DMAE?

DMAE is short for (dimethylaminoethanol), a naturally-occurring nutrient that enhances acetylcholine (ACh) synthesis. Adequate levels of ACh are important for proper memory function. Normally found in small amounts in our brains, DMAE has been shown to remarkably enhance brain function when used as a supplement in clinical studies.

(Source: L-Carnosine Formula - End of Old Age by Jon Barron)

I bought this supplement after reading Jon Barron's article and also a book about DHEA, which I'll discuss another time. 

DMAE is recommended as the perfect companion to take with L-Carnosine.  I've also ordered that but it will take another 10 days to get here.  Both supplements are anti-ageing, but what particularly attracts me is their anti-Alzheimers properties.  

As I've abandoned HRT, I'm now very interested in finding other ways to remain on top of my game.  The fact that both these substances help with skin rejuvenation and memory and brain cell renewal is amazing.  Apparently they are both safe and if you read down the page at the long list of things DMAE is supposed to help with, its quite amazing.  Notice also how its particularly suited to people who like to drink alcohol in that it:

"Decrease the incidence and severity of hangovers in people who consume excessive amounts of Alcohol"
(Source: Jon Barron)

Strictly speaking these vital building blocks to our sense of wellbeing should be provided by an adequate balanced diet, but I'm of the opinion that I would virtually have to eat all day long to the get the quantities of these nutrients that I require.  

Again, soil depletion is such a serious problem for industrialised societies and as much as we like to think we're buying good food, its quality is very much in question.

Millions upon millions of people need to be fed,  consequently food production is extremely intense and fast.

This results in food that is grown to be a consistent size but is largely composed of water and starch.  

Inevitably, we now tend to eat food that has minuscule amounts of the things people in the 1900s, say, took for granted, like Magnesium.

Magnesium deficiency was unheard of in 1910.  But by 1950, the first cases were being reported.  I now know for sure that I was severely Magnesium deficient, and its horrifying to read now, how low magnesium is a marker for heart disease.  

I will need to watch out for heart disease, as now that I'm producing less progesterone naturally, I have a typicallyk higher cholesterol reading.  

Zinc Deficiency & Perimenopause
I almost forgot to mention my experiments with Zinc.

My reading is going much faster than my reporting on this blog, so you'll have to bear with me.  

For the last 6 years I've had a very annoying skin complaint. The doctor diagnosed it as eczema and I treated it as such.

However, unlike eczema, I noticed it was stress-related.

I did some further research and worked out that it was in fact more akin to Seborrheic Dermatitis.

This meant for a long time that I treated the yeast infection part of that complaint.

However, due to my reading further about vitamin supplements and especially the electrolyte crisis that I've researched previously, I came across the importance of Zinc and so started taking it. 

In truth I don't eat much seafood these days.  This is a shame but as I was the only one that liked it, in the end I just stopped buying it.  

I started taking Zinc Citrate 15mg about 2 weeks ago.  

After about 2 days I noticed that my skin started to feel less sensitive.  After 4 days my suspected 'eczema' started to clear up!  This was not the only change I noticed.  

HRT is supposed to help with 'personal' dryness.  I found it did nothing of the sort.  However, Zinc has sorted out that problem.

Zinc also increases libido.  A lot is written about libido.  This is not a libido blog.  If you want to read about libido, I suggest you find another blog to read.  

However, even though I'm not interested in libido cures, I have noticed that Zinc makes me feel better all over.  My skin is glowing again, my complexion is radiant (if it can be over the age of 40!!) and on some weird level, I'm being noticed again by the opposite sex.

Male attention boosts confidence.  Half of them I wouldn't poke with a bargepole, but its still nice to have doors opened for you, again, rather than have them fly shut in your face.  

I was so impressed with Zinc, I suggested my DH should use it.  After 4 days his Psoriasis and dermatitis and eczema all improved.  12 days later and his skin is now 98% improved.  This is nothing short of a miracle!

This man has spent a fortune on quacks telling him to use this cream or that.

Well, it turns out that during Perimenopause, low levels of progesterone and high levels of Oestrogen means that we will absorb less Zinc and become deficient, and retain too much copper.  This can lead to depression due to the build-up of copper toxicity in the brain.  I managed to find this article that explains it well:

"imbalance of too much estrogen can cause the body to retain copper and lose zinc in the blood and brain. There may be a link between zinc levels and depression. Symptoms of depression have also been associated with copper toxicity."

(Source : http://www.livestrong.com/article/470270-low-progesterone-and-depression/#ixzz2Nyvkqmmd)

This explains why my skin had become very inflamed since 6 years ago.  It also explains why I have reacted so well to Zinc supplements.  

I am utterly fascinated and grateful that I've discovered this link with Zinc and my general health.  My skin problems were so bad at times that I refused to meet up with people on a social basis.  Now my skin feels younger, my eyes are shiny, my complexion is clear and those disgusting red patches that I had round my chin, nose and brow are completely gone!  I have gone back to using anti-wrinkle moisturiser, instead of that horrible stuff aimed at eczema outbreaks.   

So ladies, take your (low dose) Zinc and start clicking those heels, life is NOT over, by a long shot !!!

Disclaimer: Any medical views offered on this blog are put forward purely by means of my own personal experience and are not intended to encourage others to abandon medical regimes for which they are under the care of their family doctors.  Please check with your doctor if you would like to start taking anything that I've discussed.  However, most GPs in the UK have not even heard of Natural Progesterone Cream.