Cortisol Too Low?

[CarrieLeigh]

Have you ever felt like maybe you went too far with supplements and lowered your cortisol too much? That's how I'm feeling right now after quite a few months of feeling really good. Temps and pulse are good but I "feel" like my cortisol is low now. I'm feeling pretty bad a large chunck of the day now. So tired I could sleep. I had low cortisol back in 2012 but I have come so far since then. Too much, caffeine, aspirin, cypro...etc???

 

[Squatrat]

Doesnt vitamin e and especially c lower cortisol? Ive seen vit C destroy my cortisol before and have the tests to prove it.

 

[CarrieLeigh]

Doesnt vitamin e and especially c lower cortisol? Ive seen vit C destroy my cortisol before and have the tests to prove it.

I'm not sure but I think Vitamin E might. I take both of those too.

 

[Squatrat]

I'm not sure but I think Vitamin E might. I take both of those too.

Im pretty sure anti-oxidants lower cortisol and you can definitly over do it if youre mega-dosing them. But im not 100% sure on this. More people need to chime in.

 

[sele]

Have you ever felt like maybe you went too far with supplements and lowered your cortisol too much? That's how I'm feeling right now after quite a few months of feeling really good. Temps and pulse are good but I "feel" like my cortisol is low now. I'm feeling pretty bad a large chunck of the day now. So tired I could sleep. I had low cortisol back in 2012 but I have come so far since then. Too much, caffeine, aspirin, cypro...etc???

How do you feel with low cortisol?
What's your temp and pulse?
True high metabolism will always give you energy coupled with calmness. It will not make you tired.

 

[CarrieLeigh]

When I had it before I was tired/sleepy and weak all day but couldn't sleep at night, it was awful. My cortisol test actually showed I was below range at night (turns out you actally need a little to sleep). That was in 2012 though. I had been running a lot prior to that until I couldnt. I haven't run much though in years. When I started Peating last August I quit it all together. I haven't been able to make it to the gym in 3 weeks now. That is not like me at all...I wasn't even going very much maybe 3 days max at only 30 minutes at a time so that I didn't over do anything.

 

[CarrieLeigh]

My temps and pulse are averging 98.4-98.6 peaking after lunch with a steady rise from waking Temp of 97.9. My Pulse average is around 78. I have a lot of pulse and temp data stored because I was logging it after waking, aflyer meals when I was work u ng with Kate Deering. I'm waiting on Prolactin and Vit D test results now because I'm just grasping at straws trying to figure out what went wrong. My FSH was low and CO2 upper end so far.

 

[CarrieLeigh]

I'm just very tired, sleepy, no motivation most of the day. I can't wait to get home and put on my pajamas and go No where. Only time I feel ok is in the morning after I have a cup of coffee, a couple hours later, it comes on and is there most of the dsy. I had been drinking a lot of coffee 3/4 times a day because I was told my liver may need help since cypro made me feel hung over/bad/extremely tired the next day after taking it. Now I'm not so sure as I know Cypro lowers cortisol.

 

[sele]

I'm just very tired, sleepy, no motivation most of the day. I can't wait to get home and put on my pajamas and go No where. Only time I feel ok is in the morning after I have a cup of coffee, a couple hours later, it comes on and is there most of the dsy. I had been drinking a lot of coffee 3/4 times a day because I was told my liver may need help since cypro made me feel hung over/bad/extremely tired the next day after taking it. Now I'm not so sure as I know Cypro lowers cortisol.

My cortisol was very low. I took cortisol for several years and it made things worse. I was still tired.
It seems you don't sleep well and that could be the reason for your tiredness.
Have you tried pregnenolone for sleep?
Why do you take Cypro?

 

[CarrieLeigh]

My cortisol was very low. I took cortisol for several years and it made things worse. I was still tired.
It seems you don't sleep well and that could be the reason for your tiredness.
Have you tried pregnenolone for sleep?
Why do you take Cypro?

I sleep MUCH better now than I did in 2012. I wasn't sleeping much at all then. I sleep ok now with the exception of still getting up at night 2/3 times for bathroom. I have never been able to resolve that...that is why I tried the Cypro and other things.

 

[CarrieLeigh]

No I have not tried Preg. I am taking Progesterone though. I took cortisol in 2012 and it helped me immensly. I did not let myself stay on it long though and I haven't felt like I needed it since...until now but I'm not going to take it.

 

[sele]

I sleep ok now with the exception of still getting up at night 2/3 times for bathroom.

Ray Peat:
With aging, hypothyroidism, stress, and fatigue, the amount of estrogen in the body typically rises. Estrogen is catabolic for muscle, and causes systemic edema, and nerve excitation. It weakens muscle contraction in the bladder, although it lowers the threshold for stimulation of sensation and contraction (Dambros, et al., 2004). This is the pattern that causes people to wake up frequently, to pass a small amount of urine. (Progesterone has the opposite effect in the urinary bladder, raising the threshold of response, but strengthening contraction, as it does in the gallbladder.)

High PTH and calcium can also cause polyuria. Do you take vitamin D&K?

 

[CarrieLeigh]

Yes, I take A,D, E and K. I took high dose E for awhile. I'm getting more sun now so I'm about to quit the Vit D drops. I eat liver. I take progesterone. I've been doing all this since I started Peating in August. I actually was doing pretTY well when I was workig with Kate Deering for about 5 months but couldn't afford to continue. I was on much less supps as she believes in food first. I'm thinking she was right. I'm taking so many things.

 

[sele]

Even RP believes in food. So do I.
We have done so much damage (unknowingly) to our bodies that we are forced to take the help of supplements. But I assure you it is only necessary in the beginning.

 

[CarrieLeigh]

Even RP believes in food. So do I.
We have done so much damage (unknowingly) to our bodies that we are forced to take the help of supplements. But I assure you it is only necessary in the beginning.

Yes I agree, thank you!

 

[mujuro]

I got Addisonian symptoms when I used Lapodin. It definitely doesn't feel like you're tired. Quite the opposite. The anxiety is debilitating. What you're describing sounds like when I used too much salt and pushed my aldosterone too low. I could sleep all day. Also cypro is an antihistamine. Antihistamines are believed to create a potassium efflux in neurons which creates a slight hyperpolarization, meaning the action potential threshold is higher. Explains why you feel so weak when you're sedated.

 

[CarrieLeigh]

I got Addisonian symptoms when I used Lapodin. It definitely doesn't feel like you're tired. Quite the opposite. The anxiety is debilitating. What you're describing sounds like when I used too much salt and pushed my aldosterone too low. I could sleep all day. Also cypro is an antihistamine. Antihistamines are believed to create a potassium efflux in neurons which creates a slight hyperpolarization, meaning the action potential threshold is higher. Explains why you feel so weak when you're sedated.

I have anxiety also, it just hasn't gotten to the point it was years ago. Back then I would be so sleepy during the day but up all night literally freaking out all night. I do not want to get back to that place. I was paranoid, scared, tired and weak. I had a hard time standing on my feet for more than 5 minutes at a time, they were weak and shaky. I was a mess. Those feelings are starting to creep in just not as severe as before. That's why I'm paying attention right now so I can do something about it before it gets bad.

 

[mujuro]

I can empathize. The Lapodin anxiety was compounded by nicotine withdrawal. I was bordering on panic attack for days unless I kept eating and getting lots of salt. However I was already taking quetiapine for my bipolar which also powerfully lowers cortisol (it seems that anything with a tricyclic skeleton is anti-cortisol). I would say definitely cut the caffeine for now. Maybe the cypro if caffeine doesn't help. Since 5ht1 agonists seem to provide anxiety relief, maybe you are getting anxious from the 5ht1 antagonism.

 

[CarrieLeigh]

I can empathize. The Lapodin anxiety was compounded by nicotine withdrawal. I was bordering on panic attack for days unless I kept eating and getting lots of salt. However I was already taking quetiapine for my bipolar which also powerfully lowers cortisol (it seems that anything with a tricyclic skeleton is anti-cortisol). I would say definitely cut the caffeine for now. Maybe the cypro if caffeine doesn't help. Since 5ht1 agonists seem to provide anxiety relief, maybe you are getting anxious from the 5ht1 antagonism.

Thank you! At this point, it seems anything is possible. I cut back on the caffeine to just my one cup a day with milk and sugar with my breakfast for now. I cut out supplemental calcium, A, D, E, K. I'm going to keep going for right now with my B Complex (Low dose), Vit C (low dose-120gm), Progesterone and Magnesium and only salting my food and see how things go. I appreciate this thread and the discussion, thank you all for the help!!

 

[P.G.Marjorie]

Have you ever felt like maybe you went too far with supplements and lowered your cortisol too much? That's how I'm feeling right now after quite a few months of feeling really good. Temps and pulse are good but I "feel" like my cortisol is low now. I'm feeling pretty bad a large chunck of the day now. So tired I could sleep. I had low cortisol back in 2012 but I have come so far since then. Too much, caffeine, aspirin, cypro...etc???

Hi, how long are you feeling like this?