Need help - huge stress response, worried what to do

[Jem Oz]

Why is it useless?

Hans and I think some others have said taking one fleeting measurement of cortisol in the blood doesn't tell you anything. Rather, you have to do the 4 saliva tests over the course of one day.

 

[Gustav3Y]

If you have high cortisol (above the top range) in blood tests each week testes can that also be dismissed as useless?
I cannot agree it doesn't tell you anything.

 

[Jem Oz]

If you have high cortisol (above the top range) in blood tests each week testes can that also be dismissed as useless?
I cannot agree it doesn't tell you anything.

yeh true. I was being a bit flippant. I'm sure there's value to all the blood tests, even just to have as a marker going forward

 

[Gustav3Y]

I only mean that because I had sometimes values over the max value and I think they say something it is not good.
I guess he meant when all seems ok in cortisol blood values, 4 saliva tests would be more telling.

Then I know even people with massive cortisol numbers one day 1000, then next week they only get a 500 level count, sort of a up and down even if done at the same first hour in the morning several times.

 

[gaze]

very true. I had "health anxiety" in the past, so I'm definitely overly sensitive to my body. I'm hoping that the reason I started feeling genuinely, emergency-level stress and like my brain would shut down when faced with a simple task, was because I was under eating or not eating the right foods (ie rather than it ALL being a sign of hypothyroidism). Hopefully dialling in my diet and having sugary/salty snacks when the panic comes can help significantly.

Had bloodwork a week ago. TSH 1.17
FT4 16.7 (9.0-25.0)
FT3 5.9 (3.5-6.5)
Vit D (25 hydroxy) 81
DHEA 9.8 (2.2-12.4)
PTH 2.9 (2.0-8.5)
Cholesterol levels pretty much all elevated above 'healthy' range, but not alarmingly high.
Cortisol 408 (110-550), but I've been told that cortisol blood test is all but useless.

to me personally, these blood labs definitely indicate that you should be simply be eating more calories, less exercise, and trying to reduce stress. what's your current weight? have you tracked your calories on cronometer? do you have a stressful job ? also what measurement is the vitamin d in

 

[Jem Oz]

to me personally, these blood labs definitely indicate that you should be simply be eating more calories, less exercise, and trying to reduce stress. what's your current weight? have you tracked your calories on cronometer? do you have a stressful job ? also what measurement is the vitamin d in

Vit D measured in nmol/L, where <50 is considered a deficiency. I'm actually really pleased with 81, because a year ago it was 25. I've worked to get it up, mostly through getting more sun.

Well I'm overweight. THat was what led to the super stress - I cut calories too hard and as I'm late 30s, I can't get away with super fast weight loss like I could in my 20s. I'm 6ft tall and 210 pounds. Since I've been running on stress hormones for years, I think it's unwise to go hard with the weight loss before fixing my metabolism. I thought taking thyroid would be the only way to do that, but since chatting with you, I'm reminded that diet is king, and it has to start there. The stress in my life comes from an unbelievably wretched, abuse-ridden childhood, and the fact that i'm in intense therapy at the moment which has brought it all to the surface. It's a necessary and extremely helpful process, but it has made me easily panicked and deeply depleted. Trying to lose weight fast, on top of that, was a recipe for disaster.

 

[gaze]

Vit D measured in nmol/L, where <50 is considered a deficiency. I'm actually really pleased with 81, because a year ago it was 25. I've worked to get it up, mostly through getting more sun.

Well I'm overweight. THat was what led to the super stress - I cut calories too hard and as I'm late 30s, I can't get away with super fast weight loss like I could in my 20s. I'm 6ft tall and 210 pounds. Since I've been running on stress hormones for years, I think it's unwise to go hard with the weight loss before fixing my metabolism. I thought taking thyroid would be the only way to do that, but since chatting with you, I'm reminded that diet is king, and it has to start there. The stress in my life comes from an unbelievably wretched, abuse-ridden childhood, and the fact that i'm in intense therapy at the moment which has brought it all to the surface. It's a necessary and extremely helpful process, but it has made me easily panicked and deeply depleted. Trying to lose weight fast, on top of that, was a recipe for disaster.

tough tough situation to be going through. you are correct, it is a very multi faceted issue. in this case, i actually wouldn't increase calories per say, cause they may just make you more stressed in the long run if your gaining weight by keeping ffa up. I think sticking to nutritious foods only (avoiding excess butter and white sugar), and total life stress reduction is probably the best bet. thyroid may be an issue, and i think if you take things really slow it may help, but your right quick weight loss just causes bigger problems.

 

[Jem Oz]

tough tough situation to be going through. you are correct, it is a very multi faceted issue. in this case, i actually wouldn't increase calories per say, cause they may just make you more stressed in the long run if your gaining weight by keeping ffa up. I think sticking to nutritious foods only (avoiding excess butter and white sugar), and total life stress reduction is probably the best bet. thyroid may be an issue, and i think if you take things really slow it may help, but your right quick weight loss just causes bigger problems.

Well before i started thyroid, i cut cals to 2000 a day, and it very quickly led to severe stress. If I'm doing this intense psych work, I need to support myself. But the weight gain has been a big stressor itself. I've felt pretty stuck. Aware that I'm probably hypo, and maybe have a b1 deficiency, but the events of today have shown me that I've gone way too hard with the self improvement, supps etc. I wonder if I should aim for a VERY modest caloric reduction, or even just a period of eating to 'maintenance', so long as it's nutritious and filling food (my digestion is perfect, thank god). And down the line, try thyroid again, but at a much lower dose and taking a lot longer to increase it.

 

[routepitcher]

Hey; any updates on this?

 

[mgrabs]

Well before i started thyroid, i cut cals to 2000 a day, and it very quickly led to severe stress. If I'm doing this intense psych work, I need to support myself. But the weight gain has been a big stressor itself. I've felt pretty stuck. Aware that I'm probably hypo, and maybe have a b1 deficiency, but the events of today have shown me that I've gone way too hard with the self improvement, supps etc. I wonder if I should aim for a VERY modest caloric reduction, or even just a period of eating to 'maintenance', so long as it's nutritious and filling food (my digestion is perfect, thank god). And down the line, try thyroid again, but at a much lower dose and taking a lot longer to increase it.

How are you feeling?