Dealing with adrenal fatigue. At wits end
I'm not sure what precipitated my adrenal fatigue. Morning cortisol came back as 18 on a blood test, but my blood was drawn at 10:15 AM instead of 8 AM.
I have been on a steady diet of Vitamin B Complex, 1,500 mg/day of Vitamin B5, powdered Vitamin C up to bowel tolerance, L-Glutamine, L-Methionine, Holy Basil, phosphatidylserine, Chromium Picolinate, bovine adrenal complex, potassium, 5,000 IU of Vitamin D, and Valerian for sleep.
The biggest needle mover for me has been hydrocortisone, which I started taking daily around a month ago. I seem to have established tolerance, and I'm trying to find a dose that works for me. Right now, I take 7.5 mg a day at 4-hour intervals.
I'm able to walk and drive, but my legs still hurt when I go up the stairs, and I'm horribly depressed.
In terms of diet, I wear a CGM and have been mostly keto because I get reactive BS spikes. I can tolerate low-glycemic fruits, roasted chickpeas, etc., in small quantities, but if I eat too much, I get a big spike and then a drop. If I don't eat any carbs, I stay low in the 60s - 70s. There's really no way to strike an effective balance.
Have been gluten-free for years, I never cheat on my diet, unfortunately, I'm gaining weight because I can no longer go to the gym or be active, and I have to eat 5x/day. Right now, it feels like I'm getting worse as my body adjusts to the hydrocortisone, but before I started it, I could barely walk. I am hoping I will feel better as I continue titrating the hydro up and listening to my body.
Nicotine is a big problem for me, caffeine less so. I've tried quitting caffeine entirely, but it did not seem to help much after several weeks; notably, this was also before I tried the hydrocortisone.
Biggest symptoms I have right now are inability to concentrate, restless leg during the day because I'm cooped up in my room all day and want to do something but I really can't stomach the activity, depression (obviously, I'm 24 and my entire life has fallen apart), and weight gain.
The hydro seems to even out my energy levels during the day somewhat because I don't get a huge spike at night like I used to, and even that was going away before I started on it. Thyroid is good, testosterone/DHEA are good as well. Had some vitamin deficiencies for B and D, but those should have gone away by now considering how much I take regularly.
My naturopath initially wanted to do Vitamin IVs but she now thinks it could be something besides adrenal fatigue. Dr. Neville does a cookie-cutter protocol and charges AF sufferers like me thousands of dollars for hope, which I think is disgusting and he should probably burn in hell.
I'm planning to start Lexapro at a low dose in a last-ditch effort to regulate my nervous system. If that doesn't work, I guess I'm going back to taking edibles at night because I don't particularly see the point in being sober if I have to sit here, watch myself gain tons of weight, be completely unable to work out, and be depressed and staring at the walls.
The biggest issue I have with this disease is that you'll have 20 people saying this and that was a cure, and 20 more people saying it ruined their entire life. There's no conclusive fix for anything, and whatever you try can make you better or worse, but if you just sit there and lie in bed all day, you'll inevitably get worse unless you take action.