Blimey!!! This is a big step, and my view is you should ideally start taking Pred or HC if you have done proper saliva testing to see what your cortisol is doing. I know from your posts you have had some obvious hypoadrenal symptoms, like internal shaking, jitteriness, anxiety and depression etc.
This is an article by Dr Peatfield where he describes how to start on Pred. It is REALLY important to remember that pred is 4 times stronger than HC, so when people talk about a replacement dose of 20mg or 30mg they are talking about 5mg or 7.5mg of Pred. Don't go taking 20mg of Pred - it is way too much, and you could develop Cushings.
http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/IGFXRW...on%20treatment%20of%20the%20adrenals.docbasically, you start on a low dose like 2.5mg, taken first thing in the morning. Unlike HC, pred lasts a good 8 hours in the body, so you don't need to worry about taking any more during the day. You may find a 2.5mg dose is enough, but most people need 5mg to function and increase their Armour dose. Basically, you are looking to find a dose where most of your adrenal symptoms are gone - ie, shakiness, jelly legs, but it takes some time for the effect to build up. I would say it took a good 4 weeks for my adrenals to stabilise on the Pred, and I still get hypoglycemic every 4 hours, regardless. I am still on a relatively low Armour dose, and still have bad candida, both of which cause hypoglycemia.
Loads more information on taking cortisol and adrenals on these forums:
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/adrenalfatigue/http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/community/viewforum.php?f=5http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/NaturalThyroidHormonesADRENALS/You probably already know about NTH for Armour
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/NaturalThyroidHormones/Peatfield says a week after starting Pred you can start taking Armour, one-quarter grain at a time (15mg). You should stay at this for at least two weeks, then increase by another quarter. The idea is to get up to somewhere between 2-5 grains, which is the normal replacement dose of thyroid hormone. If you start feeling shaky or adrenal, you need to reduce your dose for a few days, and then try to edge up again.
Patience is the word here - it is not a quick process. I started on pred and Armour in April, and just this past week have got up to 2 grains. Things got complicated during the very hot weather in the summer, and I finished having my amalgams out. But there is no doubt that I am functioning much better than before. I am now operating at 70% of what I used to, can't exercise, but can do school run, kid things, even wander around town for an hour. Still need a sleep every afternoon though.
This is the bare bones of starting to self-treat. It is a huge topic, and the best thing to do is research it thoroughly before you start. Are you sure you can't get to see a good thyroid doctor like Dr Skinner or Dr Peatfield? This group might be able to help.
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/TPA-UK/Tracy - I hope this is helpful and the links get you started. Let me know how you go.
Nicola
