It is normal to have low DHEA and all other hormones when your adrenals are not functioning properly. I have also tried homoeopathic drops etc for adrenals, and frankly, my level of adrenal fatigue was well beyond what they could do. If you can go to a desert island, do nothing but relax and eat good food, and have zero stress, they might work in time. I however live in the real world with 3 young children, work, and a demanding life generally. I was bedridden for 2 months before I got onto replacement hormones. Cortisol (which the adrenals produce) is a hormone necessary to life. Without it you die. You are not functioning properly now because you don't have enough. You need to get your head around replacing what the body cannot produce until the mercury is gone and you are healed. Adrenal healing can take two years or longer. In the meantime you need to support your body by taking cortisol and enabling it to heal.

I KNOW about adrenal suppression, and it is true that taking hydrocortisone will suppress the body's own production. There is plenty of debate about this on adrenal fatigue boards, and the general view is that if you stick to a physiological dose, ie 20mg or less a day, then you will not suppress the adrenals permanently.

The idea is that you take the hydrocortisone until the adrenals are healed, then slowly wean off it, allowing the body's own production to kick back in. This is the theory, but there is mixed opinion on whether this does actually happen, and you may need to take additional hydrocortisone for a long time. But, do you have much choice? If you have clear adrenal symptoms now, you will either take much longer to heal, or not heal at all, as your body lacks the basic hormones to do so.

You need to do lots more research into this, get some testing done (saliva cortisol tests are more accurate than serum) and decide whether you want to support your adrenals with hydrocortisone. If your adrenal fatigue is not too bad, you may get away with glandulars. By the time I had found out what was wrong with me, I was flat on my back, and had no choice.

BTW, melatonin is not adrenal support. It is the hormone produced by the pineal gland which helps you sleep. It is doing nothing for your adrenals. DHEA is a form of rough and ready adrenal support, but your levels do plummet when you stop taking it. I take 20mg a day, men should take slightly more. Again, you need to do some research on it.

I think the alternative way of dealing with mercury toxicity is great, and I would much rather do it that way than take steroid drugs, but I wasted a lot of money with an alternative doctor and only got worse and worse. I am now improving by taking 5mg of prednisolone (the equivalent of 20mg hydrocortisone) and Armour thyroid hormone. If you have the patience and lifestyle that enables you to do nothing while you heal, then alternative therapies can work, but they will take a long time.

If you want more info, or links, just let me know.

Best
Nicola