Does anybody else feel like they could sleep all day then wake up more at night

Hi Tracy, That can be indicative of Adrenal Fatigue/Exhaustion. The best way to test for this condition is through saliva testing. The test is done in one day -- saliva samples are taken about 4 times throughout the day. This test measure cortisol and DHEA levels in your body.

There's lots of information on the net about this. Here are just a couple of sites:

http://www.project-aware.org/Resource/articlearchives/adrenalfatigue.shtml

http://www.drlam.com/A3R_brief_in_doc_format/adrenal_fatigue.cfm

tHANKS FOR THE INFO BUT ALREADY HAD TEST AT HOSPITAL AND THEY TOLD ME MY ADRENALINS WERE COMpETELY SHOT UNFORTUNATELY THEY GAVE ME NOTHING FOR IT I AM SO TIRED AND WEAK AS A KITTEN COULD YOU RECCOMEND ANYTHING THANyou Tracy

Tracy, that was my post as Anonymous -- forgot to sign in!

If your adrenal glands are completely shot -- if I were you, I'd find out just how "shot" they are by asking about the test results.

In cases of complete adrenal gland failure -- this is called Addison's Disease. And it must be treated with full replacement doses of cortisol.

In cases where adrenal glands are suffering, fatigued, exhausted or borderline Addison's -- this is usually called Adrenal Fatigue/Adrenal Exhaustion/or Hypoadrenia. Again, replacement doses of the hormone cortisol are given but in lower doses called physiological doses. Herbs and vitamin therapy is usually included to boost the adrenal glands while they rest and heal. This can take quite a long time -- years in some people.

As far as getting a physician who will treat you, you can try and find holistic doctors. Also, the specialty that deals with hormone health and endocrine disorders like adrenal exhaustion is called Endocrinology. You might want to look for an endocrinologist.

Often times when the adrenal glands are severely compromised, other hormones need help too. Thyroid function, low DHEA, are two that are frequently involved or go along with adrenal exhaustion. But, as I said, there are other hormones that might need adjusting.

Find yourself an endocrinologist and do some reading on adrenal fatigue. Those two links I gave you are a good place to start. And Google for "Adrenal Fatigue, Adrenal Exhaustion" and you will find lots of information.

I'm being treated for severe Adrenal Fatigue myself. This condition can cause much misery and a weakening of many body systems.

Sharon

There a few things that are good for adrenal fatigue, including licorice root extract and adrenal glandulars. These are the big two that seem to help most people. Mercury also has a strongly negative effect on the adrenal glands so it is important to get rid of it.

Good luck

If you are experiencing adrenal exaustion your blood pressure should be low. If you take cortisone , you will damage your health and make your body toxic.

Cortisol is a natural substance produced in the body. Understandably, if you take it in doses higher than your body would make it can have some pretty bad side effects. However, the poster said they were tested to be adrenal insufficient. In that case, cortisol is necessary... In either case, it can't be "toxic" if its the same chemical made in your body. In fact, cortisol is usually secreted to increase resistance to stress, and since being toxic or detoxing is "stressful" physiologically, I doubt that it would interfere with any sort of detox process. In fact, if you look in amalgam illness by Andy Cutler, he mentions taking cortef if indicated, or even doing prednisone tapers while doing chelation rounds.

Anyways, supplementing hormones isn't something you should do if you aren't under the supervision of a Dr. If you are going to do a trial of low dose cortisol to see if you lack adrenal reserves (as mentioned by Jefferies), they need to keep track of your electrolytes (sp. sodium and potassium) as well as your BP. You also need to watch your weight. Typically, however, even in people with "normal" adrenals, doses lower than 20MG/day don't cause suppression. At least according to Jefferies... I think teitelbaum said the same thing in his book.

Tracy, I would just urge you to read up on this and speak with an endocrinologist and make your own decision. Don't take my word for it and don't take jill's word for it. Read about it for yourself. And consult with an endocrinologist. When this condition is severe enough to warrant treatment with cortisol, it can't be done without the oversight of a physician. Testing needs to be done before and during treatment. And there are other things that can be done to help, as I've said -- herbs, botanicals, vitamin therapy, etc.

I am being treated for severe adrenal exhaustion/borderline Addison's. Had I not been diagnosed and my adrenal glands had deteriorated further, I would not be here.

Please read the new post on the other cortef/adrenal fatigue thread, if you want. There is more detailed info on the safe uses of cortisol there. Using a bio-identical hormone that is naturally found in the human body like cortisol is safe. If your adrenal glands are not able to produce the cortisol that is necessary for living, then replacing those cortisol levels is imperative. I'm not talking about high doses here.

Jill, I would imagine if Tracy's adrenal glands are "shot" as her doctors have told her, she probably does have low blood pressure.

I'm convinced that my adrenal failure is a consequence of mercury poisoning. Formal chelation can not begin for me until I can normalize my adrenal glands and get them supported properly. When the adrenal glands are exhausted, it actually can make metal toxicity worse because the body does not have the molecular or metabolic energy to even do the minimal natural detoxing that the body is designed to do. It is a biochemical condition.

While cleaning out toxins will eventually help this condition. The process of formal detoxification and/or chelation can't begin or be effective without severe problems until adrenal gland function is supported and restored.

The accumulation of toxins that occurs as the body can no longer remove them properly contributes to burnout. Exposure to toxic metals or chemicals can be an important factor in adrenal gland burnout.

However, energy is required to release toxins. If the energy system is weak, just fasting or detoxifying will not be enough. One must rebuild the entire energy system by balancing body chemistry and providing nutrients as well. A one-month or even six-month cleanse is nowhere near adequate. It can take a year just to replenish one mineral. For those in burnout, extreme detoxification programs such as fasting, raw foods or even chelating agents can be dangerous. This is because the body lacks the vitality to properly eliminate toxins, the eliminative organs are compromised and toxins may be redistributed in vital organs. A gentle, complete program of rebuilding and nourishing the body must accompany any efforts to eliminate toxins. In fact, as vitality improves, toxin elimination will proceed on its own.

In my own case, I have eliminated all 17 of my amalgams and also had an abscessed tooth extracted and my root-canaled tooth extracted. I've made huge improvements from that alone. For example, my long-standing Chronic Epstein Barr Virus that I had for decades virtually disappeared overnight after amalgam removal.

Anyway, Tracy I do hope you can find answers and that you feel better. Like so many people here, in the past I've struggled with some rather overwhelming chronic health conditions, (CFIDS, Fibromyalgia, systemic candidiasis, Raynaud's Disease, chronic epstein barr virus, to name but a few). In my personal experience, Adrenal Exhaustion has by far been the most debilitating and overwhelming.

SomedaySoon

tHANKS SENT FOR TEST ITS GOT SO BAD I JUST CANT STAY AWAKE KEEP TRYING TO FORCE MYSELF THE HAVE TO GO TO SLEEP AGAIN HAVE READ SOME INFO LATELY THAT THEIR EVEN BEGINNING TO SOME ME SUFFERES ARE SUFFERING FROM ADRENAL FATIGUE I HATE IT ITS THE HOLIDAYS AND IN MY HEAD I WANT TO DO SO MUCH BUT CAN ONLY STAY AWAKE FOR A FEW MINUTES AT A TIME TRACY

tracy, when you get your results, if you go the stopthethyroidmadness.com val, will help you with them and tell you what you can do.

Andrew Cutler did not go to medical school .I did . He did'nt even study biochemistry. He is a chemist.
As I said before, look at the physicians desk reference on the side effects of prednisone etc even when used medicinally to make up for alleged deficiencies. Also go to a holistic MD, not an endocrinologist who would love to hook you on hormones. Just because a substance is natural does'nt mean it is'nt harmful.People with diabetes have all kinds of health problems even when on insulin.
I did'nt say hormone supplements were toxic ;I said they prevent your body from detoxifying and impair your ability to produce hormones. Also its difficult to assess cortisol levels since they are so variable from day to day.
If you want to increase your chance of osteoporosis, cancer etc etc go ahead.It's better to figure out why one's body is not producing the proper levels of these hormones.
If patients leave the doctor's office without a perscription, they feel like they wasted time and money so doctors love to write them and keep you returning, often years later for problems that are side effects of those prescriptions.

Now Im getting totally confused, I certainly didnt mean to start any conflict ladies its just that to be honest I havnt got a clue about any of this stuff and dont know what to do next to help myself. Its just a shame theres not just one de-tox for everyone and thats it. I personally havnt been following Andys protocol cos it just seemed DMSA didnt suit me but I thought someone had said he had studied biochemistry, is this not true then, thats a bit worrying, not for me personally but oh I dont know I just want to feel better than I do now and dont know what to do. Tracy

Yeah, and pigs fly. The people who tried to share information on this post already indicated they were being treated by Holistic Medical Doctors. It is the HOLISTIC MEDICAL DOCTORS who are treating the adrenal problem with what they said were physiological doses of cortisol.

I guess you didn't read any of Dr. Jeffries' articles?

So, let me get this straight, jill -- if a patient has borderline Addison's disease you... what? Do nothing and wait for them to die?

Quit flaming.

I am going to have tests and see what happens, my sister has been on steroids for chronic asthma for 34 years and shes fine. Anyway I thought we only needed these for support till we've de-toxed. Still confused, but as I said I think I should get the tests done Thanks guys Tracy Just another point I actually know of someone who was put on steroids to help with cancer and my neighbour got MS had a massive short dose of steroids and was vitually cured?

This should make things clear. Here is Andrew (Andy) Hall Cutler's curriculum Vitae details.

http://www.noamalgam.com/vita.html

Tracy, you do what you feel is best for you. It certainly wouldn't hurt to have tests done to see how your adrenal glands are functioning. The most effective testing for this is the saliva method.

The tests I had taken were ordered by my holistic medical doctors and my holistic dentist. It was called AdrenoCortex Stress Profile. It was a saliva test taken 4 x in a day. I did this test several times plus they also took blood work.

This test measured for cortisol levels and DHEA levels.

If adrenal exhaustion/fatigue is treated with something like Cortef, only small doses of the medicine are used. They are simply to replace what the body is not able to produce naturally on its own. These doses would not be high or massive doses like are used in cases of asthma attacks, etc.

Also, there are plenty of herbs, botanicals and vitamins that are essential in boosting and healing broken adrenal glands.

Good luck, dear.

SomedaySoon (Sharon)

Well let's all be clear on one thing. Lets say you lived in a place where not one synthetic chemical was EVER used in your surrounding environment........you think anyone would experience Fatigues of the body?

Tracy... I feel so bad for you. I would be very confused if I had asked the question you have asked and got some of the answers that you got. I think that you are doing the right thing in having the tests.

I had tests for thyroid and they showed up fine. At the same time, I had all the symptoms, including hair falling out by the handfuls and complete exhaustion, of thyroid and adrenal issues. There was a white spot in the middle of my neck the size of two quarters. I was getting worried yet the tests showed normal activity. So, I read up (in Andy's book and researched it on the internet) to help myself. I have been taking forskolin for a week now. I have had plenty of energy and feel pretty good taking it. There is a caution if you have hypoglycemia. Tracy, the rest of what I have to say doesn't concern your question, so forgive me if I digress, but I feel it has to be said.

Personally, I respect Andrew Cutler because I am beginning to recover in ways that I never hoped for in the amount of time that I have chelated. There are some who cannot take DMSA. This is not for everyone. But some of us are recovering. At least, give us that. I'm not sure why so many are intent on discrediting him. He has a degree from Princeton, for crying out loud. Furthermore, there are many people who have been to medical school who have made us sick, so forgive us for not being impressed because someone has been to med school. I don't mean to offend anyone as we can tend to be emotional with this illness. But, please don't steer people away from a protocol unless you have used it yourself in the proper fashion. You might just be holding someone from the very thing that would help.

I think that this is the situation that I'm in. I believe that I'm very toxic but an aggressive detox program has pushed me farther into the hole. I've taken a break for the last two weeks and I'm feeling better.

Now I have to figure out a way to continue to detoxify but not overload my weakened body.

Tracy, my dr. prescribed the low dose hydrocortisone and does not follow the Cutler protocol. But she treats adrenal exhaustion using physiological replacement doses. I have had mixed feelings about taking it the whole time. But before I took it, my adrenals were practically not working and I was soooo exhausted and had low blood pressure. Now, my blood pressure is higher than it was, and I do have some more energy than I did. I do feel like I react to it when I take it, but continue to take it. Mr. dr. already decreased my dosage and wants to slowly wean me off over 6 months with the hope that the adrenals will begin to do more on their own. We'll see. I spoke with someone else who has MCS, mercury, and chronic fatigue - she could barely function. She feels that the Cortef (hydrocortisone) helps her - she used to get so dizzy upon standing that she couldn't take a shower without being wiped out for the whole day. She said that over time she has been able to take some supplements (which she previously couldn't) and to do some chelating. If you want some feedback from others taking it - you can sign onto Yahoo groups - frequent dose chelation. There is a lot of discussion to be read there and if you post, you will get at least a few responses with feedback from others. Hope this helps.

Someday soon, how did you do with your amalgam removal when you suffered from such severe adrenal exhaustion. I know you said it helped you - but did it tax your adrenals when the amalgams were removed? I have had some drs. tell me not to remove mine yet while the adrenals are still exhausted but my dentist says he wants me to move forward soon - but slowly. Thanks.

Andrea, Just a thought. Frequent-dose-chelation group at Yahoo focuses mainly on Andrew Cutler's protocol. If someone wants to discuss any issues and are not using his protocol, they might want to go to adult-metal-chelation group at Yahoo. Hope you don't mind my pointing this out.

I had an adrenal crash at Christmas 2006 and had my amalgams removed from January - June 2007. There is no doubt that my adrenals worsened from the amalgam removal, even though I did it slowly, with full protection over six months. I had to stop amalgam removal for a couple of months because my adrenals were so bad. In the April I started taking 5mg prednisolone (the equivalent of 20mg of HC),and slowly got stronger.

If your adrenals are shot, they're shot, and you have to be practical. I have three young children, and becoming bedridden due to amalgam illness was not an option for me. Taking pred and Armour has enabled me to return slowly to some form of health - at least I can function now while I detox mercury. No one LIKES taking steroids, and I hope I don't have to take them for the rest of my life - I hope there is still time for my adrenals to heal - but it was a case of needs must. No-one says diabetics shouldn't take insulin - it's the same thing. Please let's have a sensible discussion about taking cortisol, instead of inflammatory comments.

Nicola

Andrea, I think to answer your question on whether my adrenal exhaustion got worse from (or after amalgam removal) -- well .... I think I'll have to say yes. I'd like to explain though. And if I had it all to do over again, I'd do it exactly as I did it, EXCEPT I would have gotten the adrenal/thyroid testing done prior to amalgam removal and began adrenal support before amalgam removal.

I was extremely ill prior to removing my amalgams. I was in a situation where my epstein barr virus levels were sky high and not going down. That is really what motivated me to have my healthy dental revision. I had mercury toxicity, cavitations, root canaled tooth and an abscessed tooth. I had to start eliminating the toxic and infected load on my body straight away.

I had all 17 of my amalgams removed in one visit using conscious sedation and for me, it was the way to go. I felt great afterwards. I also had vitamin C IV therapy and other nutritional IV therapies done, had my allergy to heavy metals reversed 2 weeks prior to amalgam removal also. The holistic dentist also had me on all kinds of homeopathics and supplements to try and aid my body through the process.

Two weeks after amalgam removal, I had a long-standing abscessed tooth and a root-canaled tooth extracted. This was a difficult procedure for me and made the amalgam removal seem like a piece of cake. THe extractions were difficult because I developed the mother of all sinus infections immediately after the root canal removal -- it's a long story, but the roots from that tooth were extending into my sinus cavity and the sinus cavity actually was perforated at removal. My dentist also applied a bunch of other healing and supportive measures. He also used oxygen therapy, Anodyne Infrared therapy, a little bit of ozone therapy -- he hit me with alot of healing stuff afterwards and it helped a great deal.

I think the surgery, would have been much, much easier had I been supporting my adrenals. I really wish that I'd been tested beforehand, as I said. And who knows? Perhaps I would have been able to dodge that horrific post--surgery sinus infection bullet as well because when the adrenals are supported and/or functioning at par, then our immune systems are working better.

My dentist told me that it looked like I needed to be treated for adrenal fatigue based on symptoms -- he told me that before my dental revision. I just wish he'd been more forceful (or that I had picked up on what he was saying!) and asked questions then and there and gotten tested and began treatment for it. At the time I was so ill and I just didn't realize how far-reaching adrenal exhaustion could be. I didn't even know that it was a condition that was treated other than to take a few supplements or glandulars. I just didn't know! lol Had I a chance to do it over again, I would have requested that my medical doctor test my adrenals before the dental revision. As it happened, my adrenals weren't tested until 4 months after the dental revision by my internal medicine doctor.

Anyway, I also think that the life/situational stressors I had been experiencing that year played a large role in my adrenal collapse. Carrying around a ton of viral/bacterial infection, heavy metal toxicity, plus a gynecological surgery involving general anesthesia, antibiotic therapy, and many personal life stressors (illness and terrifying car accident injuries of family members, one of which was my child) -- the body can only take so much.

I do know that if I still had my amalgams today, I'd be a much sicker lady. And I probably would be having alot of difficulty in treating the adrenal fatigue. I honestly think that it was the tooth extractions and infection afterwards that were so hard on my adrenals. The amalgam removal really felt as though it went very, very well judging by how I was feeling afterward and how well my body reacted to having the amalgams removed.

I hope this helps.

SomedaySoon (Sharon)

Nicola, I meant to say in my post above, that I agree with your comments. As you said, having a sensible discussion and sharing of experiences and knowledge is much easier without inflammatory/flaming comments.

On a personal note, I'm beginning to think I'm one of the rare adrenal exhaustion cases in that I don't have concomittant thyroid problems along with it. We've tested and tested and tested and they keep showing up fine. I can't understand it.

SomedaySoon (Sharon)

Thank you so much for your posts Sharon and Nicola. You explained your experiences really well and it is helping me a lot in making my decision. I am curious as to what dosages of hydrocortisone you are taking. My dr. already decreased me from 7.5 mg. and 5 mg.at 2:00 to 5 and 5. In two months she wants me to go back to 5 and 2.5. And continue to wean down from there. But I haven't even started amalgam removal or chelation so I'm thinking I may need it higher for longer than she says. I had just started to have more energy on the 7.5 dosage, and have been feeling more wiped out/foggy since going down.

Thanks again for your help.

You're very welcome, Andrea. I was started out in November on 5 mg of Cortef 3 times a day. It helped some but I still was feeling quite badly. So when I consulted with my new holistic doc, he retested me extensively and increased me to 7.5 mg in the a.m., 7.5 mg mid-day and 5 mg in the afternoon. And he gave me instructions to increase the dosages by 2.5 mg in each dosing when under stress from illness or anything else.

The doc also discovered estrogen dominance again, low DHEA levels, 2 bad bacterial intestinal infections that were causing bad systemic side effects, a problem with my serotonin metabolism so I was deficient in serotonin, a weakness in one of my detoxification pathways which is being corrected with the use of Glycine, and I had to increase my Vitamin D3 supplementation. I had been tested many months ago and my test revealed severe Vitamin D deficiency -- I was in the category for Ricketts! also, despite supplementation with high quality supplements, I was still extremely deficient in Vitamin B6, magnesium and Zinc. I can't remember everything else they've found -- but it sure was worthwhile to have all the tests done!

However, I felt myself crashing again a couple of weeks ago. Went back into see the doc. It seems the Spring allergy season was taxing my system terribly and my adrenals were struggling to keep up with everything. So, just for now I'm up to 10mg/10mg/5mg. I'm hoping to be able to lower that as soon as the worst of the pollens are over with, but we'll see. I have severe adrenal exhaustion so I'm not surprised to be near the top end for physiological dosages. I'm also on a bunch of supportive remedies to help me through allergy season -- Quercitin and Bromelain, D-Ribose, Perimine, and I use the Immune Stimulator by NSP too. There's more that I'm taking and doing but I get quite tired thinking about it. lol!

I'm also on small doses of DHEA (5 mg a.m./5 mg p.m.)
Also had to increase my natural progesterone cream because the adrenal shut down caused estrogen dominance. And I'm on a slew of other supplements and remedies. Trying desparately to find some supportive balance so I can maybe do some chelation at some point.

Hope I haven't confused you!

SomedaySoon (Sharon)

Sharon

It would be rare to have adrenal issues without thyroid. I'm sure you are, but are you having the right thyroid tests done? The TSH so beloved of doctors is meaningless. You need your Free T3 and T4 levels checked. Both these should be within the upper third of the range for you to feel good, T3 may need to be higher. Lots more information on www.stopthethyroidmadness.com

Best
Nicola

Thanks for all of that information Sharon. It sounds like a lot of my issues are similar to yours - my vitamin D levels were undetectable in testing - only I had trouble taking the vitamin D - I had a really bad stomach. I'm going to try putting it into food as I take it by the advice of my dr. and compounding pharmacist. I also take progesterone during the second half of my cycle due to estrogen dominance. I am thinking about getting another opinion on the cortef because I feel I may need more than I am getting - and I would like to get my free T-3 measured - I did not see that on her testing. I really do want to move forward and get the amalgams out, and would like to have the proper support in order to not crash too hard. My dr. never gave me extra cortef for times of extra stress and for when I am ill. Last week I was sick all week with a fever and a virus and was never given extra cortef from the dr. for situations like this.

Part of my problem is that I do not think I will be able to get on everything she recommended because I am so hypersensitive to the vitamins. Which is why I may have to move ahead anyway and hope that it helps.

I hope you feel better with the allergies, etc. and will be able to come down on the cortef after the toughest part of the season passes. I know how awful allergies can be on your system.

Thanks again for all of the helpful info..

Andrea, Sounds like a good idea to see that you're getting enough replacement cortisol also on getting the more thorough Thyroid test. I'm just reading up on this issue more, thanks to Nicola's answer.

Nicola, thanks so much for the link and the info you provided. I have had the more extensive testing done, actually, Free T3, Free T4, TSH, and Thyroid antibodies (whatever the heck that is supposed to be). ANyway, I'm going to get some opinions on my lab values and do some snooping around.

I didn't realize that the reference ranges were supposed to have been changed a few years ago -- or that the recommendation went out that they should be changed. Evidently, many of the labs have not changed their reference ranges. I also had no idea that we could be treated with something like Armour based on "probable Hypo" due to symptoms and confirmed adrenal fatigue.

According to Dr. Jeffrey Garber, that's sometimes recommended.

ANyway, I'm going to snoop around some more and approach my docs about this. THanks again for the advice and resource!

SomedaySoon (Sharon)

Hate to stick my oar in Andrea, but I do know that vitamin D can prove to be a very difficult vitamin for many folks, you have to be real carefull with it, could you not get enough from sunlight? I know Dr. Mercola thinks that is the best source and he warns of possible toxicity from the pill form, hard on the liver. I wish I could get a friend of mine to read yours and Sharons posts, there is more good information here than I can remember to tell her...
many thanks

Thanks for the tip Elvis. I asked my dr. about sunlight and she said that mine was so low that needed replacement. But now that spring is supposed to be here (it's still freezing) I'm hoping to spend more time outside. I will try taking it again but won't be surprised if I have trouble again.

Thanks again-

Andrea

Below is one of many good sources for Vitamin D testing and supplementation info. I agree that the Sun is the safest and best source. But the effectiveness of the Vitamin D conversion from Sun depends upon one's location in relation to the equator as well as a bunch of other things that I'm too lazy to type about right now. lol!

I know for me, as I said above, when my levels were tested I was so deficient as to be in the category for Ricketts. My level was 10. I was already developing "diseases of Vitamin D deficiency."

I get regular testing done to monitor my levels -- especially now that I"m supplementing with it. My levels are steadily climbing.

Anyway, I think everyone should have regular Vitamin D testing done. And when supplementation is warranted, it's important to keep regular appts for continued monitoring of Vit. D levels.

There is a LOT of good and new information out there. Most of the good practitioners are aware of it and are incorporating it into their practices. One of my docs decided to test all of his patients (that were willing, that is) across the board. He found alarming numbers of deficiencies -- even if patients who were outdoor people.

Mercola is not a huge advocate of vitamin supplements, I know. But he does not refute the necessity for higher levels of Vitamin D. ANd for people with chronic illness, supplementation with Vitamin D is sometimes imperative.

Anyway, Elvis, I think you bring up a good point. If you supplement with Vitamin D -- it's a good idea to get your levels checked. But for many, correcting a deficiency state of Vitamin D requires more than just more sunshine exposure, especially when the levels are very deficient, from what I"ve learned.

http://www.vitamindcouncil.com/


On the whole, we simply Are Not Getting Enough Vitamin D.


SOmedaySoon (Sharon)

P.S. Andrea, I don't know which form of Vitamin D you're taking. But be sure it's Vitamin D3 and not VItamin D2. Also, I found that taking the Vitamin D3 in liquid form to be helpful. I use Vitamin D3 from Biotics Research and they are actually drops. I just place a drop on my tongue. Doses of the drops come in 400 i.u's and also you can get 2,000 i.u.'s if your doc thinks that's necessary.

I did try another Vitamin D3 drop form by the company Xymogen. But developed bad stomach pains from the sodium benzoate they put in the formula as a preservative. The Biotics brand doesn't have any of that.

Hope this helps.

Sharon, I do have vitamin D3. My dr. wants me to slowly work my way up to 4000 iu per day because I am so low. I'm glad you told me about the Biotics product. If I cannot tolerate this when I try again, I know a practitioner that distributes the Biotics products very close by. It was interesting when I read that website you gave - it says vitamin D is a precursor to cortisol. So if I don't supplement, I may never produce cortisol on my own. I know that vitamin D measurements are being routinely taken by alternative and mainstream practitioners alike now. Hopefully I can find a form I can tolerate.

It is interesting when you talk about vitamin D and the sun. I ALWAYS feel better when I'm outside on a sunny day - which is why it is so good that spring and summer are next up. My brain fog is less outside - I know part of it is because I am out of the recirculated air and chemicals inside, but I wonder if part of it is because of the vitamin D. My favorite thing to do is to sit on the beach - I always say that if I moved there, I would be a zillion times better!

Thanks again - you are a wealth of information

I have the same positive reactions when I'm in the sun -- especially the beach!

From what I've learned, it can take months to restore a vitamin D deficiency like what you and I had, Andrea. I just had to be patient with it.

In the beginning I started out with 4,000 I.U.'s as well. After the first month, I reduced to 1,200 I.U.'s and have stuck with that amount. Last time my levels were checked, I'd risen from a level of 10 to 56. Healthy ranges are generally considered to be between 75 - 120 or so. But that range can vary a bit, I'm told.

Let me know how you do, k?

SomedaySoon (Sharon)

Me too, thank goodness summer is coming. I think that is why we are not such good excretors, if we lived in more southern climates, we would sweat the heavy metals out.

Sandi
xoxo