If you have any skin issues would stay away from hydrocortisone - its extremely hard on the liver and kidneys. I took 2 doses and went into crisis for 6 weeks. if you have mercury poisoning your liver is most likely affected. Hydro is suppose to lower inflammation, mine increased 3 fold

Try some GABA first
http://www.elixirs.com/products.cfm?productcode=S50

If a lot of anxiety can also add some avena sativa
http://www.herbal-powers.com/avenasativa.html

Start a liver detox, slowly
http://stfrancisherbfarm.com/product.aspx?ID=17&Title=Liver

Then after 2 months start slowly
www.ncdtest.com

And start 1/4 dose
http://www.jashbotanicals.com/products/simple-chelate-heavy-metal-detoxification-p-44.html

Eat apples for pectin

After 8 months:
Take some selenium chelate 100mgs day
Zinc 25 mgs day
vitamin b6, folic acid, b12 - 1 capsule of homocysteine Formula
kelp capsule


This is not a complete protocol, but will get you going

You may have to deal with parasites first, have to do a vega test to see....... or just do it. If anxiety be sure to start with a few weeks of GABA and avena sativa to settle you down. Breath deep and relax, you will come around, but its going to take 12 months - 24

For most of us that take hydrocortisone, it is not an option, congested liver or not. We need it to replace the cortisol that our adrenals can no longer produce because they have been damaged by mercury. We also need the cortisol to drive the thyroid hormone into our cells so that we can get out of bed and function to some extent. Cortisol is necessary for life - without it we die. You wouldn't suggest that a diabetic shouldn't take his insulin - it's the same thing.

Frankly, I'm fed up of reading nonsense and scare-mongering about taking cortisol. People should do some research. For people with Addisons taking cortisol is essential, not a nice extra. My mercury-toxic liver is as dysfunctional as anyone else's, and I have Gilbert's syndrome, a liver condition which further complicates things. I have been taking cortisol for over a year, and I'm still here. Without the cortisol I might not be.

Nicola

I do liver detoxes daily, take all supplements but none of it replaces hormones. If i didnt take HC i would die im afraid and i too am sick of all posts saying that HC is dangerous, 30mg isnt dangerous, it replaces what i dont have.

Anonymous, I notice you didn't mention the dosage of the Hydrocortisone. I'm under the impression that people who are prescribed Cortisol for a skin condition would be prescribed pharmaceutical doses. That's a completely different scenario than people who need to take Cortisol in physiological doses to replace the Cortisol hormone that their adrenal glands can no longer produce. Physiological doses of Cortisol and pharmaceutical doses of Cortisol are very different applications.

Depending upon the degree of the adrenal gland breakdown, if no Cortisol at all (or so little as to support life) can be produced -- well, it's a life threatening situation.

I agree with Nicola and Dawn. Without the Cortisol, I simply wouldn't be here.

I wish more people could be aware of the connection between mercury and adrenal gland function. Mercury is an endocrine disruptor. I'm of the opinion that in some situations, if the adrenal gland dysfunction is caught in the early stages before complete breakdown occurs, perhaps it can be remedied by using more natural substances for support. But once the damage is severe, then prescriptions are necessary in order to support life.

SomedaySoon (Sharon)

Same here...I just started on this 3 weeks ago and it is literally what makes me able to function. As Imegha says, there is plenty of research out there and it states that HIGH continuous does is what is dangerous. Andy's book also states this and so many other health websites and books.

Hi imgeha,dawn and somedaysoon,
thank you for talking about adrenal insufficiency. This is the avenue I am now investigating. I had a complete dental revision done 7 1/2 weeks ago. I have been doing baking soda and epsom salt baths for detox. I also have infrared sauna. But I am so fitigued and sick I can't do anything . A urine sodium test revealed I am dumping salt into my urine which indicates an aldosterone hormone defiency of the adrenal gland. Friday I went for an Aldosterone test and I asked if they could check for autoimmune Addisons diease through antibody testing. My saliva tests last march show low cortisol in afternoon and evening. It is so discouraging when lab tests come back within the normal range and the doctor says you are fine. Did any of you have the skin color changes. I don't think I do. I did have a low test result for Growth Hormone but upon further testing of IV drugs and blood draws they deem me to be normal. I guess I am detoxing from the mercury. That hair test did show mercury off the chart two times.
How were you all diagnosed and put on the right meds. I saw an Endocrine specialist last Sept who said I was normal accoring to his tests. I think my thyroid might be OK and that my adrenals are the problem. Any comments would be greatly appreciated.
Patty

I had thyroid surgery 50% removed... it was BIG.. though all blood tests showed hormone levels good. A couple months later the hormones were down a bit and I was starte on 50 mcg of T4. Within 1 day it was pure hell with every kind of physcial and emotional symptoms. They would come and go for minutes or days at a time. Inceases in T4 and adding T3 didn't help. I had 6+ months of that and within a day of my first dose of hydrocortisone I felt good. Well, not good good, but good compared to the last 6 months. Continuing the HC and changing to the equvivelent of Armour got me to the "functional" stage where I am now.

Hi Patty

I muddled along after an adrenal crash, housebound, hypoglycemic, shaky and suicidal for 4 months before I saw an endocrinologist who did a 24 hour urine test and blood test. From this he was able to diagnose hypothyroidism, hypoadrenalism, low female sex hormones, low growth hormone, low everything, basically. I was put on prednisolone (for adrenals), Armour ( thyroid), Florinef (aldosterone) replacement estrogen and progesterone, and other vitamins. Nothing for the growth hormone yet.

One year on I am functioning again, but I am nowhere near where I used to be. I also had my amalgams out a year ago, but so far am seeing little improvement. My mercury is in the brain, and I need to chelate it out with alpha lipoic acid to get really better. I have to move at a snail's pace because my adrenals are so weak, and chelating stresses them further. Balancing hormones manually is very difficult indeed.

My advice would be to go to www.stopthethyroidmadness.com

and read around. There you will get advice on saliva tests for cortisol, thyroid etc, and then you will really find out what the problem is. Ignore your endocrinologist - they are only trained to look for Addison's or Cushings - total adrenal failure or over-production of cortisol - not the adrenal fatigue which affects most mercury toxic people.

I wouldn't recommend chelating wihout supporting your adrenals. You won't get better, and may make your adrenals weaker.

I hope this helps

Nicola

Hi Anon and imgeha,
Thank you so much for you input. I will type a response tomorrow...too tired and sick at the moment to concentrate but wanted you to know I am grateful.
Patty

hi Patty,

I'm sorry you're feeling so poorly. I just thought I"d respond to your question as well. My adrenal gland function was tested both by blood work and by saliva testing. Evidently, the saliva testing method is considered the Gold Standard for testing adrenal gland function.

The test I had done was called an AdrenoCortex Stress Profile saliva test and it tested my cortisol levels and DHEA levels. A saliva sample is taken 4 times throughout a day and then mailed off to the lab for evaluation.

Sharon

I tried avena sativa tincture and it seemed to make me worse. I felt very not with it and still had more panic than usual.

I tried gaba as well but didnt really help with my deppression and anxiety.

I guess we are all different and react differently to stuff.

I still want to do a liver detox tho.

I had an iridology session at a convention a few weeks ago and they said my liver needs cleansing. This is what I will be using:

Liver Cleanse Formula

Hope this helps someone.

i have done lots of liver flushing, the best one ever was a lemon and olive oil gallbladder flush, it was amazing, it really cleared me out and i felt so clean afterwards. Coffee enemas are really good, i do about 3 a week when not chelating. i dont get so much pain in my liver now, and just after removal of amalgam i coudlnt do any flushes, it seemed to stir things up, so be careful.
i bought a book on how to look after your liver and basically its the same diet as the candida diet.

I think the bottom line is that you need to get nutrients into your body that will give you energy and support your adrenals. Your adrenals are regulated by liver, if liver is congested adrenals are weak.

Hydrocortisone from the people I know personnally who took it felt good for a year or 2 and then some of them got diagnosed a diabetic. I could not take it all because had severe liver problems. Once I got the digestive enzymes, Schussler salts, sea salt, diet, greens, omega3, goat protein powder -- into the system I was supported and able to start a very slow mercury detox program.

Thank you to Imgeha, Dawn, SomedaySoon and Glancina for responding to my post about adrenal fatigue.
My saliva test showed low cortisol in the afternoon and evening, a urine electrolye test showed high levels of sodium and the last test for Aldosterone was low at 4.1 (range 4-32) and my test for adrenal antibodies was negative. Yesterday was the third time for seeing this new doctor, an integrated MD. mercury doc. I was the one who requested the urine and aldosterone and antibody tests. Upon seeing him he declared that my adrenal were fatigued and asked me what I wanted to do about it. I said I would like to try Cortef and Florinef. He said ok he would look up the doses in the PDR. He said he could not find Cortef so I said how about prednisolone. He was familiar with this drug so he prescribed 5mg, 1/2 tab twice aday and Florinef at .1mg once a day.
Imgeha, you said you were taking prednisolone. What is your dose?
I really don't know what to think of this new doc. I was looking for him to take the lead in my medical care but he seems to be taking direction from me. He really surprised me when he said if I see any good info on the net to bring it to his attention, he would be interested to learn. I didn't really choose this doc but was referred over to him when the first mercury doc retired. He was the doc that ordered the saliva cortisol test. I really liked him and his staff but only saw him once with no follow up visit.
Imgeha, thanks for the web site suggestion of "stop the thyroid madness". I have really become better informed.
So today is my first day on these new meds and I am keeping my fingers crossed that I will feel better soon. I did take your recommendation and stopped my chelating baths and saunas.
One last question, did any of you have candida problems from taking cortisone? It has always been a problem with me. I am completely off sugar, caffiene, wheat, dairy.
Thanks in advance for any comments or advice.
Patty

Hi Patty

sounds like you have found an enlightened doctor, even if he wants to be guided by you! I take 5mg Pred in the morning - this is the equivalent of 20mg hydrocortisone, or Cortef. I take a further 1.5mg at bedtime. I take 175mcg of Florinef, 125 mcg in the morning, 50mcg at night. This prevents nighttime blood sugar crashes. But my adrenals are seriously shot. I don't think I will ever get them functioning again the way they should. I think I will be taking a maintenance dose for life. Sigh.

Did your doctor mention HC? If your adrenals are not too fatigued you may get with HC rather than Pred, which is stronger. HC is the physiological equivalent of what the adrenals themselves produce, so its a bit easier on the body.

You will need to learn about stress dosing, for when you are ill, or in a stressful situation. With three kids, a series of dental treatments and end of term events coming at me at high speed I am stress dosing quite a lot these days. I take one or two mg more Pred. If I don't do this, I literally run out of cortisol later on in the day, become extremely fatigued, hypoglycemic, and generally very uncomfortable. When I had tonsilitis earlier on this year I took at least a double dose to help the body get over the infection. I have also found out that NOT stress dosing, even for a simple cold, can crash my adrenals, so it's a question of learning as you go along.

Yes my candida exacerbated with the Pred, and I had to become REALLY strict with diet. I was still eating a bit of cheese, taking milk, and one piece of dark chocolate a day, and that was enough to give me serious problems. Had to cut all that right out. This is on top of the no gluten, grain, alcohol etc etc, so I am basically eating meat, eggs, vegetables, and some nuts, with good fats. I wish I could say I didn't mind, but it is very hard!!

Glad STTM is of help. It is essential reading for those wth thyroid / adrenals problems.

Best
Nicola

Hi Nicola,
Thanks for the reply.
I did ask the Dr. for Cortef but he could not find it in the 2007 Physicians Desk Reference which has all drugs listed. Why he could not is beyond me. i had remembered reading that 5mg of prednisolone was equal to 20mg hydrocortisone and that you were on pred so I suggested it and he said ok.
Upon reading further today on STTM web site it would be better to be on Cortef just as you said. Most of the people on that site are dosing four times a day.
I am amazed at the energy level you have regained in caring for a family and all sorts of events. I can barely take care of my house, husband and pets. I have extreme fatigue, weakness, and what I guess you would call the "poison symtoms" , just feeling so sick. I am hoping and praying for better days to come. I will let you know how I do on these meds.
Thanks for your input.
Patty

Hydrocortisone will probably help people with a reasonably good liver and kidney system, or maybe it would give a bad reaction because is very hard on the liver

wouldnt recommend it - pump some good foods into yourself and will come around........

Patty

it sounds like you are where I was a year ago. Not pretty. I was able to do one thing a day - grocery shopping, or whatever. It was seriously limiting, and a total shock for me. I cried a lot. I lost a lot of friends.

The recovery on HC / Pred is gradual (for me anyway) and crept up on me. I tried HC for 2 days, and couldn't cope with the quick running out of cortisol. I was also seriously hypoglycemic - going from being OK to totally bedridden and too tired to even speak in the space of about 20 minutes when my blood sugar crashed (before I worked out what was going on ). This terrified me so much, and I was paranoid about it happening while I was out. For me, Pred gave me a more steady supply of cortisol, and made me feel more secure. I think my adrenals were beyond HC. I think Chris on the hypopit forum on STTM says HC works for 80% of people, but others need something stronger. You will have to see how you go.

A large part of my recovery has been Armour thyroid. Are you taking this also?

Where are you in amalgam removal? This was the worst time for me - I had to stop halfway through because I became so weak - this was the housebound phase, and before I got onto adrenal support. I am now one year post-amalgam removal, and I can honestly say that things did not start getting better before 10 months. Then I started to lose the fluey feeling and to start having the odd OK day, but I am not going to get better without years of serious chelation. My adrenals are in such bad shape that I have to chelate very slowly.

Patty - I get through the day. I do what I have to with the kids and to keep the house going. There is NO spare energy left. I nap most days, and cannot walk for longer than 10 minutes. Normal socialising activities or sport are beyond me. This illness could not have come at a worse time for me, with three young lively children. They are used to mummy being tired, grumpy, not able to do what they want me to do. It is not how I want to be, but it is my reality. It is difficult. I find T3 thyroid hormone helps with the depression. I am also beginning to accept my reality now, rather than thinking I will get back to the way I was once the mercury is gone. I think this is unlikely.

Nicola

Hi Anon,
Thanks for you reply and input. My liver and kidney enzymes are in the lower part of the range on a blood chemistry panel. And my diet consists of all whole organic foods and free range organic chicken and moose meat. No sugar, wheat or dairy (except 3 oz of goat yogut a day on some fruit) or caffiene. I think some of us are on the slow boat to recovery from mercury poisoning. And I have read that mercury can really affect the adrenal glands and my test results are showing them to be really affected. I am willing to try anything that might make me feel better.
How is your battle going. Can you still work at a job, drive a car? I would love to hear what is working for you.
Patty

Hi Nicola,
Thank you for spending the time to reply to me. I am learning a great deal from you.

I am glad you have traveled this path before me and are still willing to stay connected to the forum to help out people like myself. Patience seems to be the operative word of the day.
Not too many people have rapid recoveries and when they don't may start looking to other tests results to see where and what the mercury has damaged.

Before my Total Revision,done at a Huggins Clinic in April, I had pretty bad dementia syptoms. I could only speak with my eyes closed, so I could concentate on the words to communicate, short term memory was very bad, unable to really read and write much either. These symptoms started after I went on a candida diet (in mid feb 07) and released the mercury in my system and it went straight to my brain. After the revision my eyes opened back up and I started to regain some mental fuction again. This recovery was quite dramatic but I tend to forget this when my body feels so sick day after day. It is really an improvement to just be able to read and then respond to the emails here. Huggins says the dental is really only 10 to 15% of the recovery relating it to turning off the bathtub faucet and now we have to bale out the bath tub.

In your post, you talk about how seriously limited you were and what a shock it was to you. Yes, me too. I used to have a job that I loved even though it was part time. For the past 20 years all my jobs were part time. After 2 hard days of working in the surgery dept of a veterinary clinic (24 hrs) it was like I hit a brick wall and had to stay in bed to recover, to regain my strength to do the rest of the week at home and attending 2 days of ballet classes that were quite strenuous. Then I took care of my dad for 1 1/2 years, he had demntia. Talk about stress!! I now wonder if it was and is my adrenal glands that just run out of cortisol. any thoughts there? After I quit my job and gave up ballet 2 years ago I started taking piano lessons and joined a knitting group. After the candida diet I had to give up those activities as well. What I have gained is a closer relationship with God. I do a blibe study by Beth Moore and 10 dvd presentation. When my days are really bad I just put her on the TV and she straightens me right out!

From your post on HC/Pred I can see you really struggled to get through the days. Most people have no idea what is like to be sick. What symptoms did you have that guided you toward amalgam removal. From what you said I get the picture of the dental really affecting your adrenal glands and really messing you up. I can really relate to your descibing the "fluey feelings". You said it took you about 10 months before you started feeling a little better...I have a ways to go but with your story the plecebo of hope is there for me.

You speak about accepting the reality of your current situation. I am still rebelling against the demon mercury and depression is setting in, more so than in any other part of my life. Thanks for advice to work on acceptance, it is the key to contentment.

I am not on any thyroid meds yet, allthough test results are low. I will wait to see what happens first with the pred and florinef ( sometimes advised by Chris at STTM)

What methods of detox are you doing right now? Anything slow and gentle? I have found out the Algin is really to strong for me. I tried last weekend with 2 caps between lunch and dinner and one before bed and I really paid for it the next day. I was unable to go to church. I think my dose is just one capsule in a day. I do have the Lypo-Spheric Vitamin C Jell that is quite potent. I also have glutithione 125mg.

Well, I think I will go outside and pull some weeds!
That is improvement! So maybe my new meds are working.

Patty <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

,

Inflamation is a sign of detox and elimination and the reason hydrocortisone is anti inflamatory is that it stops the detox and causes retention of the toxins.

I agree. I know people who felt great for a few years and then ended up with numerous medical problems from prednisone.