Gabriella, I used to be much worse than I am. I spent a year+ in a bed and was so hypersensitive I couldn't watch tv, listen to music or have the curtains open. Obviously these were symptoms of severe cortisol deficentcy. I was diagnosed by a doctor as having low cortisol and I started taking the stuff (physiologic doses). To this day I have no idea why it didn't make me feel better, but it didn't. The only time cortisol actually made me feel better was when I had a cold, it kind of brought me back to normal. I didn't start feeling better until I got rid of my EBV. My experience with EBV, and some reading I have done, has made me sure that viruses, at some stage of the endocrine signaling process- wether it be hypothalamic, pituitary or adrenal- halt the production of cortisol. The book "Safe Uses of Cortisol" has a whole chapter on viruses and how they reduce your cortisol output.

I can tell you that my symptoms are of an endocrine origin and that low cortisol is a major part of the problem but taking cortisol doesn't help. I muscle test badly for it and whenever I take it I feel terrible, which puzzles me. I like doing the detective work with my health, but I have no idea why cortisol makes me feel worse instead of better, it seems bizarre really. So I know I have more to learn about the endocrine system. I think once I get my pituitary back on track I will be doing a lot better. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

-Colin