Can It Be True? The "perfect" Doctor For Me!

[MamaTrain]

Hey Everyone!

I am going to see a new doc on March 2nd and I am actually looking forward to this one! Usually I dread seeing yet another doctor that will have no clue what to do with me but this time is going to be different because she is definitely different than anything I've seen or heard! She is a regular medical doctor who believes in and actively supports the naturpathic way of care also! She has a naturpathic doctor right in her practice. She specializes in womens hormones prescribing bio-identical hormones for those who desire replacement. Her brochure starts off with "I'm not the doctor you're probably used to"....God I hope so! LOL! When I made the appt. I told the gal who was taking my information a little bit about what had been going on the last year. She said she was confident I would be able to get the help I needed between the two doctors. She also said I should check out a book called Adrenal Fatigue by James L. Wilson. I got it at the library and I just poured through it last night. It is very scary how much of this stuff applies to me. There was even something in there about adrenal fatigue being called neurasthenia at one point and I know I have read that they called dysautonomia that too back in the early 1900's or something. Well anyway I just wanted to share this with you all because you people KNOW what it is like looking for and seeing doctors and then being horribly disappointed in the end! Thank you!

KC

[sue1234]

I would definitely go in there with an open mind. I've been to holistic MDs in the past, but none were the magic bullet. But, having said that, let me tell you about one holistic MD last year. I told him about all of my POTS problems, and so far, regular doctors had not come up with anything to find the cause or treat. He then wanted me to test for "adrenal fatigue". I did the saliva tests, and showed low cortisol for two of the four samples. So, he wanted me to start on cortisol. I filled the prescription, but never started it.

I am ambivalent about this "adrenal fatigue" diagnosis alot of people are getting. I BELIEVE that our adrenals can get overworked and can be the root of alot of our symptoms, however, I don't want to take something like cortisol, that is a strong hormone, without ABSOLUTE medical reason for taking it. I believe some of us may be on our way to Addison's disease(full adrenal failure), but medicine just doesn't know how to test for this in-between phase. It is said that Addison's symptoms show up after 90% failure of the adrenal glands. What if we are sitting at 60% adrenal failure?

I am 30 lbs. overweight, have some facial hair, off/on high b/p. According to the saliva results, I need more cortisol. But, my physique screams too much cortisol, but the saliva says not enough! So, I sit on the fence about this "adrenal fatigue'. I guess I want true medical research on adrenal fatigue, and how the medical system can identify and address it. It is like I read somewhere before, if the doctor's waited to treat thyroid until thyroid people would be in a full myxedema coma because of complete thyroid failure, we'd be in trouble! They actually treat people who have underactive thyroid glands, and I'm waiting to see if mainstream medicine will recognize that underactive adrenals might need treatment.

Keep us posted!

[MamaTrain]

Thanks for your input Sue! I definitely am keeping a open and cautious mind. I already see a naturpathic doctor and then I have my regular doctor. The problem is they are not on the same page. My reg. doc poo-poo's the naturpathic way and that's why I was so intrigued by this new doctor. I believe that we need to try everything thing possible or affordable to help ourselves recover. The book I am reading has mostly discussed diet, life style changes and supplements. I do believe there was something in there about adrenal support supplements but not sure what they have in them. I think I have been told before it's like adrenal tissue from bovine or swine. I wont know til I go and see her but for now I am reading the book and learning what I can from it. It suggest getting alot of sleep...that is something that has eluded me for years! I just wish I could sleep the whole night through! Have a great day Sue!

KC

[sue1234]

I am all for good sleep! I use Xanax and it helps, but not perfect. I recently tried Ambien and it worked WONDERFULLY! But, I am scared to death of the side effect of doing something in the middle of the night that I am not aware of--like getting up and taking some other sleep medicine or something like that where I am not aware of not needing to take it! Did that make sense?? I've heard of too many horror stories of people doing things in the middle of the night. I could see me getting up and driving somewhere--AND I don't even drive anymore!!! Maybe I worry too much....

Anyway, regarding fatigued adrenals...I sometimes wonder if all this "adrenaline overdrive(catecholamines)" during POTS is the body compensating for not enough cortisol to get it through whatever it needs to get through. I have read some people explain that in forums for "adrenal fatigue". That could kind of make sense, but I really don't know. IF I knew for sure taking some Cortef would calm the adrenaline part of my adrenal gland, I would take it in a minute! I am all for doing whatever it takes to fix this darn dysautonomia.

Please let us know what your new doctor says regarding adrenal fatigue.

[futurehope]

I have a twofold problem.

One, supplements that are usually given by alternative docs usually send my GERD into overdrive....stomach/esophageal pain and heartburn through the roof.

Two, a small bit of cortisol affected my blood sugar to the point of making me hungry. I was gaining weight. Forget it. It did not help the fatigue for me anyway. It just caused a bit of anxious-type tachy for a few days. It wasn't worth it for me.

I said the above to relate my experiences. I truly hope you find improvement. Check back with us here and let us know how you are doing once you meet this new doctor.

[flop]

I had the saliva tests for adrenal function done about 18 months ago. All 4 of mine showed low levels but at least my early morning result was slightly higher than the others. My doctor totally dismissed the tests "not a proper test" but I think that there is some correlation with the blood tests I had. In 2005 I had a synacthen stimulation test, my baseline cortisol was above the normal limit but my cortisol only rose by a small amount after the synacthen injection (test was interpreted as "normal"). A few years later (same time as the saliva tests) I had a baseline 9am cortisol blood test, it was just below the lower limit of normal (interpreted as "normal"). The doctor didn't see a problem that my 9am cortisol had changed from nearly 1000 to barely 500.

The book mentioned above is an interesting read. One theory is that when the body is under stress (eg from illness) that the adrenal glands produce extra cortisol. Ongoing stress causes long-term high cortisol levels (might be what was shown on my stim test in 2005). Eventually the adrenal glands can't keep up with the demand for cortisol so the levels drop below the normal healthy range.

The practitioner that Did my tests was treating me by changing sleep patterns, reducing stress, eating properly, gentle exercise, vitamins and supplements to assist the adrenals. She did not use cortisol or adrenal gland extracts for me (but did say they were options if things got worse). I found that a lot of what she said made sense and fitted with how my body was reacting, but she was really expensive to see and I couldn't afford to keep paying her fees for treatment, nutrition and exercise plans. If money were no object I would have continued with this holistic route.

Flop

[MamaTrain]

Thanks for sharing your experience Flop! I guess medical docs and holistic docs just dont see it the same way in 99% of cases! I have been just glued to the book since I got it. It's like reading my own story! I hope that I can manage to keep up seeing this new doc if I decide to go that route. She is a bit more expensive than the doctor I currently see but we are so sick of me feeling like this we dont care anymore! I will post after my visit with her on this thread for those who have expressed interest! :-)

KC

[MamaTrain]

Hey there! I saw that new doc yesterday and it went really good. She is definetely different as far as understanding the alternative methods! She made a comment about how other docs cant think outside of the box and I just knew she was the right doc for me! She looked at my female hormones test and my adrenal cortisol test and said that is why I am not feeling well...my adrenals are shot! I am not making enough cortisol. My night time level was below the normal range. I guess that's not good. She gave me some pills that will help build the adrenals up. I think they are bovine adrenal extracts. I also need to start taking progesterone and just suffer through the drowsiness it will cause for the first few weeks. She explained that cortisol and progesterone need each other and I just dont have much of either! I have been reading that book on adrenal fatigue and it really all does make sense to me now. I thought me trying ritalin was the cause of all this since I had the horrible reaction and was never the same afterwards. Apparently it probably just tanked my adrenals that were already struggling so bad. This may not be it but it might just be it so I am looking at the positive end of things. Hope everyone is having a great day!

KC

[Chaos]

Glad to hear you had a great appointment. Given the recent posts by others about how AWFUL their appointments have been, it seems a small miracle when you have a good experience with a doctor. Take your blessings where you can find them, heh?

Hope the new routine brings you lots of relief. Please keep us "posted".