009 Second Consultation with Doctor and New Supplements

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November 8, 2009

009

How is my body doing, doc? "The debilitation from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is far greater than those with cancer, diabetes, heart disease. It's profound. You have a severe hormonal imbalance."

Five days ago, I had my second conversation with Dr. Neville from the Clymer Healing Center. We had to go over my ASI Test results which showed elevated cortisol (in comparison to February's low cortisol readings).

I'm not yet sure where I am on the Hans Selye Chart, but it seems I've been vacilatting between the Resistance and Exhaustion Phases. I definitely was in the Resistance Phase when we first moved here to Missouri as I was having very few symptoms, but had no idea that inside my body, I was very, very sick and then on July 7 (just 4 months ago), it all fell apart (again!). My hormones were completely out of control which put me in a position of not being able to do anything: total bedrest and could barely care for myself. Had I understood the Seyle Chart prior to July 7th, I would have known that the energy I had was a false energy. I was depleting my adrenal glands of all they had to give and became sicker than when I was in the first stage which was bad enough.

Going through the results, Dr. Neville explained that I should not have all three symptoms of fatigue, depression, and anxiety together. He's said he is not at all worried about the fatigue and depression, but says that the anxiety (and panic attacks) should not be happening if I have the other two. He says the fatigue and depression will go away as my adrenal hormones balance out over the months and years to come, but we need to get me to a place where I am no longer having anxiety, panic attacks, and insomnia (I am sleeping on average 4 to 6 hours a night which are interrupted by frequent wakings). So, he is putting me on some different supplements and reducing others while I still taper safely off the Klonopin at 3% every 14 days.

For cortisol problems:

• Isocort. Decrease Isocort, taking only 2 pills in the morning (this is a drop from 6 pills throughout the day; he thinks the Isocort is too strong for my body right now).


• Licorice Root. Keep Licorice Root at the 1/4 cup in the morning so that it will still balance the cortisol, but not increase it.


• Mil Adregen. Begin taking Mil Adren 1 three times daily. This is an adrenal gland support like Isocort.

Vitamin D deficiency:

• Vitamin D. Change my Calcium / Magnesium / Vitamin D pill to just Vitamin D at 10,000 Units. I should be getting enough Magnesium in my Vitamin C pills, the Trace Mineral Drops, and various foods I eat though I am deficient in Magnesium and would like this tested at a later date.

Dehydration / Sodium-Pottasium Balancing:

• Salt Water. Continue drinking salt water using Sea Salt at 1/4 tsp. twice daily and continue heavily salting my food until I no longer get lightheaded and my urination is down to five or six times a day instead of ten to twelve times (I had no idea I was suffering from dehydration all these years due to my sodium / potassium not being balanced from low aldosterone). As Dr. Neville says, "In adrenal patients, low aldosterone means low salt, low salt means low water. Now your heart's not getting the right electrolytes to it which can throw out palpitations sometimes. It will make us chronically dehydrated."

Anxiety, Panic Attacks, and Insomnia:

• Seriphos. I'm to take one pill four times daily: 2pm, 5pm, 8pm, and bed (trying to target when my body is making the most cortisol). This is supposed to help with anxiety, panic attacks, and the insomnia and is commonly used when withdrawing from benzodiazepines, so he said it's safe for me to be withdrawing slowly from the Klonopin while taking this. It is a natural product: Phosphorylated Serine / Ethanolamine. It's supposed to work with the HP Axis to keep it from overstimulating the adrenal gland which is causing the surge of adrenaline and cortisol (fight or flight response). Since my body has been out of balance for 20 plus years, it's going to be a while before I don't have the anxiety, but one day I won't need the Seriphos and will be able to handle everyday stresses in life without getting sick. He's going to monitor how this one goes for me as some people can use a little, some need a lot, and for some, it just doesn't work. With me detoxing from the Klonopin, it may be different than other people, but I really hope to not have panic attacks and get some sleep some night!

Immune System:

• Thymuril. This is because my immune system is so bad. In my doctor's words, "Your immune system is shot, guaranteed. But that's because of your adrenals. If we restore your adrenals, your immune system will kick back in."


• Vitamin C. Change my Vitamin C to a Buffered Vitamin C, taking 1,000 mg. three times daily (this is a switch from a non-buffered form)

Along with these new supplements, I'm to basically do three things: rest, rest, and then when I'm tired of resting, rest some more! I'm a pretty driven person and so it's difficult for me to rest, but by God's grace, I will rest! I'm to contact him within 10 days of starting the Seriphos to see how it is going with me. I need to ask him about Pregnenalone and Symplex F for the PMS (oh, it's horrific!). He mentioned that these are very gentle things I can add while I'm healing so that I won't suffer the PMS so much.

My other blogs can be found HERE and HERE.
The original post for this daily diary began HERE.

Coram Deo,

Tamara Slack

004 Received ASI Test Results October 2009

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October 28, 2009

004

Long post! I apologize, but it was necessary for the ASI Test results. My internet has been down, so I have not been able to post on the Daily Post until now. Look at it as if I held all this info back for several days and voila! Lots of CFS info all at once *smile*

Well, the test results are different than I thought they would be, but that's the nature of the condition of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome anyway: lots of strange endrocrine changes and stresses on the body that are uncontrollable by the person with CFS. My February 2009 test results showed low cortisol whereas yesterday's results show high and normal cortisol. You can see the Seyle chart HERE which explains a little, but each individual chart with cortisol and DHEA levels are shown HERE beginning with "normal" all the way to Stage 7. Those are must-read charts for anyone suffering with this disease or who know of people who do. I must have Dr. Neville read my lab results when we are able to have another appointment with him, but from my test results in February and this past month, it looks like I moved from Stage 6 to Stage 4 which could be a good thing.

Tamara Slack
Collected: 10/18/2009
Received: 10/20/2009

Cortisol Readings (in parenthesis is "normal" values):
06:00 - 08:00 AM (13-24), Result: 17 Normal
11:00 - Noon (5-10), Result: 7 Normal
04:00 - 05:00 PM (3-8), Result: 8 Normal
10:00 - Midnight (1-4), Result: 5 Elevated

(NOTE: Not only has my cortisol increased into "high," but the normal reading at the 04:00 - 05:00 PM was at the highest normal there is. We'll have to talk to Dr. Neville about why I'm showing so much cortisol and yet I feel sicker with more fatigue and have so many panic attacks without much stimuli.)

DHEA (Dehydroepiandrosterone):
Reference Value 3-10, Result: 4 Normal

Falling in the reference zone does not preclude the occurence of high or low cortisol at any specific time on the circadian.

Insulin
Fasting <3 (Normal is 3-12)
Non-Fasting <3 color="#ff0000">Depressed (Optimal is 5-20)

Depressed Post-prandial insulin within four hours after meal. This may becaused by a small carbohydrate load in the preceding challenge meal or areduction in pancreatic insulin release or synthesis. Consider a closer examination of challenge meal composition to rule out pre-diabetic tendencies.Why Test for Insulin?Insulin activity is affected by the stress and cortisol responses. Chronic stress with cortisol elevation antagonizes insulin, and may cause functional insulin resistance. Furthermore, chronic hypercortisol causes hyperinsulin responses to carbohydrate intake. Chronic insulin resistanceand overproduction lead to pancreatic exhaustion.

(NOTE: Let me say, I'm so tired of this hypoglycemia! I was diagnosed with it years ago and the doctor said, "just have some raisins and nuts in your purse at all times." Yes, that's the help I received at the time. Dr. Neville said in my first appointment that once my adrenal glands are under control, the hypoglycemia will go away. That, my friends, is great news!)

P17-OH 17-Progesterone
Optimal is 22-100, Results: 23 Normal

(NOTE: Compare with April 15, 2008 which was off the charts low at 18 and on February 22, 2009 which was 342. Something is seriously wrong with how my body makes progesterone.)

MB2S (Total Salivary SIgA)
Normal is 25-60. My results: 6 Depressed

The main functions of SIgA include Immune Exclusion, Viraland Toxin Neutralization, Plasmid Elimination, and Inhibition of Bacterial Colonization. SIgA immune complexes are not inflamatory to the mucosal surfaces.

F14, Gliadin Ab, SIgA (saliva)
Borderline is 13-15, Positive is >15. My resulte is 6 Negative

So basically, my cotisol numbers have changed. making me in a different Selye Stage than before. My immune system is shot, which I already knew, but now we have test results to show this.

I'm in bed more than 50% of my day now with a mixture of fatigue and panic / anxiety, depression, low blood sugar, tachycardia, and insomnia that I hope to get help with soon. No, my dishes and laundry cannot get done. No, I cannot drive, visit anyone, do the grocery shopping, etc. I am unable to do just about everything now including making food for myself or my husband (my hope is that my doc is right and that I will be well in about year). Please pray for my husband as this, I'm sure, is a strain on him, though he never complains. Any type of plans for Thanksgiving and Christmas are non-existent, but hey, I would much rather heal and have a normal Christmas next year and every year and let go of this year completely! It's really not fun to be this sick and not be able to serve my husband or do anything "worthwhile." But I read a lot! I don't think I can handle hearing one more person say that I should stop thinking about this illness, go get some fresh air, or ask if I can at least do this or that. My body is not functioning. It has nothing to do with choice; I cannot choose for my HP Axis, adrenal glands, and thyroid to work or not. I cannot choose for my Hypothalamic Pituitary Axis to not overstimulate my adrenal glands at this time. My body is too whacked out for that right now! Sometimes too much epinephrine will be produced and cause a panic attack or sometimes I'll have a lack of hormones which causes severe fatigue or depressed emotions.

I rest in knowing that God created this body of mine and He surely can handle all the misfiring my glands are doing! He knows my house is a wreck and that I can't make it to church on Sundays. He doesn't require me to be a stoic and "pull up my bootstaps" to get better. He doesn't require me to adhere to Epicurian philosophy which looks for peace of mind by not letting things bother me by having a stoic kind of mind. You know the mentality for boys: "son, take it like a man!" and for girls, "can't you stop crying like a sissy?" This is not what Christ taught at all! He taught that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life and that peace comes from Him alone, not from anything within (especially not faith in faith which is what I was taught in so many churches before God opened my heart to His true Word). By the way, if you do believe in stoicism and call yourself a follower of Christ or born again, be sure to read the Psalms and see how many times David wept on his bed at night. Not much of a manly kind of a guy, 'eh? No, just a man after God's heart. My aim is the same, to be that be that bruised reed or that messed up rose that is accepted by Christ. You can see a beautiful portrayal of what that rose looks like HERE when accepted by God and not by man.

So, if you would like to help me with advice, encouragement, or to "just be there" while I go through this, please read this article (a chapter from the book) and buy the book, "Chronic Fatigue Unmasked 2000" by Dr. Gerald Poesnecker. It will help anyone understand the nature of CFS. Thank you and forgive me if I sound harsh. I truly care about people's advice, but usually I find it's based on psychology rather than the true nature of this illness and I'm pretty much done with what psychology and psychiatry has offered me seen HERE. Some have asked how I am doing and said they are praying and then they change the subject; I'm sure it's from a lack of knowledge, feeling uncomfortable talking to me, and just want me to get better. Thank you to those who have stuck around and showed your care for me. I know it's only coming through some phone calls and emails, but it makes a HUGE difference to know I have friends who would do anything for me and not require anything of me except to be me! Not one person in my family except my son has shown any care over the many years with this illness and so I appreciate my friends all the more!

I believe I've vacillated between Stages 3 through 6 of the Selye for over 20 years now being misdiagnosed with mental illness which is common for the CFS patient as CFS mimics many mental illnesses including bipolar, anxiety disorders, schizoprenia, etc. It's a very (very!) sad fact that those who suffer with Adrenal Insufficiency are being treated as if they are crazy in mental hospitals and on lots of medications that are not only not needed, but very harmful to the CFS patient. I was one of them since age 24, but more on being misdiagnosed at a later date. (If you would like to see a list I've compiled for adrenal fatigue symptoms from various doctors, click HERE)

My other blogs can be found HERE and HERE. The original post for this daily diary began HERE.

Coram Deo,
Tamara Slack