Question about Cortef

Orion, I know you know a lot about Cortef and I had some questions about it.  I did some reading the other night about Cortef.  It looks like it is in the same family of corticosteroids (sp) as prednisone.  Do you know if there is a big difference between the two meds?  It didn't look like it to me.  It makes sense that something like prednisone or cortef would work for adrenal fatigue.  Some of the reading I have done about lupus indicates that part of the problem, in addition to connective tissue problems is that the adrenal glands get fried and don't work right anymore.  The prednisone gives your body the same stuff your adrenal glands do.  That's why it is so hard for people to come off prednisone because your adrenal gland doesn't work right anymore and you start feeling rotten when you go on too low of a dose.  The bad thing is that there are negative side effects from long term use.  It looks like Cortef also has the same side effects.  All of this is very interesting.  It seems like the adrenal glands are involved in several different illnesses and diseases.

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I wouldn't say I know a lot, just what I've read.

Thanks for the info. The problem I'm having is that my adrenals don't seem to want to recover. I can't seem to go below 7.5 mg of prednisone without feeling awful. I have to say that I am doing much much better on my eating by cutting out most processed foods and I'm not taking in nearly as much sugar as I had been. Of course the holidays are rolling around so that will be a challenge.

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Ah yes... the holidays ;)

I have had issues with my thyroid on and off. I have an interesting story about my thyroid. about 4 years ago I went to the doctor because I was really fatigued. My TSH was low. This was a very new doctor and she got confused thinking that low TSH meant underactive thyroid, when in reality low TSH indicates overactive thyroid (I didn't know this at the time). So, she put me on the wrong medicine (synthroid) to stimulate my thyroid. It was a real mess. After being on Synthroid for 6 weeks and my numbers were re-tested they were basically non existant. I went to an endo who ran a bunch of tests and I had to go on a med as a precautionary for a something dangerous called "thyroid storms". We were worried my thyroid was fried, but it eventually returned to normal levels on its own (TSH, T3 & T4). Every so often my TSH is borderline low when it is tested, but most of the time it is normal. The endo thought I had temporary hashimotos thyroidtis due to the changing hormones after the birth of my daughter. Part of me thinks that the stress my body went through with being on the wrong medicine pushed it over the edge and may have been a factor in my developing lupus.

I hope you end up with a really good endo who will help you get to the bottom of everything that is going on with you. The good thing is that you have done a lot of reading and research on your own so you have some knowledge going into your appointment so you can ask some good questions.

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