adrenaline

*I wrote most of this a couple weeks ago, but just now got my act together enough to post something :)

I mentioned a while back that my local, wonderful Dr. (we love her so much!) wanted to test my adrenal function (cortisol and DHEA levels). She wanted to check this out and work on it if the results were abnormal.

My DHEA results were fine (hoorah!). My cortisol levels, however, were not. Lyme loves attacking the adrenal glands and causing havoc. Oh Lyme... why must you be so mean and destructive?

Here's my doodle of what's going on:

Basically, I'm starting the day with a pathetic amount of cortisol. Likely another contributor to my severe, chronic fatigue. At night my cortisol levels rise instead of dropping, making it harder to fall asleep and sleep well

Thankfully we can work on these issues. I was started on a teeny tiny dose of Cortef, {which is bio-identical to cortisol}, in the morning. We're watching how I'm doing and will increase dosage if needed. At night, it was recommended that I take phosphotydle serine, which can help lower cortisol levels, thus helping with sleep. It helps brain function too, so that's a plus :)

Waiting and hoping we'll see improvement with my fatigue.

*update : we slowly increased the dosage in the morning and I'm noticing improvement! Mornings are less difficult. I can function a bit better. Thankful.