Cortisol®  Information

THE NEW BREAKTHROUGH in  Insomnia, Fatigue and Thyroid Disorders

INSOMNIA
"The problem with insomnia is that the individual suffers all day long with adrenaline (epinephrine) overload, which is related to cortisol deficiency, so he/she is unable to sleep at night" states Edward M. Lichten, M.D., clinician and researcher in Birmingham, Michigan.

HISTORY: The typical insomniac is under stress: emotional, financial, marital and physical.  Chronic stress while awake is manifested by a decrease in lean body mass, type 'A' personalities,  carbohydrate loading and skipping meals, and the inability to '"get everything and everyone taken care of."

SYMPTOMS: The degree of insomnia varies from mild: awakening and falls back to sleep; moderate, cannot fall asleep or cannot fall back to sleep; to severe, cannot sleep without over-the-counter to prescription medications. The worse of the worse individuals cannot sleep even with prescription medications.

DIAGNOSIS: The diagnosis of cortisol deficiency and neuro-chemical imbalance is made with a Neural-adrenal saliva and urine kit from Immunoscience and serum Calciferol (Vitamin D3) level from Quest Diagnostic Laboratories. See article- insomnia. The low levels of cortisol, low DHEA, increased epi- or nor-epinephrine, low serotonin and abnormal dopamine allow the physician to intervene medically-and-naturally.  The emotional and physical causes of stress must be addressed separately but balancing the adrenal hormones must be done concurrently.

PHYSIOLOGY:  The adrenal cortex releases CORTISOL (prescription CORTEF™) in response to the pituitary hormone ACTH's signal. The problem is that ACTH can only be turned down by Cortisol yet it triggers increased release of adrenaline.  The absence of the Vitamin B's and C's that are necessary for the adrenal cortex to manufacture Cortisol from being produced, aggravate and accelerate the problem of adrenaline (epinephrine) overload.  The cycle continues until intervention breaks the cycle.  That break can be a 3-month hiatus (vacation or mental breakdown) or the modified Jeffries protocol that we incorporate in our office.

PREVIOUS THERAPIES: Prozac™ and anti-depressants, Ambien™ and other sleeping agents fail to address the underlying physiology of too much epinephrine and too little cortisol, DHEA, Calciferol, magnesium, zinc and gabapentin.  Small doses of Ativen™, Xanax™ or Klonipin™ many be incorporated acutely,  because they individuals are 'panicked' not 'depressed.' But after the acute distress is controlled, increasing dosages of 5-HTP, magnesium and vitamin-mineral-amino acids are integral to our program of recovery.

The depression results from the seemingly incurable problem of insomnia which prevents REM sleep, IGF-1 release and tissue repair. And this depression, may be curable.  For those with low serum lithium levels, we start lithium replacement at 150mg daily and increase accordingly with therapy to 300mg twice daily.

FATIGUE
OUR TREATMENTS: We start by adding large doses of Intravenous B's, C's and magnesium to supplement the adrenal cortex. 5-HTP is prescribed because routinely serotonin levels are low.  We use the findings of  the Neuro-adrenal test and add Cortef 5mg upon awakening.  For those falling asleep in the early afternoon, an additional 2.5 to 5mg is given at lunch. Note that 2/3 of all Cortef should be taken before 12 noon and none should be taken at dinner or bedtime. Cortef should always be taken with food.

Following the excellent recommendations and applications of Jeffries, we have found Cortef and our insomnia and depression protocols to reduce our reliance on Prozac™like anti-depressants and Ambien-like sleep medications by 80%.[EML]

WJJ Recommendations: Much higher than we recommend because of our reliance on balancing all the endocrine life-pyramid hormones.
1. Maximum Cortef dosage is 20 mg daily.
2. Maximum length of time on Cortef is 6-8 weeks.
3. May need to reduce any thyroid medication on Cortef by 1/3.

Applications:
1. Insomnia
2. Panic Attacks
3. Hyperthyroidism
4. Asthma, Acne
5. Infertility: low progesterone
6. Hives, skin eruptions
7. Fibromyalgia
8. Diabetes
9. Heart palpitations

For thyroid information, see right column and thyroid articles.

William Jeffries. M.D. The Safe Use of Cortisol. University of Virginia Press. 1970