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Still Figuring out my Endo Problems

Reducing my NDT was a success: the aches and pains are gone and I can sleep at night again.

However, my heart started pounding after meals, then between meals, and then I had to lie down after meals or any exertion like bringing a basket of laundry upstairs from the dryer.

Google is a lot less helpful than it used to be for finding answers. No matter how I phrase search terms, I get answers involving high cortisol, which I don't have. And the top answers are from corporate pill pushers and official sounding agencies that are adrenal fatigue deniers.

I finally found some answers from Nora Gedgaudas's book Rethinking Fatigue, which I heard about over at Jimmy Moore. The second suggestion in the chapter about low cortisol is to check your iron. It's a big deal in adrenal fatigue and thyroid problems. She also says that doing keto is going to be really hard with low cortisol (but to try anyway) and to dig deeper for the source of your adrenal problems.

I respect what Gedgaudas says, but sometimes you do need a bandaid. I'd prefer to get to the root of my problems, but in the meantime, I need to function. If I hadn't taken adrenal hormones I might still have bronchitis. I still wouldn't be digesting my food well without digestive enzymes. I wouldn't be able to take much thyroid hormone. I wouldn't be able to use her book--focusing on a book was that hard when my thyroid and cortisol were low. I understand now why my mother hardly read anything but gossip magazines.

Meantime, I've upped my iron dosage, I'm eating a little more carbohydrate (but not going berserk), taking more electrolytes and salt, and trying DGL tablets, which she says increase how long your cortisol lasts. 

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