[garcia]

@mylilcappi 558 wrote:

I forgot to add that I know there is something wrong with my adrenal glands. I lived with natural cortisol working properly for 47 years. I have no fight or flight, I don’t have those things I used to have when my adrenals were working properly. you just know these things..

thanks,
Mamie

Hi, I just wanted to say that my experience mirrors yours exactly. I have severe adrenal fatigue (caused by infections), and a complete inability to respond to any kind of stress.

I also do badly on h/c, yet off it I feel I need it. Its a hobson’s choice.

Another poster on another forum stated that it did this to him as well. And he was not on any benzo or AD

Me too. Never been on benzo’s or AD’s, yet my experiences have been very similar to yours. I’d be very interested to hear what Dr M has to say on this issue.

[garcia]

@chipdouglas 503 wrote:

Now, what would bring on elevated IL-1 and/or TNF alpha levels ?

I bet unremitting stress is a very likely culprit.

Chip, traditionally it has been assumed that stress directly causes pro-inflammatory cytokines. However more likely is that the two often have an underlying cause. Namely chronic infections. Chronic unresolved infections (e.g. viral, intracellular bacteria etc) will result in the body pumping out pro-inflammatory cytokines as an immune response. Chronic infections are also a cause of unremitting stress on the body, and they can radically disturb the body’s natural cortisol rhythm. Basically people with chronic infections tend to have a flatter 24-hour cortisol curve, with the area under the curve being higher. Paradoxically the body is suffering from “high” and “low” cortisol at the same time (e.g. too high at night, too low in the mornings). Most forms of stress wax and wane, but chronic infections are a stress on the body 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There is no more unremitting form of stress than a chronic infection.

Stress was once thought to be the cause of stomach ulcers. Turns out the “stress” was caused by a chronic unresolved infection, namely Helicobacter Pylori.

Most of these infections are carried for life, so the number and extent of these infections will increase as a person gets older. This is one reason why older people have higher levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines.

[Author]

Posts