> Do you also have low > body temperature (below 98 degrees orally when you first wake up?) and a low > pulse (under 85 beats per minute). When the thyroid is sluggish, the > adrenal glands must overcompensate by oversecreting adrenaline. Over time, > they too become exhausted. The root, though, from my understanding, is to > first treat the thyroid. Maybe others on this list can give more in depth > information here. > Funny. Although this seems to make sense, what I've learned through research and personal experience is totally opposite. That's not to say that it may vary according to the individual's medical history and, as you say, if you catch a true thyroid problem before the adrenals konk out. My basal body temps were 96.8 to 97.2 for many years. My high-carbo vegan diet gave me enough of a charge to feel mostly "normal" to even energetic, though. In my thirties, a slow decline in my normally vibrant, athletic health over ten years, which really plummeted in the past four, sent me searching for answers. (I'm uninsured, and would not spend my meager $ on the runaround and disappointment of conventional docs.) Started eating meat again 3 years ago, went paleo somewhere around 2 years ago. This certainly helped, but apparently I was too "damaged" by surgeries, antibiotics and a long-term vegan diet to be "saved" by paleo. (Sorry Ray--I tried real hard :-). (Immune deficiency, lots of other immune problems and other stuff were revealed when I had blood and other tests done with a nutritionist.) When I finally had a thyroid profile done early last year, the TSH was "normal" (alternative practitioners disagree with conventional docs as to what a normal TSH is), and T3 was slightly high while the T4 was slightly low (a search on Wilson's Syndrome will explain this stuff.) My BPs were always around 100/60, pulse 56 - 60 at rest. I was usually lightheaded whenever I'd get up from a lying position. In the past four years, I had low BP's (90/60), salt cravings, up 3X a night with a bladderful, no appetite, extreme weight loss. When I finally found an alternative doc to deal with the Wilson's Syndrome/thyroid (I was cold and brain dead all the time), he immediately wanted to treat the adrenals first. I had already researched this aspect of treating the adrenals first, but was resistant to it because of the low-dose steroids I'd have to take. I chose to stick with adrenal glandulars and thyroid medication instead. My mistake. He treated the thyroid, which helped marginally for a few months, until I had a near adrenal crisis. (Dizzy, extremely weak, intermittantly nauseated and unable to get up for a month other than to guzzle salty broth then pee it right back out.) After that, I quickly agreed to seriously address the adrenal problem. Within a month, I was off the thyroid meds. My doc was right (and nice enough not to say, "I told you so"). My temps fluctuate somewhat now, depending on the time of month, but are basically normal now for the first time in over ten years. So this is where the opposite theory comes in: The thyroid and adrenals are endocrine "relatives". If the adrenals are weak, your thyroid compensates by slowing your metabolism, thus the low thyroid function. If you stimulate your metabolism by treating the thyroid, it puts extra stress on the adrenals, further weakening them. This is what alternative practitioners recognize as marginal or partial adrenal insufficiency (a type of chronic fatigue). (You'll find this info in a search on "adrenal insufficiency".) Conventional docs don't even acknowledge the problem until it's severe (Addison's Disease). Alternative docs believe/suggest that subclinical adrenal insufficiency can possibly be reversed with careful treatment. The results I've gotten with adrenal treatment suggest my case is one of the severe ones (like Jean-Claude). (My doc, knowing I'm uninsured, spared me the expense of testing for the more cost-effective medication trial.) I spent the latter half of my thirties struggling with chronic fatigue and immune deficiency. At forty-one, I feel MUCH better than I did at thirty-seven, (back out there hiking, tree-climbing, foraging and rescuing my little business that suffered in my long, partial absence) but I still have lots of healing to do yet. An interesting point to make in regards to low-carbing: Cortisol, which is one of the things that is low when your adrenals are weak, stimulates your body to use fat and protein as energy. If you don't have enough, and you're not eating carbs, you tire quite easily (unless, of course, you take it in prescription form, which ain't good for you in higher doses, nor even in lower doses over the long haul). Ironically, increasing carbs may give you more energy, but causes an increase in insulin, which also calls for cortisol to regulate the insulin/blood sugar thingy, creating further demand on the adrenals. So if your adrenals are really really konked, you lose either way. Bummer. So, my personal moral is: Don't wait around while the docs do routine tests and tell you to avoid stress. If you're dizzy and have low BPs, get 'em to really check you out--thyroid, adrenals, everything! The sooner you can avoid a screwed-up endocrine system and immune dysfunction (paleo diet will certainly help this), the better off you are. Clelia, do you have any other symptoms? Maybe salt alone will help you... Best wishes, Lois (Speaking of endocrine misfits...Jean-Claude, are you out there? I started on florinef and it's made quite a difference--I've been able to reduce the hydrocort a little bit...yay! Doesn't take much to make me smile:-) Let me know how you're doing once in a while. And stay well.