Not sure what to think about cortisol anymore

For many years I’ve been certain part of my fatigue from pfs was adrenal fatigue. I even thought I confirmed this in June 2018 (first pic). I retested my levels again in November of last year and just got the results. It looks like this time everything is fine except high cortisol at night? I don’t know what to make of this. The tests were done by separate labs and some say saliva isn’t even reliable for testing cortisol while others claim it’s necessary to get the full picture.

Sorry the pictures were added out of order. The first picture is from November 2019 while the second is from June 2018

I am really suspicious of saliva testing, but ok. A better way is to get blood drawn at 8am, fasting, for two things: ACTH and cortisol.

Saliva testing appeals to people who don’t have a doctor since most saliva tests are done by companies all over the internet that want to make money because they rarely accept insurance.

Your graph says that you are taking clonazepam. That is an anti-anxiety medicine so it perhaps it could be making your cortisol levels lower somehow.

Because PFS is not directly related to adrenal fatigue.

Dihydroxytestosterone is what gives you energy and dopamine. With PFS your body cannot use DHT. That would explain your fatigue and sleepiness.

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Safely would probably be meditation, yoga, deep breathing etc. I’m taking a supplement that’s a mix of a bunch of adaptogens that I feel is helping but from what I’ve read on here people say some of them are 5ar inhibitors

I think that’s the problem one @zzz123.

there is the ingredients. It’s not a cure but my anxiety has been a lot lower and I’m not as prone to heart palpitations from stress

After living , fighting , learning symptoms , learning about other diseases , experimenting with supplements medications, listening and feeling how body reacts to them, for me it feels like permanent damage was done to the bodily system that regulates cortisol when i took finasteride and whatever I do doesnt work.

Hmm, lowering cortisol is not super easy—I think doing things to relax the mind and body help with that.

There might be some suggestions on the internet about trying a drug or supplement, but with those things, other problems can pop up.

If you do a big search on Google Scholar and PubMed, let us know.

I also have the suspicion that my cortisol level might be always to high. Since two weeks now, i am supplementing ashwagandha (high dosed: about 600-1500mg/day). I also have experience with fasting. I did it a year ago (juice fasting for a few days) and a few weeks ago too (green-smoothie fast for 2 and a half days).
If i am looking at the threads of CDnuts for example, i am very convinced that fasting might be THE natural solution do bring our body in a hormonal balance again.
But one has to have the physical ressources to do such a fast. I am now trying to get some muscles to bring myself in a condition to try another fast that i can hopefully do for a full week.
If it helps our hormone-system, it doesnt matter that much, if the cortisol is (one of) the main reason(s) or not.

My only concern would be that fasting would stress cortisol more because starving yourself would send your body into a stress state, no?

So I’ve noticed something from this supplement. I took it for a month And was feeling good energy wise but having bad anxiety and depression. I tried stopping for a day and worked out and I feel like I crashed again. So tired all day could barely function. I felt so cold at work like I was freezing and body temp was low. Got home and took two pills and can feel heat coursing through my body and my body temp is now back at 98.6. Not sure what ingredient is raising my body temperature back to normal if anyone cares to guess. Or maybe it’s the supplement raising my cortisol?

Another mini update. Hours later and my body still feels hot and I got an erection while laying on the couch with my gf and initiated sex for the first time in a long time. Had a good sized erection and decent libido with inflated glans and a little feeling but overall still not very pleasurable and orgasm felt not good (almost like getting a cramp in perineum). Not sure if it’s the adrenal supplement or the butyrate I’ve been taking before bed causing this somewhat improvement.