Low blood pressure is a big giveaway to adrenal fatigue.
I’d recommend reading as much as you can about it. Forums are great resources.
Hydrocortisone and Isocort are common medications to treat.
A 4 point saliva cortisol check is a good measure for adrenal fatigue.
Some resources.
[quote]MsM wrote:
You guys are awesome and I am so elated that you’ve taken the time to help. I sincerly am thankful.
Tribulus? What exactly is upregulation and read tolerance? I have looked up both and I have a very basic understanding of upregulation…by read tolerance, do you mean my PH level?
Thank you and excuse my layman understanding.
I did cut back to 180mg today and my body is not liking it very much.[/quote]
Upregulation is what leads to tolerance, meaning diminishing effect with the need for higher dosages.
[quote]MsM wrote:
Does anybody have any idea how long it takes/would take to clear the body of a stimulant if it was used excessively for prolonged periods of time? Or, any idea what kind of tests could be run to determine any problems without becoming another ephedra statistic. I really don’t think the problem is with ephedra itself but the misuse of it, like I’ve obviously done.[/quote]
Given that you’ve been on it for so long, it’s hard to give an exact time frame. It will probably be gone in several days, but the body adjusting to not having it will take longer. Weeks, maybe a month, I’m not sure as this is an individual thing. You will experience some discomfort as your body gets used to not having the amount it has been getting. But given the fact that your symptoms haven’t hospitalized you, you should recover without extreme trouble.
[quote]Dopamineloveaffair wrote:
Low blood pressure is a big giveaway to adrenal fatigue.
I’d recommend reading as much as you can about it. Forums are great resources.
Hydrocortisone and Isocort are common medications to treat.
A 4 point saliva cortisol check is a good measure for adrenal fatigue.
Some resources.
[/quote]
Thanks for those links Dopamineloveaffair. They actually made a lot of sense (my father actually has no pituitary gland so the electrolytes and sodium/potasium things I am familiar with).
Those were some great tests in there to determine what direction to look in as well. Lots of good reading there.
[quote]Tiribulus wrote:
Upregulation is what leads to tolerance, meaning diminishing effect with the need for higher dosages.[/quote]
Thank you for clearing that up. Now that makes sense. Sorry for seeming so uneducated but all I was finding were medical journal type articles and most of them were a little over my head.
[quote]BigRagoo wrote:
Given that you’ve been on it for so long, it’s hard to give an exact time frame. It will probably be gone in several days, but the body adjusting to not having it will take longer. Weeks, maybe a month, I’m not sure as this is an individual thing. You will experience some discomfort as your body gets used to not having the amount it has been getting. But given the fact that your symptoms haven’t hospitalized you, you should recover without extreme trouble. [/quote]
Yesterday was pretty uncomfortable and I’m feeling the same way today but I’m going to gradually lower mg’s over the next week and go from there.
Thank goodness I haven’t been hospitalized as a result but things were not looking very good and I don’t think that was far off. Nobody really knows, except here, of my use but everyone has noticed drastic physical and behavior changes and commented on them.
Just looking forward to getting back to normal again and I know it’ll take a little while to get levels to where they should be.
Thank you for being so helpful and non-judgemental. You all have really been supportive and helped me get myself in the right direction.
[quote]bushidobadboy wrote:
To my eyes (and from my own experience), once the adrenals become fatigued, cortisol output starts to increase to compensate and try to do the jobs normally done by adrenaline.
Unfortunately, cortisol causes water retention, central obesity and muscle wasting.
Bushy[/quote]
Some of these symptoms are making a lot of sense to me now Bushy. What did you do to get your adrenals back to what they should be? Roughly how long was it before you were able to get levels back to normal again?
Thank you so much for pointing those symptoms out. I think I would’ve overlooked them otherwise.
[quote]obmas wrote:
Im just curious as to why you took such a large dosage in the first place.[/quote]
Why does anyone do anything excessively? The ECA stack is a fantastic stack and I know that it works. Obviously your body can build up a tolerance and require more, the same as anything else. I obviously abused it. Not a very exciting answer but an honest one.
[quote]bushidobadboy wrote:
Well I took a full week off any stims including caffine.
The first two days were hard, with a lot of lethargy, but I soon perked up.
Unfortunately, I need to take stims to make it through a full day of lectures, however modafinil seems to offer the most benefits with the least sides, in terms of adrenal wear/cortisol production.
Bushy[/quote]
You should have picked the Degree with better looking women in.
I have in the past used ECA, with a gallon of coffee to boot - now all I take is a green tea pre workout.
My whole mind-set regarding supplements (stimulants) changed a lot - you don’t need to set world records all the time and as simple as that sounds it takes time to sink into some people (me).
Take it slow with the withdrawl imo. It took a while to get up to your current dose, so take a while to get back off it. JMO.
[quote]MsM wrote:
Thank you for being so helpful and non-judgemental. You all have really been supportive and helped me get myself in the right direction.[/quote]
No problem. Substance abuse knows no boundaries and it’s effects are vast, and anyone asking for help dealing with it should be heard and given guidance.
[quote]bushidobadboy wrote:
Well I took a full week off any stims including caffine.
The first two days were hard, with a lot of lethargy, but I soon perked up.
Unfortunately, I need to take stims to make it through a full day of lectures, however modafinil seems to offer the most benefits with the least sides, in terms of adrenal wear/cortisol production.
Bushy[/quote]
I believe that. Just cutting back the past two days, the lethargic feelings are very predominant. I suppose I’m getting a bit of conflicting reaction right now. My energy levels are very low but I’m unconsciously very fidgety and restless.
I understand the getting through the long days part. Insurance isn’t that much more exciting, trust me. I have to admit that I’m one of those people that has always liked lectures though.
One more question Bushy and then I promise I’ll leave you alone…did you stop using them at once or did you give yourself a time frame to gradually decrease amount? I imagine most people would be able to just stop but then again, they’re also probably using the amount they’re supposed to.
[quote]bushidobadboy wrote:
supermick wrote:
You should have picked the Degree with better looking women in.
You’re not kidding. However I am mostly glad for the munters in my class. It allows me to focus on the lecturer, not entertain fantasies of banging hot student chicks.
Bushy[/quote]
lol Thank you For adding some levity. That really did make me laugh.
I should’ve known that where there is supermick, the subject of good looking girls would soon follow.
[quote]BigRagoo wrote:
MsM wrote:
Thank you for being so helpful and non-judgemental. You all have really been supportive and helped me get myself in the right direction.
No problem. Substance abuse knows no boundaries and it’s effects are vast, and anyone asking for help dealing with it should be heard and given guidance. [/quote]
It sure doesn’t. Just greatful for the people here that are willing to answer some questions for someone in need. I hope that someday I’m able to make a difference for somebody here too.
Good thing I’m not in LA though…when my appetite comes back…there wouldn’t be a crawfish around that was safe!
[quote]MsM wrote:
BigRagoo wrote:
MsM wrote:
Thank you for being so helpful and non-judgemental. You all have really been supportive and helped me get myself in the right direction.
No problem. Substance abuse knows no boundaries and it’s effects are vast, and anyone asking for help dealing with it should be heard and given guidance.
It sure doesn’t. Just greatful for the people here that are willing to answer some questions for someone in need. I hope that someday I’m able to make a difference for somebody here too.
Good thing I’m not in LA though…when my appetite comes back…there wouldn’t be a crawfish around that was safe![/quote]
Well I’m glad I could be of some help. I have had a few friends get WAY over their heads in much worse and it shatters not only their lives, but also those in their lives.
Oh, crawfish season won’t open until about Feb, so you’d have plenty of time to get your appetite adjusted. Not that crawfish are unhealthy, but the all the cold beer that goes with the hot bugs isn’t very physique friendly 
[quote]MsM wrote:
bushidobadboy wrote:
supermick wrote:
You should have picked the Degree with better looking women in.
You’re not kidding. However I am mostly glad for the munters in my class. It allows me to focus on the lecturer, not entertain fantasies of banging hot student chicks.
Bushy
lol Thank you For adding some levity. That really did make me laugh.
I should’ve known that where there is supermick, the subject of good looking girls would soon follow.
[/quote]
I half heartedly object here.
You sound to me like someone who understands what addiction is and knows that she is addicted to a substance.
You are maybe learning to admit it to yourself by posting here?
That is good, but now just do something about it. You have already stated that you know you take more than you should more frequently than you should and that you can identify the side effects just fine.
You know you have an addiction that is hurting you. Take the next step and get help.
[quote]BigRagoo wrote:
Well I’m glad I could be of some help. I have had a few friends get WAY over their heads in much worse and it shatters not only their lives, but also those in their lives.
Oh, crawfish season won’t open until about Feb, so you’d have plenty of time to get your appetite adjusted. Not that crawfish are unhealthy, but the all the cold beer that goes with the hot bugs isn’t very physique friendly :)[/quote]
That’s so true. Sorry to hear about your friends. I also have known people that went that route as well. It definitely does have an impact on others around. It’s very painful to see someone that needs help and can’t or won’t accept it.
Beer and hot bugs somehow does not sound so appealing anymore.