How was the fatigue influenced by the testosterone optimization?
I know adrenal fatigue is a very broad term and set of symptoms, but still there are two school of thoughts about such a case: either the testosterone optimization will normalize the cortisol secretion or it will make things worse at least initially
Adrenal Fatigue is hard to define. But I believe I began TRT in the fatigued adrenal state. TRT made it worse at first. It was like revving an engine that wasnāt in gear. I also had pretty low SHBG(15). What eventually worked for me was going on the lowest possible T dose. I used a combination of Test Prop(70mg/week split daily)) and Topical(50mg/ml/day). Topical Iāve found keeps DHT up and enhances well being. Also 80iu HCG every 2 days. In addition, dialing in nutrition and supplementing with the following: Zinc/Copper/Magnesium/Calcium each night. Iodine/Selenium each morning. I go the extra mile and do GAC shots(Glutamine/Arginine/ Carnitine). The most important element of the GAC shot is that the Carnitine unregulated the androgen receptor allowing for lower test doses and better sensitivity. That protocol has had me in a really good sweet spot for 2 years. Itās a bit onerous with the frequency. But thatās the only way it worked for me.
My testosterone is not that much low - in the 500s, but the free T is in the tanks - around 9ng/dl calculated. I have most of the low t symptoms, but I see some of they overlap with adrenal fatigue and I have others adrenal fatigue symptoms like feeling irritated all the time, feeling stressed for no reason and being unable to take adequate dose of a thyroid medication.
I started T3 due to thyroid issues and seems on more than 6.25mcg I get hyper symptoms. This is described as a classic adrenal fatigue symptom.
I will make saliva cortisol test and will test again DHEA. My DHEA is above mid range, but not like on the top.
I have one saliva cortisol test that is not optimal as well - morning cortisol too high, afternoon too low, and evening a bit higher than optimal as well. But this was from last summer.
I was planning to begin TRT very soon, but after I started the thyroid treatment and it points to these adrenal issues Im wondering what is my correct next move.
One school of thought say TRT may improve that but another say it can make it worse at least initially. And for me going on low dose testosterone will not work well because I need to raise it from my current average levels to have any benefit
That sounds interesting but a bit dangerous to me
Upregulated not āunregulatedā. Either way, I forgot one thing with my regiment. I do 5-10mg sublingual DHEA and Pregnenolone. Iām able to keep my test levels around 1000ng/dL on that low dose using a combo of propionate ester and Topical. Iāve never taken thyroid meds. Using Iodine at 500mcg/ day with selenium 200mcg/day seems to help there
Good perspective bro, thanks for being the only one to answer 
No problem. Youāre welcome. Do you have high SHBG? Given your good Total T?
Around 45 but it may have increased since I started metformin and I have not tested it, waiting for results now
What are the symptoms of adrenal fatigue?
Have you done a 4 point cortisol saliva test to know for sure you have adrenal fatigue or are you only basing that from your symptoms?
Have you tested your thyroids?
It is very common that people with hypothyroidism gets adrenal fatigue and in that case, TRT will not make it better but actually make it worse.
@kratom_dumper I base it on symptoms for now and I will make the 4 point saliva test in friday.
Last year I made it and my morning cortisol was too high, the afternoon too low and the evening a little bit higher than the optimal values and higher than the afternoon.
I found a wider list of symptoms in the stop thyroid madness book and I strongly have most of them. Some of the most crazy conditions I have like hypersensitivity to supplements or feeling better after 6pm, or feeling stressed and irritated with no apparent reason often are listed there.
Also the intolerance to t3 medications and the elevated reverse t3 are listed.
The question now is how it is treated I have not read further yet. The issue is some people have either too low of too high cortisol but mine seems to be low sometimes and high other times.
So TRT is not advisable in such a condition?
I see now that you are using T3 for your hypothyroidism and that it is not working.
What was your thyroid values before you started with T3?
What are your iron and ferritin levels (could also be why you canāt handle T3)?
As for the adrenal fatigue, I am not 100% if this would work as well for you since you didnāt have the classic low morning cortisol, but I started using hydrocortisone before I started my thyroid medication in order to make sure that I have consistent and the right amount of cortisol in my body so that I could fix my hypothyroidism and have no problem with T3 and T4 (which I so far have had no problem with).
I have also used the CT3M in order to kickstart my adrenals but a person should only do that if they know they have low cortisol in the morning and only in the morning.
I believe starting with TRT is only a problem if someone starts with it without knowing or doing anything if they have adrenal fatigue (and hypothyroidism) which is exactly what I did. But I believe that if you start with TRT while also fixing your adrenal fatigue and hypothyroidism than that shouldnāt be a problem.
IMy FT3 was 2.79 before I started T3 and 2.7 after I started 
But I take only 6mcg cannot tolerate more
Yes my cortisol is not classic low it has even been too high in the morning but Im taking ashwagandha evening time due to that
My iron was 18 mmol/l the range is 7-27, but ferritin have not measured. Seems I need to do that as well.
More interrsting symptoms of adrenal fatigue listed in the book that I have included difficulty getting to sleep, waking up nighttime and peeing to often - I get up to pee like 2 times per night sometimes 3 and I have no prostate issues at least from the standard tests(im too young for that anyway)
I started TRT with super high cortisol and it sucked for a while but eventually went away on its own. I also had horrible thyroid symptoms that have some mostly gone away. Took about 6 months. Ashwagandha helped.
Make sure that before you take the test that you stop taking the ashwagandha and every other medicine/supplement that could affect your cortisol test in order to get a correct result of your adrenals.
I dont think my issue is with high cortisol but its distribution during the day. And it sucked how I failed the t3 treatment now, a bit discouragingā¦
@vonko1988
If this shit was easy everybody would be feeling great.
Yes, some things in life are shit, especially to optimize yourself if you are a complex case. Usually when one system is crap others are crap as well
@vonko1988
Sometimes we make things more complex than they are. Technically until you are optimized you donāt know how complex it is. Regardless, keeping your yourself in the right state of mind during the hard parts will help you get there and is part of the battle. Be careful you arenāt putting yourself in a place that keeps you from reaching the outcome you desire. Once you get there, how hard it was really doesnāt matter. Trial and error my man. On to the next. Each step gets you closer.
As an inventor, Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb. When a reporter asked, āHow did it feel to fail 1,000 times?ā Edison replied, āI didnāt fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps.ā
Yes I guess but once I start TRT and give it enough time to work if things go messy it will be hard first because I will wonder whether I need to give it more time, what is wrong, whether I needed to do this and etc.
Regarding this adrenal stuff I read it can make things ugly regarding hormone optimization and I already experienced it with thyroid also some experiences of patients and doctors say TRT can worsen it