Dear Subscriber,
So sorry for a paucity of posts recently. I had planned to write and tell you about the maginificent international meeting we attended on ozone last weekend in Santa Barbara. But, just two days after we returned, Terri got ill with fever and tracheal cough. She ended up with an ozone 10 pass and quickly recovered. Two days after she fell ill, I crashed. Temperature to about 103, deep cough, and extreme fatigue. I remember when I got my first round of COVID the symptoms were similar but not really as bad as this. This infection leveled me for a few days. Simply no energy. I got my 10 pass on Thursday, sporting a temp of 102.5 and by Friday morning the temp had broken. But I continued with the malaise, cough, and extreme fatigue.
Still with no energy even until today (Sunday) Terri got a really bright idea. She said maybe the illness drained your adrenal reserve and. you need a tiny boost.
Your adrenals make cortisol, the main stress hormone of your body, and without cortisol, your thyroid doesn’t work that well either. So, after languishing the day and napping (which I don’t ordinarily do) I popped a cortisol tab – just 5 mg. No, that’s not steroid therapy. It’s more akin to hormone replacement therapy.
Well, it worked and quickly. I managed to steam some vegetables for dinner and remained alert to finish watching a fabulous short Netflix series – All The Light We Cannot See. A very moving, heart filled, and moving tale of a young blind French girl and a young German soldier (ruthlessly forced into war), who were inexorably linked by both hearing certain deep meaning shortwave broadcasts years before.
Well in any event, it is six hours later and I have not dropped off into bed. Moral of the story is that an illness can sap your energy and you might not have all the adrenal reserve to instantly jump to the task. I was ill for 2 days with high fever, and have struggled with a deep productive cough since. (COVID test negative).
This practice is well known in medicine where doctors will often give adrenal steroids to a really ill person who might otherwise languish in a relative state of hypoadrenalism. 5 mg is a tiny dose – about 1/10th that which my body would be expected to make in a day. Cortisol is the “stress hormone” maintaining blood sugar blood pressure, modulating the immune system and necessary to fight infection. It has gotten a bad rap due to abuse – very powerful synthetic analogues are given by doctors rather than the native/natural hormone made by your body. Yet use of low levels of cortisol can be a quality of life saver for many with borderline adrenals. This has been written about in the book Safe Uses of Cortisol by Jeffries. This is a terrific book to explain that natural steroid replacement therapy is not the beast you were trained to believe.
If it has taken you a long time to recover from COVID or another illness, you might ask your integrative practitioner about low dose cortisol. Extremely safe, and if it works, then you can be fairly certain your adrenals have been taxed. In fact, cortisol was highly recommended by many doctors for acute COVID, knowing the need for adrenal support.
There are a lot of supplements that can support the adrenals, such as pantethine (active vitamin B5), phosphatidyl serine, glandulars, ashwagandha vitamin C, and combinations. But nothing will work as quickly and surefire as getting a replacement dose of the hormone you are short in, and giving the glands a temporary and small reprieve from the stress.
To Your Excellent Health!
Robert Jay Rowen, MD
PS I may have an in depth report on safe uses of cortisol in a future Premium section post.
Doctors have the advantage of procuring remedies, but for the average person, it's doubtful that they could get any cortisol, even a trip to your family doctor won't do it as they'd scoff at the idea.
Absolutely fascinating. So my adrenals are overtaxed when I run on all four flat tires?
I shall stick pile a few tabs
Love your articles. My ozone doctor retired so you fill his shoes