Glucose And Adrenals

[angelina2975]

I had follow bloodwork two weeks ago for thyroid, hormones and a smac (I think thats what it was called). The good thing is that after being treated with Armour, my triglycerides went from 180 down to 48 !!! The thing that has me concerned is that my fasting glucose level was 99 (which is the high end of the range, the range actually goes to 99). Is this normal for someone with an adrenal condition???

[Ursa Major]

Angelina, a high fasting glucose is never normal, and is a good reason for concern. I suggest you eliminate pretty much all starches and sugar for a while (eating mostly meat, vegetables and fruit) to control that. Because, really, you're on the brink of being diabetic, and you don't want to go there.

[angelina2975]

Thanks Ursula. I go back to my doc on the 3rd of Nov. This bloodwork came in after my first appt. with her, it was from two weeks prior prescribed by my other doc who was retiring, so I didn't have a professional check it out yet.

[georgie]

Mine has come down too since starting Armour! Just got the blood test this week ! Are you on HC ? That can raise glucose levels for a short time. Eat healthy and eliminate sugar and reduce carbs. Even fruit may have too much sugar for you at the moment.

The good thing is that after being treated with Armour, my triglycerides went from 180 down to 48 biggrin.gif !!! The thing that has me concerned is that my fasting glucose level was 99

[trents]

I certainly would not worry about a fasting glucose level of 99. Normal is normal. A physician would not be concerned with that number at all. Depending on lab standards, normal may even go as high as 112. I don't know that there is any connection between adrenal function and blood sugar levels. The adrenal gland has to do with cortisol levels, metabolism, that sort of thing.

Steve

[DelphicDragon]

Sorry Steve, I would have to disagree. If you have low cortisol and/or low aldosterone (glucocorticiods and mineralcorticoids) it can lead to hypoglycemia. (Not sure if it works the other way around) What's happening is your body breaks down the sugars too fast because there is no control mechanism, which the cortisol and aldosterone (as well as other hormones) would provide.

Sara

[angelina2975]

Thanks for the responses. One question was to carbs in my diet, I am definitely on lower carb, with my carbs from the occasional whole grain bread (which is a pain to get in wheat free, so I usually don't); oatmeal a few times/week, sometimes brown rice. As far as fruit I try to stick to either apples or pears, nothing to high in sugar. But I definitely think this whole adrenal thing (or the hormonal imbalance caused from the adrenal fatigue) has compromised my ability to breakdown carbs. I've been on armour since june and my doc keeps asking about weight loss, but there hasn't been any (maybe a few lbs down but then it goes right back) even though I am following a considerably healthy diet of no processed foods, lean meats (my new doc just "prescribed" red meat 2x's/week last week, healthy fats ~ usually flax or extra virgin olive oil) and veggies. Do you all think I should go lower carb (then what I am doing)? has anyone had greater success that way? Everything I've read on adrenal issues says to have a balanced diet and include no sugar, but complex carbs; I'm a bit confused because if it seems that my body can't even handle complex carbs, wouldn't that be stressing my body if I did have them, and I thought the whole point of adrenal recovery is to avoid stressors such as things we're allergice to, etc.

[Ursa Major]

Vegetables contain all the complex carbs anybody needs, nobody needs grains at all to be healthy. So, cutting out your remaining grains and starches and making sure you eat lots of vegetables will give you plenty of healthy carbs.

And try to eat several smalls meals a day, instead of three large meals, to keep your blood sugar level steady. That is also very important for healing your adrenals.

[CarlaB]

My doc says no more than two servings of starchy carbs per day. No more than 1 serving of fruit. Each meal or snack must include a protein. Basically, lots of protein and veggies. Preferably 3 different veggies at both lunch and dinner.

Are you gluten intolerant? If so, are you eating gluten-free oatmeal?