TRT and Low Cortisol

I have been on TRT for a year and have used every method of application . I just found out my cortisol levels were extremely low .

8mg/dL morning cortisol levels . I have done this test 4 times

Can anyone recommend me any medication or supplement to increase cortisol .

I had abused Aromatse inhibitors and adderall in the past .

THANKYOU anyone who answers :pray:

I’ve had adrenals issues as well and ksm-66 ashwagandha helped me a lot. You’ll need to research and see if it’ll do you any good. Also, look into getting a Dutch Test for adrenals. Blood is not a great way to test and while a 24 HR saliva test is better it’s still not great.

My brother read this again please . I want something to increase cortisol and not further lower it .

KSM - 66 Ashwagandha has been clinically proven to:

Help reduce stress, anxiety, cortisol levels and stress-related food cravings* Help promote enhanced memory and cognitive function* Help promote endurance, strength, muscle size and muscle recovery rate*

Yep that’s why I said research to see if it’ll help you. Now you’ve researched and found your answer. Did you research the Dutch Test? If you truly have a cortisol problems then it’s a good investment.

CJC/GHRP6/GHRP2 (these need to be combined for best result) will increase cortisol. Higher dose HCG might do it too.

If you don’t take HCG while on TRT your adrenals will eventually shut down.

Hope this helps.

What do you mean if you don’t take HCG your adrenals will shut down? If your adrenals shut down you die. If I’m not mistaken, most people on TRT are not also on HCG.

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I was about to ask the same thing…

@rwr410 @pita13 You can check out this thread here if you want to learn more about the role of LH in adrenal function:

I think he meant that many processes in the organism will shut down. This is what dr John Crisler also believed in.
Other doctors dont share this opinion so its hard to tell who is right and wrong and you need to check for yourself

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Sounds like one of Yeti’s friends :slight_smile: Just playing word games, they knew what I meant by shut down, I meant suppression.

Yes I am aware that if your adrenals completely shut down then you would die.

T has a big impact on the adrenals, even more most likely for people that have a testosterone deficiency, as the adrenals will increase production in an attempt to make up for the testosterone dysfunction. This leads to fatigue, the proper term would be “adrenal insufficiency”, or as I like to call it, shut down.

When someone attempts to correct a particular hormonal imbalance without examining and fixing the others, treatments will fail to be successful. In order to attain not just great physical health but also mental, individuals need to address all neurotransmitter and hormone systems involved in reproduction, adrenal, thyroid and pancreatic function. Male adrenal insufficiency and stress go hand in hand. The adrenal glands, which are two triangle-shaped glands found above the kidneys, are responsible for regulating a man’s reaction to stress. The chief adrenal hormone used to manage stress is cortisol. The adrenal glands emit cortisol in response to stress, low blood sugar, excitement, and during exercise. Your adrenals respond under moments of stress by producing the necessary hormones to stimulate the body’s resources that help the brain respond to whatever stressful situation you have encountered. This could be something as large as having to remember something terrible in your childhood to merely lifting a pen off the desk. This may also be referred to as anything that breaks homeostasis. When the adrenals are subjected to constant stress signals they eventually become unable to respond with adequate amounts of hormones to address the brains request for stress control. If the adrenals are fatigued there is no on-demand energy generation. This can get worse over time and is attributed to many things including a lack of exercise, diet, stimulants, energy drinks, stressful environment and hormonal imbalances.

Testosterone plays a large role in adrenal function by limiting its production so that it does not get fatigued from working too hard. The male sex hormone does this in 2 ways: Reduction of ACTH (inflammation) at the pituitary and it also directly reduces adrenal activity. Now you can see why it is so important to carefully examine and rectify these issues when correcting other hormonal imbalances, if there is an issue elsewhere the attempted testosterone optimization program may not generate the vitality we are all seeking.

Thyroid hormones are closely related to adrenal insufficiency and it is extremely important to rule out fatigue before looking into thyroid treatment due to a deficiency. The adrenals may be burnt out from trying to make up for the lack of thyroid hormones, through stress hormone production. Starting a thyroid medication program before ruling out fatigue can have serious negative health consequences.

I wasn’t playing word games - I wanted to clarify what you meant. Prednisone, essentially being adrenalin, makes the adrenals shut down. You taper off slowly so they can wake up again.

IOW, the adrenals “shutting down” is an actual thing that happens to people. It was a valid question.

Yes, like when they take exogenous testosterone. In your OP it seems as if you are implying it does not?

Prednisone, like exogenous testosterone is suppressive, it shuts you down, not just adrenals, it shuts down the HPTA. It is not the prednisone or the exogenous T that shuts down the adrenals directly, it is because they shut down HPTA function and the reduction in LH is what decreases adrenal activity.

These are all connected in a message relay system. So when I hear people say “I don’t need HCG” I kind of chuckle a bit at the ignorance.

@reenameen1
Have you found a way to increase your cortisol whether by hydrocortisone or adrenal cortex?

Can you update us?