How PTSD and High Cortisol Affect Us – Part 4

Update on Cortisol treatment with Seriphos

In January of 2010, I called Dr. Maya Brownsberger and asked if I could take a second saliva test (Diagnos-Tech) to see where my cortisol levels were at from the first test I’d taken back on September 7, 2009.

Dr. Brownsberger is part of a branch of medicine known as “functional medicine.” If you go to their website: http://www.functionalmedicine.org/findfmphysician/index.asp, you can learn more about how functional medicine works and also locate a functional medicine specialist near you.

I received the second set of test results on January 28, 2010, and I want to share them with you. Also, to compare my original test results with my new ones, I’m putting both sets of results up for you.

Maya told me that the second test showed wonderful improvement from before. Keep in mind, I had been on the adaptogen, Seriphos, for two months at the time of my second saliva test. Here is the first test:

You can see that that 3 out of the 4 test points are outside the normal cortisol levels. Maya prescribed Seriphos to be taken at the times of day when my cortisol levels were the highest. I took Seriphos for two months straight and then stopped taking it. Here is the second set of results:

The first box contains the values and then below it is the lab box. Compare them to the first set of results in 2009. Quite a change, but look for yourself and make that determination.

It took about two weeks of me being off of it to see the results. I felt completely calm with no anxiety, no sense of danger or threat throughout the day. I was handling all kinds of situations well that used to spike me into the “danger/anger” that I’d felt all my life. But not now. The only thing I felt hadn’t been addressed was my sleep—I was back to restless sleep and waking up feeling sleep deprived.

When I got the second lab test results back, I was wowed, to say the least. My 8 a.m. peak was brought down from an 8 depressed to a 5 depressed.

My 11:00 a.m. peak was 18 and elevated. In the second test, it was 4 depressed. This one was the greatest change of all and I could certainly feel the difference between them—like night and day. Whereas before I was tense and anxious, I was now mellow and calm.

My 4 pm in the first test was 4 normal. Now, in the second test it was 11 elevated. This one went from normal to high.

The 10 p.m. on the first test was 7 elevated. In the second test it was 2 normal.

In the first test my “cortisol burden” (the measurement of overall cortisol exposure—where high values favor a catabolic state, and low values are sign of adrenal deterioration) was 37. The “normal” range should be between 23-42.

After taking Seriphos, my cortisol burden was now 22 (with the reference values of 23-42). So, the Seriphos has created a remarkable change in the cortisol output by my adrenal glands.

Maya emailed me and told me to go back on the Seriphos and take one capsule at 3 pm and the another at bedtime. Within two days, I could feel the difference in my sleep patterns. I was sleeping restfully, waking up less, and waking up refreshed.

She also put me on an adrenal supplement, ADHS by Biotics Research Corporation, to be taken with my noon meal and at dinnertime.

I was also on Bio-Glycozyme Forte by Biotics Research Corporation three times a day. This particular product is there to help lower blood sugar levels.

In addition, I was put on a hydrochloric acid supplement called Hydro-zyme, to be taken during each main meal of the day. She recommended this supplement because as we get older, our stomach acid isn’t what it used to be. The results of weakened stomach acid are heartburn, esophageal ulcers, acute gastritis, and even full-blown stomach ulcers. Since taking them, my swelling has reduced considerably and I can now really feel the difference if I forget to take them. I no longer have bouts of heartburn as long as I remember to take the capsules.

Other good things also happened along the way. The amount of thyroid medicine I was taking before the Seriphos has been significantly reduced. Maya said that once the adrenals get back into balance, the other endocrine glands can also start functioning normally as well.

My fasting insulin was >50 (Normal is 3-12 mlU/L) and I had high insulin levels on the first test.

For the second test my fasting insulin was >40 and had dropped! This is very good news indeed, because the adrenals play an important role in processing carbohydrates in the body.

Two other endocrine glands besides my adrenals also showed positive progress as a result of my decreased cortisol levels.

The bottom line is that since taking Seriphos I feel like a new person. Within three days, I began to note a huge difference in myself. At first, I couldn’t believe it. I finally felt normal for the first time that I could remember in 63 years of living! I felt calm and centered inside. I didn’t realize how anxious I was until it was completely gone. I marveled at how quiet and balanced I felt. Even more astounding and heart rending was that I felt like my true self for the first time in my life.

I found in the first month that I had relief from anxiety I’d had all my life. I felt intense peace, calmness, extra patience, and no irritability. My fear was gone. I could think of things that would make me fearful, and I had no emotional reaction to them. It was simply amazing and life-changing for me. I also found within the first month, that I could feel happiness and joy. The only feelings I used to feel were fear, anger, and threat.

I also felt an incredible detachment from everything that I used to fear or have anxiety about. Now, my mind can clearly see what is going on without the “haze” of the cortisol kicked up emotions to cloud my perspective. I haven’t felt one bit of fear, irritability, or anger since being on the Seriphos.

I have been living in a wonderfully centered, grounded, peaceful, and quiet inner radiance that simply did not exist for me until now.

This is what one hormone can do to a person’s entire emotional system. It’s tragic. And yet, it shows everyone how much our emotions can be skewed and distorted by that high level of cortisol. I used to have what I termed a mental gray attitude toward life. Before Seriphos, I would see nothing but problems and possible outcomes and then never feel hope that something different could occur. My emotions were so on guard, waiting for something bad to happen that hope had been erased from my life. I no longer look at a problematic situation and try to figure out all the ways bad things might occur. Now, I just shrug and understand I don’t have to waste precious energy and time on such things. I have hope that things will turn out just as they are meant to be without my mental meddling.

My memory has also improved. It used to be awful. Words I needed remained in a fog—which is awful for a writer. Cortisol will steal your memory. Now, it’s coming back.

FINDING A FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE PHYSICIAN

There are two places to go. First is the FM web page. You can find an FM specialist nearest you at: http://www.functionalmedicine.org/findfmphysician/index.asp

Secondly, Diagnos-Techs. Inc., the creator of saliva tests for hormones, has a directory at https://www.diagnostechs.com/patients/locate-a-provider/

These providers utilize the all-important ASI, Adrenal Stress Index saliva test by Diagnos-Techs, Inc. See more below about this test.

SALIVA TEST FOR HIGH CORTISOL 

Since 1987, saliva has been found to be a good indicator of a number of our hormone functions. Diagnos-Techs, Inc., led the way in this discovery. If you’d like to know more about how our saliva can be utilized, go to https://www.diagnostechs.com/2015/08/03/your-questions-about-saliva-hormone-testing-answered/

Here is additional information on the ASI (adrenal stress index) saliva test https://www.diagnostechs.com/our-tests/adrenal-stress-index-asi/

 

SERIPHOS 

Dr. Brownsberger likes Seriphos, which is manufactured by InterPlexus. In order to reduce high cortisol, Seriphos acts as an ACTH-dampening Phosphorylated serine supplement. The supplement basically plugs in the cortisol receptors and doesn’t allow them to fire off and keep the cortisol high in the bloodstream.

Seriphos should only be administered by your health care provider after you’ve gotten the saliva ASI test because you take the supplement based on the times of days when your cortisol levels are outside the healthy range. This should never be guessed at or assumed by you. If you use it at the wrong times, you’re actually messing up the cortisol process. That’s why it’s so important to enlist the help of a health care provider who knows when you need this product.

Seriphos can be ordered online at http://www.vitacost.com. Just put “Seriphos” in the Search box and it will turn up.

There are many other products out there that are ACTH dampening like Seriphos, but I’m going with what I have been on because it worked for me. Your health care provider may have another brand label that does the same thing.

WHAT IF I CAN’T FIND A FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE PHYSICIAN WHERE I LIVE?

If you go to the functional medicine website and find that the closest specialist is hundreds of miles away from you, I would suggest you first go to your primary care physician and discuss this ASI test with them. Give them the contact information of the closest functional medicine specialist so they can talk with one another on your behalf, and your primary care provider can be guided on what to do for you.

If your primary health care provider refuses to work in this way, call and make an appointment with the nearest FM physician and drive there. For me, after experiencing the miraculous changes in myself, no amount of driving would be too much. But, that is something you must decide for yourself.

Also, check with naturopaths in your area. Oftentimes, they’re aware of the ASI test.

REFERENCES:

Schmookler, E., Ph.D., Trauma Treatment Manual, 1996, Revised 2001, http://www.trauma-pages.com/s/schmookler-manual.php

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition, American Psychiatric Assn., Washington, D.C., January 1995

The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy, 16th Edition, edited by Robert Berkow, MD, Merck Research Labs, Rahway, NJ, 1992.

Butler, K., The Biology of Fear, July/Aug., 1996, The Family Therapy Networker, Washington, D.C.

Diagnos-Techs, Inc., ASI test: https://www.diagnostechs.com/our-tests/adrenal-stress-index-asi/