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ADRENAL GLANDS AND CORTISOL EFFECTS FROM BENZOS


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Common Causes of Adrenal Stress:

 

Physical trauma

Chemical toxins

Poor diet / digestion issues

Excess exercise

Lack of sleep

Infections

Emotional trauma

Anxiety, depression

Prescription drugs (many)

Pregnancy

Stress

 

 

Sustained stress, trauma, exposure to toxins, poor diet and pregnancy can tax the adrenal glands.  But certain medications can also cause the adrenal glands to produce too much of the stress hormone, Cortisol, and in turn start a cascade effect with other chemical messengers.  

 

Antidepressants operate by forcing the amount of serotonin in the brain higher by blocking the natural recycling process to other neurons. But elevated serotonin triggers the production of Cortisol and Adrenaline (Epinephrine); a natural reaction from the body to combat the excess Serotonin levels. This is what gives the boost or euphoric state that can last for a period of time. However, as Serotonin remains unnaturally high, the adrenals become fatigued and cause levels of Adrenaline to decline while the Cortisol increases. The adrenals become exhausted, which helps to explain the fatigue and other symptoms that many SSRI-Antidepressant users report.

 

Benzodiazepines and sleeping pills initially suppress Cortisol production, but tolerance to the medication and withdrawals can produce severe stress that in turn causes the adrenal glands to produce higher amounts of Cortisol.  Benzodiazepines impair the stress response system of the body and not surprisingly a long and varied list of side effects are associated with continued use. As GABA activity increases, the brain’s output of the excitatory neurotransmitters Norepinephrine (Noradrenaline), Serotonin, Acetyl Choline and Dopamine is reduced.  These chemicals are necessary for normal alertness, muscle tone, memory, coordination, heart rate, blood pressure and emotional responses, and are all affected by continued use of anxiety medications. Other benzodiazepine receptors that are not linked to GABA are also present in the colon, kidneys, blood cells and adrenal glands. The direct and indirect actions are responsible for the adverse side effects of benzodiazepines and explain why the kidneys, colon, blood cells and adrenal glands are affected.  Depletion of Cortisol and alterations in the immune function can also occur. This helps to explain why long term benzodiazepine use (greater than 12 weeks) can have a compromised endocrine system; which includes the adrenal glands, hormones, thyroid, pineal gland, pituitary, and reproductive glands.  

 

Continuous use of sleeping pills disrupt the natural sleep cycle by inducing a hypnotic state almost entirely lacking REM (Rapid Eye Movement). But REM sleep is the restorative and rejuvenating sleep that our body needs to heal itself. Chronic users of sleeping pills will suffer from long term issues of sleep deprivation and fatigue that drive Cortisol levels higher and lead to adrenal fatigue.

 

Depression, anxiety, insomnia and obsessive-compulsive symptoms are all consequences of elevated Cortisol in the long-term effects on Seratonin and Dopamine production.

 

Individuals with adrenal fatigue can follow a distinct energy pattern – Fatigued in the morning, rarely feeling awake before 10 am, and not feeling fully awake until after a noon meal. There will be a lull in their Cortisol in the afternoon between 2-4 pm leading to sleepiness or clouded thinking, then an increase in energy level after 6 pm, although they tire easily, they feel best at night and resist going to sleep until after 11 pm.

 

Cortisol production is naturally high in the early morning hours (around 7 am) to assist with the waking cycle. But those who chronically stress their adrenal glands have lower concentrations in the morning. Many will consume caffeine in an attempt to boost Cortisol, which further stresses the adrenals. Then at night the elevated Cortisol prevents the ability to enter Stage 4 REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep, which the body needs for recovery. Gastrointestinal issues including bloating, indigestion, heartburn and reflux also add to the stress on your adrenals.

 

When your digestive system is irritated or inflamed, the body’s natural response is to eliminate the inflammation by producing more Cortisol. However, elevated levels of Cortisol begin to erode the intestinal lining and leave an individual susceptible to food allergies, yeast, fungus, and Candida overgrowth.

References:

Adrenal Fatigue

Understanding Adrenal Function

Antidepressant & Cortisol

Benzodiazepines & Body Issues

Benzodiazepines: What they do in the body

Cortisol Decreases and Serotonin and Dopamine Increase

The Sleep-Wake Cycle and Sleeping Pills

Adrenal Weakness

The HPA Axis

The Adrenal Gland

Nutritional Considerations in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Impaired hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) system is related to severity of benzodiazepine withdrawal in patients with depression

 

 

 

Disclaimer:

All information provided on this site is for equalization purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat or mitigate any medical condition. Should you have any health care related questions before, during or after viewing this web site, please seek advice from your professional health care provider. We encourage anyone who wishes to embark on any health or treatment program to be under the supervision of a qualified healthcare professional. MORE...

Do's & Don't's

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DO

> eat organic, fresh foods

> eat regular meals, preferably small amounts every 2 hours

> diet should combine unrefined carbohydrates (whole foods) combined with protein and oils (nuts and seeds), olive, fiber, flax, and high quality omega-3 fish oil

> diet should have a heavy emphasis on vegetables, organically grown (lightly steamed or raw)

> keep well hydrated - 1/2 your body weight in ounces per day

> add anti-stress supplements such as magnesium, zinc, r-lipoic acid, coQ10, vit. e, b6,9,or 12, probiotics, relax

> become empowered and informed about your health

> get to bed by 10 or 11 pm

> sleep until 7 or 8 am when possible

> meditate or listen to relaxing tapes that promote relaxed brain waves

> surround yourself by people who are concerned for your well being and are a positive influence on your life

> be compassionate, kind and nurture yourself

> laugh

> do things you enjoy

> add mild exercise and stretching

> reduce stress

> enjoy the outdoors

 

 

AVOID

> skipping meals

> fasting

> all refined sugar, chocolate, hydrogenated fats, refined carbohydrates and junk foods

> eating carbohydrates by themselves

> caffeine alcohol, sodas, juice

> artificial sweeteners

>foods that you react to or are allergic to (keep a food log)

> arising early if you don't have to

> staying up late & catching your "second wind"

> making some else responsible for your health

> people who steal your energy or are negative

> taking care of everything and everybody, but not yourself

> feeling guilty for taking care of yourself

> over critical or hard on yourself

> excessive seriousness

> fretting / worrying

> over training, over exercising

> stress

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

awesome post!!! i can relate bigtime with this.......adrenal burn out, and i truly believe the meds are play huge role in this and well, obvious sleep problems too!! and stress from last two years..

 

i printed this one off, thanks!! hope

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  • 1 month later...
Helpme123, seems like you know alot about cortisol and neurotransmitters. I have had this all tested after Klonopin don't know how I was before although I have the same symptoms of severe anxiety from the moment I awake and lower slowly through out the day.  My cortisol is elevated in the mornings, lower at noon really below norm at 2-4 and starts back up in the evening.  I also have elevated ephinephrine/norephineprine.  Any thoughts???
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Hi Snap, I am not knowledgable about Adrenals other then what I reasearched , I am not sure where I got the info, I was trying to find the link to post the link, I myself function from having only 1 Adrenal Cortex, the other one was surgically removed because of Cancer, thats why I was reasearching abt Adrenal Fatique. Sorry I couldn't be any help hun.
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  • 4 weeks later...

Excellent post Help123.  I just read a great book called "Tired of being Tired" by Dr. Jesse Lynn Hanley.  It covers various stages of adrenal fatigue in laymen's terms, listing five stages of adrenal fatigue, such as being "driven", "dragging" "losing it" and being "burned out". The book offers some excellent suggestions including many that you have listed.

 

 I believe I had severe adrenal fatigue at the end of my taper last year and that it eventually led to a weakened immune system and ultimately to my contracting Shingles at the beginning of this year. I was literally wiped out from almost a year of tapering and from a particularly stressful family situation.  I got a lot of rest in the early months of the year but did not make significant lifestyle changes until August when I had a more serious health setback after a couple summer months of going back to very unhealthy practices, excess sugar and poor diet of unrefined snacks and sweets during travel, lack of exercise, back in a stressful family situation trying to please everybody and do too much, not sleeping well...

 

I made some changes to my diet, exercised more and started to gradually feel better this past Fall.  I no longer wake up tired, have eliminated coffee, but still consume some tea and small amount of dark chocolate.  The Remaining symptom left is afternoon fatigue 2-5PM or so.  

 

Don't know if it's necessarily adrenal, but I still have excess anxiety in the morning and sometimes low level anxiety all day (had this before benzos though).  I am working on being more mindful and trying to be more cognizant of when my fight/flight system get's revved up higher than would be expected of a given situation.  When I notice it happening, I try to be accepting and gentle with myself, rather than judgemental and critical.  One of the books on anxiety I've read suggests to "thank the mind" for the warning and to take a more accepting stance.  I think this is helpful rathe than resisting or getting angry or more anxious about anxiety!

 

I recently went to a professional seminar earlier this week and could feel inner emergency warning lights going on a couple days prior and the morning of the seminar.  Was somebody going to kill me if I got called on for a question or asked to participate in the meeting?  It is a very old pattern in me that no doubt was  helpful thousands of years ago to not get eaten by a predator.  Do I really view the outside world as so dangerous that metaphorically, people are out to kill me and eat me alive at work or social situations?

 

I have struggled with avoidance of certain work situations for many years.  Understanding the mechanics of what is going on has not made the feelings go away but the added awareness makes it easier to shut off what felt like a relentless open spigot out of which flowed my life force and energy reserves.   I have not been tested for adrenal fatigue but I suspect that it would not necessarily show up on a test for me at this point.  Probably would have back in August when I had high blood pressure, was pre diabetic, overweight, unbalanced cholesterol... Now I seem to be on the cusp of healing.  

 

I have one more taper to get through after the first of the year, prilosec.  One of the items on the list of things that stress and overworked adrenals can impact is the gut.  I have had acid reflux and GERD for many years.  I've worked to lose about 25lbs since August and feel this has helped a lot.  However, I still take a morning antacid, prilosec.  I believe my gut has been impacted by both the reflux and the medication.  I plan to try and taper off it in early January. Dr. Hanley in her book "Tired of being Tired" has some herbal suggestions for digestive issues such as licorice root to coat the stomach and a few others which I plan to take while I taper off the prilosec.  My ENT also advised me to use Zantac or other over the counter less potent antacids while I try to taper off the proton pump inhibitor, Prilosec. I've also added probiotics this month to try and get my gut back to a healthier state and I've been adjusting my diet to a more alkalyne state prior to the taper.   We'll see how it goes.  Anyway, I'll post back here with any further developments.

 

Best,

 

Vertigo (no more)

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goopy slippery elm bark tea has really helped that sort of thing for me in the past.  of course, i forgot about it during my recent run in with acid reflux during this benzo w/d.  it is really goopy and gelatinous and not pleasant to drink but within 5 minutes i remember that i felt tremendously better.  a naturopath prescribed it for me.
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helpme what does that mean it was remoced like it wasn\t true

 

I removed the link lptc01 because it's not helpful to simply post a link without some personal commentary along with it.  To put something like what was posted here, without adding one's own personal experience or opinion is not helpful.  The link was to a website called the Point of Return, people who offer at great expense, supplements, books and other services to those suffering benzo withdrawal.

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  • 2 years later...
  • 2 weeks later...
I have researched this information also, because of my pm cortisol high levels, I you also forgot to mention no smoking, I also researched smoking during the day can raise PM cortisol levels along with withdrawal.  Not good at all, I am really working hard on the smoking thing, it's detrimental to my recovery that I quit.  Can't believe I used to have adrenal insuffiency with my chronic fatigue syndrome, taking Cortef to raise it back up, that was back in 2003, was stiill having a problem after coming off the Cortef.  Now since I have been on Benzos, it has done the reverse.  Now I need to get it back down.Unbelievable!
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  • 1 month later...
One year ago, I tapered, on my own, from  4mg to 1mg klonopin. It was hell. I did it in 2 months to get it over. But I ended up going to the doctor because I felt like I was going to end up in the hospital. I had severe fatigue, bloating, extreme breast/uterine bloat, melasma, joint pain...the doc thought I had cancer or something. She kept telling me, "I'm going to test for EVERYTHING, due to the symptoms you are telling me.". I thought it was the result of klonopin wd, and would go away after a while. Of course, the blood work showed nothing. She thought I had fibromyalgia. So I went to a rheumatologist, who started looking for auto immune anything. Nothing found in blood. So I went to an endocrinologist. It was a year of trying to find good docs, and 10 vial blood tests. I finally found a good endocrinologist. I found I had low adrenal function, low thyroid function...he thought I might even have hypo-pituitary function, but that was ruled out by a blood test. A year later, I am trying to get my adrenals up to speed, get my thyroid optimized, but still feel like I have arthritis all over, low immunity...the list goes on and on. I was on Klonopin for decades...I asked my psychiatrist I now go to, if there are any studies about klonopin and its effects on  hormones (including estrogen)...he said no. I am also on 300mg of Wellbutrin for decades. I also have trouble with my blood sugar. These drugs just screw over the whole endocrine system...I feel if I ever get off of that damn 1mg Klonopin, my thyroid and adrenals will go down the drain! The psychiatrist asked if I would like to lower my Wellbutrin. I asked about the side effects. When he told me, I told him I already feel all these things!...I'm not going to put myself through double hell just yet! Yes...like I said, anti-depressants and benzos screw the entire endocrine system..If you are on them, I suggest keeping track of adrenal and thyroid function...and if you withdraw, you might want to see an endo who can keep track of the cortisol, ACTH, T3 and T4, estrogen levels, testosterone levels..everything...(my testosterone dropped). All this leads to symptoms of diabetes, symptoms of CFS and fibromyalgia...my estrogen spiked...I don't know if the drugs mask all these problems or lead to them, I have been on them since my early 20's...I'm 46 now...and feel 80!
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  • 1 month later...

Pobey - I feel EXACTLY how you do even right now at 14 months off.  I actually started feeling the bloating/fatigue/bad mood/etc.. the first few weeks of taking the xanax from the dr.  He upped the dose when I complained of the symptoms. 

 

My testosterone is low too and it's still low, I'm 32 and I checked it a few months ago and it was only 350.  I need to test the other Thyroid functions as well as Estrogen and a 24hr cortisol test.  I'm still debilitated so I can't work and don't have benefits.

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  • 4 weeks later...
Elevated and chronically high cortisol puts the body in a catabolic state which leads to muscle wasting & weight loss.                  Check out post "Putting the brakes on muscle catabolic & muscle wasting.
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I'm going to check out that post, I'm so pissed off because I'm so debilitated even at 15 months that I can't get to the gym.  I was able to go once in a while, but I can't do anything consistently.  I'm 32 and was a bodybuilder and the fatigue is so bad I can't even describe it.  Fatigue along w/ agoraphobia, anxiety, bloating, throat tigthness, etc.. makes it impossible to do anything I want.  It's just a back and forth roller coaster. 
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