Hormone treatment for depression?

I recently visitied a D.O. and a hormone test has revelaed that my hormones, specifically my cortisol, is high when it should be low and low when it should be high. Additionally, I demonstrate a lot of the symptoms of an adrenal disorder: depression, irregular menstral cycles, skin conditions, etc. My doctor has reccomended adrenal stress end (?) to treat my depression, but I have heard that hormone treatment for non-menpausal women is risky at best, a crock at worst. (I mean, you can get this stuff over the counter for goodnes sake!) I'm only 26! Does anyone have anicdotes or advice to share?

Hormone treatment for depression?
You may also want to have your thyroid checked. I would highly recommend seeing an Endocrinologist as they specialize in treating many of the symptoms you've mentioned. Best of luck to you, I've been through it too.
Reply:Id say ask one more doctor and if he agrees, do it.
Reply:Ithink you should stay inside a nice warm house no air on and no fans on and just keep it warm and not cold.
Reply:I have the same thing but all my doctor does is give me Paxil. Thank you for letting me know it could be hormonal because I get the skin condition and the screwed up period cycle too. Now maybe the doctor will listen. I know this was a question but it helped me out. Thank you.
Reply:I agree with Matt in that a second opinion is in order.





Now, I have read some interesting articles about certain herbal teas and suppliments being useful for situations such as yours. I'm not saying this is the best way to go, but it might be worth looking into. If you do this, tell the doctor you go with.





Good luck!
Reply:Sorry to hear your having a tough time kido. Medicine aside make sure you have a good friend around that makes ya laugh. Laughter is an amazing thing. I have seen people in hospitals that had really bad things going on laugh their but off and completely kick their problems. Keep your head up and do your best to surround your self with loving and funny people. Good luck.
Reply:Osteopaths (D.O.) are often kind of "out there" with their diagnoses and treatments. If you have health insurance, you might want to be cautious about this, because sometimes they don't cover stuff like that.





No sense getting another opinion, because a regular M.D. just doesn't practice medicine that way. I've been to an osteopath before, and sometimes they can spend a lot of your money with their interesting approaches to your minor medical complaints. So-- a regular M.D. is going to pooh-pooh their cures. But sometimes, they do work.





Make sure the cost is reasonable, and you can pay what is not covered by insurance. If so, it won't hurt to try this.





The hormones that menopausal women are taking are not the same ones. They take estrogen, which does have some risks. I was on it for a short time, and decided to quit taking it because it raised my already high blood pressure, and made me gain weight due to water retention.





Cortisol isn't the same as estrogen, but it may have some risks. If you are being treated by any other doctor, for any other medical condition, you should let the other doctor know about this. It could create problems.





I♥♫→mia☼☺†
Reply:Hi Claire-bear. I heard that on TV and thought it sounded cute. You doubt your doctor? Is it because thousands of them got millions of people on Vioxx to just reduce pain and it turns out it was killing people? Or is it because they amputate the wrong leg?





See site below for natural help under depression. Then you could say YAHOO for Yahoo Answers! Did your doctor tell you to not drink any coffee since caffeine raises cortisol and burns out your adrenal glands and this happens alot in the USA. See short stories of people worse off than you.





http://phifoundation.org/heal.html
Reply:PLEASE PLEASE consider carefully before taking any kind of hormones. I had a pulmonary embolism %26amp; minor infarct from birth control pills when quite young; when menopausal, I REFUSED to take HRT even when advised by doctors. Then like an idiot, some years later, an OBGYN convinced me I'd feel wonderful if I tried it again; I did, she was right about feeling wonderful, but after 3 years on it, I had to go to ER for an acutely sprained ankle %26amp; another clot was discovered. If not for the ankle, THIS TIME it would have been fatal. Now I'm on a blood thinner that has aged me twenty years (I mean it!) in less than two, %26amp; feel like I'm 150. (I requested a FAC V LEIDEN test to be sure blood clotting wasn't genetic; it's not.) I'm sure you've heard of very young women dying of blot clots/strokes from homones? I can only warn you, since I've never been depressed %26amp; wouldn't know what to take. I think one of the answers mentioned Prozac?? My ex-husband took this for being "shy" (!!) %26amp; it turned him into a monster. Thumbs up to "chivalry." Unless your condition can be treated with non-threatening medications, try to change your life style--laughter IS everything. %26amp; of course the usual: Get a second opinion. MUCH luck!

baby jade