Guest Guest_Andrea_* Posted July 27, 2009 Share Posted July 27, 2009 I have recently been diagnosed with high cortisol levels due to a drug I had been taking for Acne, Spironolactone. I have had classic symptoms such as # Impaired cognitive performance # Suppressed thyroid function # Blood sugar imbalances such as hyperglycemia # Decreased bone density # Decrease in muscle tissue I am trying to get my numbers under control because these symptoms are debilitating. Has anyone been prescribed Klonopin as a drug to help lower cortisol? I am in a fog most of the time and need some help. Thanks ahead of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AirMarshall Posted July 27, 2009 Share Posted July 27, 2009 Spironlactone /Aldosterone may be used "off label" for treatment of acne in women. It is an extremely powerful drug with many drug interactions and many serious potential side effects. ** WHO has told you that you have 'high cortisol" as a result of taking Spironolactone, and how did they test you? *** * I do NOT find 'high cortisol" (Cushings Disease) listed as a potential result of taking this drug. -Klonopin is not approved by the FDA nor typically used to treat Cushings Disease, since it has no related effect. - Cushings Disease caused iatrogenically (by another drug) is treated by withdrawing the offending drug and waiting for cortisol levels to return to normal levels. There are are other possible causes of Cushings including pituitary tumors. a.m. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest_Andrea_* Posted July 27, 2009 Share Posted July 27, 2009 I was told that spironolactone is a drug used to increase cortisol in women trying to lose weight. I am not using the drug for this, however it is a use. My cortisol levels are high as a result of an unknown factor, and the drug spironolactone has only increased them. I have hypoglycemia and have had it for years, so this is only aggervating the situation. I do not believe I have Cushings disease, only Cushings syndrom as I do not have any underlying medical conditions to indicate an actual disease. So Klonopin does not help with these horrible symptoms that I am having. I would like to know if anythihg does?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sorrel Posted July 27, 2009 Share Posted July 27, 2009 Spironolactone does not increase cortisol. It is actually sometimes given to people with hypercortisolemia if it coexists with hyperaldosteronism, which it sometimes does. Spironolactone is an aldosterone antagonist. If you have drug-induced high cortisol you need to stop the drug. If you have unknown-cause high cortisol then you need a good endocrinologist, a pituitary MRI and a lot of other testing. There is no quick-fix drug. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
null0trooper Posted July 27, 2009 Share Posted July 27, 2009 I was told that spironolactone is a drug used to increase cortisol in women trying to lose weight. While some studies find that spironolactone will increase baseline cortisol in humans ( http://www.nature.com/npp/journal/v32/n1/abs/1301217a.html , http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/159/11/1938 ), I can find older cites for research into how and why spironolactone decreases cortisol production in adrenal tissue (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1797582) Since it's intended to be used to treat hyperaldosteronism and also functions as a diuretic, I wonder if there aren't safer drugs to use in treating obesity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver Posted July 28, 2009 Share Posted July 28, 2009 Clonazepam will not address the symptoms of 'high cortisol.' If you do in fact have hypercortisolemia, you need to be evaluated for this, exactly as Sorrel wrote. If you haven't been evaluated, and this is speculation on your part based on symptoms, then kindly go to your GP for evaluation and discuss your concerns. Have you actually had a urinary free cortisol screening or an overnight DMST? If not, then stop, do not pass go... start there. Cushing's should NOT result in hypoglycemia. Quite the opposite. It's famous for causing glucose intolerance. And spironolactone is not first- or second-line for acne. I'd really think about maybe looking at a new dermatologist, if this was the treatment plan. Or at least a second opinion. Severe depression / anxiety disorders will increase HPA activity and elevate cortisol. So will alcohol dependence or withdrawal; fun trivia fact - spironolactone is commonly used to reduce ascites due to cirrhosis. Anorexia will also ramp up HPA activity. More or less any major psycho/physiologic stressor will, really. So if you have, in fact, had a negative workup - including bloodwork and imaging - by an endocrinologist, and by a GP/internist, then general severe stress is perhaps the next place to look. Clonazepam might buy you a little short term relief from heightened stress. But it actually does not seem to reduce core cortisol elevation, as it turns out, for more than the very short term. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest_Andrea_* Posted July 28, 2009 Share Posted July 28, 2009 Very good. Thanks for the help. I have another doctors appoitment in the morning where I am sure he will disqualify spironolactone as well. I just want to know what the hell is wrong with me. I will get this straightened out. Either that or fall into a coma. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AirMarshall Posted July 28, 2009 Share Posted July 28, 2009 Hope you feel better soon. a.m. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LikeMinded Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 From a high cortisol freak here... In addition to whatever your GP has you do (imaging of the head and scanning levels of the other adrenal hormones I hope), make sure all "cortisol bases" are covered. By bases, I mean further laboratory screenings regarding cortisol specifically. These included the "random morning cortisol", the dexamethasone suppression test (whereby you take a microamount of another cortisol-like thing in a pill and see where your real cortisol goes the next morning), and the 24 hour cumulative free urinary cortisol*** (my endocrinologist stated that the latter is the benchmark test for real cortisol-issue levels). I am not too familiar with spironolactone since I think it's by and large a medication used by females (my mother used it in an attempt to control hair loss, don't ask, I have no idea why). I think it's strange that it's affecting your cortisol, and furthermore, that you feel Klonopin affects cortisol the other way. More important factors that may affect cortisol include anorexia (as mentioned before), and don't forget, any other malnourishment condition (e.g., alcoholism). In addition, as I learned in 2005 (stomped by a moose; gained greater understanding of moose in general now), chronic excessive aerobic exercise can raise cortisol to the point your endocrinologist believes there is something Seriously Wrong. ***The 24-hour free urinary cortisol test (FUC), assays all of the urinal output for 24 hours. Should you even miss one single collection, the entire result is VOID. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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