Morning cortisol surges !!! grrr

[kindred1666]

Morning everyone...just a quicky really...Does anyone else get morning cortisol surges? OMG they r really ruining my mornings !! it does not happen as soon as i wake up but each and every time i drop back off to sleep i get this "horrible wave off a feeling" which seems to engulf my whole body...I cant really explain what it feels like needless to say its bloomin awful...Would upping the dose of pregabalin stop it ... This seemed to have started a few months after going CT of diazepam (or maybe that's a coincidence i dont know) or maybe its the pregabalin causing it ? any thoughts guys?

many thanxs

Kindred x

[Shazamataz]

Do you mean you went cold turkey off diazepam?

That could certainly cause issues but not sure about months down the track.

I get surges of anxiety in the early hours sometimes too. Never thought about cortisol surges. It's horrible isn't it?

Sorry I can't be more helpful :(

[kindred1666]

Hi shazamataz...Yes i went CT off diazepam on the poor advise of my gp !! i knew no better as i had never been or needed medication in my life...He said that due to the "low dose and short time on it" 4 weeks 6mg per day i could just stop taking it...My god "what a ride" !!!..(haven't felt the same since) and that was in january of this year!...But these cortisol surges are just awful not a nice way to start the day and it takes a few hours after being "up and about" to feel a bit better....same thing every dam morning....

Thanks for the reply

Kindred

[Shazamataz]

I hope they settle for you soon. Some would say 4 weeks is okay to stop cold turkey but it doesn't work for everyone I expect.

I'm currently weaning off by half a mg a week. I was on 4 mg/day for about 4 months while other meds were being fiddled with. I'm better than I was a few weeks back but still having rough days so they may be due to the reduction.

[kindred1666]

hi shaz..Go very carefully and SLOWLY (1 mg every 2 weeks reduction is the desired method) according to the ashton manual anyway....Its been hell for me that's for sure....2 weeks after stopping i started having seizures and was misdiagnosed with temporal lobe epilepsy..things have got a tad better over the months but im still no where near "healed" yet...Not wanting to scare you but slowly is the only way to go to limit any suffering like i endured and still am to a certain degree..

Take care

Kindred x

[Shazamataz]

Thanks Kindred,
I'm doing .5 mg a week which is essentially the same as 1mg every two weeks. I thought that might make things easier and I haven't had any major setbacks doing it this way.

3 weeks to go!!

[Tims]

Hi Kindred
I'm going through something similar, it's been going on almost 2 months, some mornings worse than others. I'm not sure why it's suddenly happening now, but I'm thinking maybe in my case it could be rebound anxiety from taking 25mg of Seroquel at night for sleep.

Tims

[kindred1666]

Good luck with your taper and jump shaz....Hope they go away soon timms..most annoying to say the least

kindred x

[hanshan]

H Kindred,

I think increased cortisol production in the early hours of the morning is part of the body's natural "wake-up" mechanism (just as increased melatonin production at night aids sleep). If you try to go back to sleep after first waking, your body might just secrete more to make sure you get up.

Of course, the whole mechanism can go haywire and malfunction. A lot of people suffer from early morning anxiety, and that may be triggered by higher cortisol levels. I can't say for sure, however.

Is it possible to get up when you first wake? You may lose some sleep at first, but then start sleeping longer.