Nasal allergy sprays- RX,OTC

[DxHypo]

Anybody with chronic allergies and/or sinus issues have any anecdotal stories on corticosteroid or glucocorticoid sprays causing mild or pseudo-Cushing's symptoms with long-term use? I've read some things saying it's possible if not likely to affect cortisol levels. I've been experiencing symptoms like difficulty staying asleep, waking up anywhere from 2 to 3 a.m., some fat gain around back of neck (although not necessarily a "buffalo hump", easy weight gain around the midsection, and rounded face somewhat, I've never had cortisol labs pulled. My other hormones including testosterone are within typical ranges and my trt protocol hasn't varied although my last estradiol sensitive was at 40 Labcorp due to some aromatization from supplementing with oral Dhea to bump it from low normal to a little higher. I wouldn't have thought nasal sprays would raise cortisol much but I'm a chronic long term user of Astelin in particular and Flonase.

 

[ERO]

It might be worthwhile to get a 4 tube cortisol test so you can at least get your levels. It sounds like your cortisol is spiking at 2-3 am instead of after you get up in the AM.

 

[DxHypo]

Thanks ERO. Yes I probably need to have a salivary cortisol pulled. I should have also mentioned I've been under a considerable amount of stress the past 3 years while being a caretaker for my chronically ill mother who passed away last November. Oddly the sleep issue only started AFTER she passed away and the strain and stress was alleviated. I'm trying to figure out why cortisol would spike then rather than in the morning.

 

[Vince Carter]

I've used Flonase last spring/summer/fall, the now OTC Flonase, and I do have Cortisol issues verified by two sets of 4tube saliva tests. I've not tried to tie the two together, I don't think they're related. My seasonal allergies are bad enough that I have to take 1/2/3 products simultaneously in order to function so I'm kind of stuck.

 

[ERO]

Thanks ERO. Yes I probably need to have a salivary cortisol pulled. I should have also mentioned I've been under a considerable amount of stress the past 3 years while being a caretaker for my chronically ill mother who passed away last November. Oddly the sleep issue only started AFTER she passed away and the strain and stress was alleviated. I'm trying to figure out why cortisol would spike then rather than in the morning.

Wow - your situation sounds EXACTLY like my situation a few years ago. Both of my elderly but healthy parents suddenly had health issues and passed in the space of a year. As the only child my stress went through the roof and my sleep was awful. I'd fall asleep easily enough and then BAM - Wide awake between 2-3 AM every night without fail and I would stay awake and only begin to get sleepy again when it was time to get up in the morning for work. 4-tube cortisol test showed my cortisol spiked at 2-3 am and was too low the rest of the 24-hour day. I was living on maybe 3-4 hours of sleep per night. Stress does this to people...

What worked for me: DHEA 50mg taken with dinner. DHEA opposes cortisol, and you take with dinner to tamp down the late night ccortisol spike. Also, Seriphos, one with dinner and two before bed. I know it sounds overly dramatic but I cannot emphasize enough how much DHEA and Seriphos helped me get my sleep and cortisol back on track. No more wide awake at 2-3 AM and staying up the rest of the night. What a relief.

 

[DxHypo]

Yeah Vince,everything I'm reading so far doesn't give much credence to my nasal spray being the culprit. Like you I've had to resort at times to a ****tail mixture of Astelin plus Flonase to get any relief from the allergy rhinitis. I recently tried Rhinocort since its OTC at Walmart now and it seems to work better than either Astelin or Flonase. However being guy shy now about glucocorticoids used chronically long term I probably won't use anything until I find the source of the symptoms whether it's hypercortisolemia of some sort or a reverse cortisol curve.

 

[DxHypo]

Wow - your situation sounds EXACTLY like my situation a few years ago. Both of my elderly but healthy parents suddenly had health issues and passed in the space of a year. As the only child my stress went through the roof and my sleep was awful. I'd fall asleep easily enough and then BAM - Wide awake between 2-3 AM every night without fail and I would stay awake and only begin to get sleepy again when it was time to get up in the morning for work. 4-tube cortisol test showed my cortisol spiked at 2-3 am and was too low the rest of the 24-hour day. I was living on maybe 3-4 hours of sleep per night. Stress does this to people...

What worked for me: DHEA 50mg taken with dinner. DHEA opposes cortisol, and you take with dinner to tamp down the late night ccortisol spike. Also, Seriphos, one with dinner and two before bed. I know it sounds overly dramatic but I cannot emphasize enough how much DHEA and Seriphos helped me get my sleep and cortisol back on track. No more wide awake at 2-3 AM and staying up the rest of the night. What a relief.

Sorry for your losses. It was the toughest 3 years of my life for sure. And here's the thing, talking about DHEA- I started supplementing with oral DHEA about 3 or 4 months ago as my levels were low - about 96 ug/dl. I was taking 2 X 10 mg Pure Encapsulations daily and got my level up to 220 with last lab in January. However my E2 sensitive rose 4 points over the top of the sensitive assay limit per Labcorp. Based on that I've discontinued the DHEA. Wonder if I should resume at an even lower dose and see if that will fix the cortisol. Pure Encapsulations makes 5 mg capsules too. I just don't need my E2 spiking again.

edit: was just reading about pregnenolone steal to fuel cortisol during high stress and now have to wonder if that's the reason for my low DHEA levels?! Guess I need to look at pregnenolone!

 

[ERO]

Did you have any high E2 symptoms? Being 4 points over the lab range is not a problem unless you have symptoms that cause you grief. Bear in mind as well that the lab range is based on a Total T of like 600 so if, as an example, your Total T was 8-900 or 1000, being 4 points over the range is meaningless unless you have obvious high E2 symptoms.

I would definitely try the Seriphos as well for a month and see what happens. Its not expensive and you can get it from Amazon. One needs to take it with dinner and before bed instead of first thing in the AM for best results.

 

[DxHypo]

Did you have any high E2 symptoms? Being 4 points over the lab range is not a problem unless you have symptoms that cause you grief. Bear in mind as well that the lab range is based on a Total T of like 600 so if, as an example, your Total T was 8-900 or 1000, being 4 points over the range is meaningless unless you have obvious high E2 symptoms.

I would definitely try the Seriphos as well for a month and see what happens. Its not expensive and you can get it from Amazon. One needs to take it with dinner and before bed instead of first thing in the AM for best results.

Not any overt E2 symptoms other than my PSA went from 1.0 to 1.1 and I seemed to experience some vague prostate symptoms like not emptying the bladder as easy. I was afraid of BPH but it could have just been in my head. Last test lab in January had me at 690 total test.

Thanks for the info. I will check out the Seriphos.

 

[DxHypo]

Seriphos looks good. Ordered it off Amazon. Thanks ERO.