I don't remember hearing the Klonopin can cause your cortisol to drop. I looked up the drug on drugs.com, nothing there either. I do know that you are not suppose to take either Klonopin or Advil when you are taking a thyroid drug. The drugs have to be spaced apart as they can interact and you can have absorption problems. Do they have a back up source for this info? It would be good to read if they do.

I've been waiting for someone else to answer this but no one has. I hope you find an answer.

I asked my Endocrinologist's at my appointment yesterday and she said no.
She also increased my dosage level by 5 mg. She wasn't happy doing it for me ; she said I should weigh 150 lbs. to be at 20 mgs. So now I take hydrocortisone 10 mg. at 6 am, 5 at 11 am and 5 mg. at 2 pm. The nurse couldn't get a reading on my blood pressure , either. She said I was faint and they brought me candy. Duh, that's because I don't feel well, I said to the nurse , and I keep telling the doctor and she won't listen. My appointment was at three , one of my lowest levels of the day. I felt like I was going to pass out. Thank God she witnessed it or I don't think she would've increased my dosage. I'm feeling a bit better and I've only been taking it for two days. I have more energy.

She doesn't know what she is doing. Did she do a blood reading on you before deciding it was a sugar drop? I'm guessing she didn't. She is flying by the seat of her pants. She could accidentally kill you I'm sorry to say due to her lack of education about Addison's.

Your BP being low, when you have Addison's, is that you have started to dump your sodium, salt. You are in the beginning of going into a crisis which leads you to shock. The crisis is brought on by being sick or having an emotional shock without enough steroids in you. You are in crisis any time your BP is under 90/60. Yours could be just not enough steroids and too much activity that day. You will feel dizzy, might pass out. If you aren't on Fludrocortisone it sounds like you need to be. The doctor should have caught that and not given you candy. You can raise your BP by drinking chicken broth, eat chicken soup, add salt to your diet until you feel better. You might want to ask for the Fludrocortisone. But I think you really need a new doctor, seriously. Do you know what your BP was?

Do you have an emergency injection kit yet? You have to get this if you don't have one yet. Mine has kept me out of the hospital multiple times.

Also do you have nausea drugs? Get those so you don't throw up and can't keep your meds down. Otherwise you have to go the hospital.

Has the doctor given you enough in your prescription to up dose or stress dose when you need to? Have they talked to you about this?

I've been with my endo now for 18 years and he already had multiple Addison's patients so he didn't need to learn how to treat a patient on me. I'm glad that you are feeling better on the higher dose. More energy is always good. Sorry I wrote for so long.

No, thank you for the long reply . I feel like I have to be my own doctor.
She NEVER got a blood pressure reading they said it was too faint and I asked the doctor if she wanted to get one again and she said, "NO" ! Can you believe it ? At the end of the visit I asked if they wanted to retake it and she said no!!! I couldn't believe it! They tried to take it twice and failed and NEVER attempeted to to retake it.
I asked her if I needed Fludrocoritsone and she said no. That I can't believe either. I'm craving salt like crazy.
I am finally going for my second opinion on Wedensday. I can't wait Although now , my appointment is at 1 pm and we'll see what my blood pressure reads then. Afternooons are usually bad for me . I feel so weak.
I ASKED and DEMANDED an emergency kit She said I didn't need it because she'd rather have me go to the hospital. But she gave in and gave it to me.
I 'm on compazaine daily 2x's a day and she wants me off of it. I also have a script for Zofran because I also have severe GERD and Gastroparesis. She never prescribed either.
I have very little faith in her. She thinks she finished her job with me because I kept asking her why I 'm not any better and she said I need a sleep study . Just because I told her I'm taking Klonopin and Ambien CR 12.5.
No, she hasn't talked to me about stress dosing. I asked her if I needed to stress dose when I fly in a month because I usually get VERY anxious and get non-stop diaherra . The airline stewdesses even notice because I get up to to the bathroom so much. I know you'll believe this one she said, " I didn't need to stress dose" . She said, " pop an etra Xanax" .
I agree with you I think I should have asked her how many patients she has ever treated with Addison's because what I 'm learning on the boards/internet and what she's telling me are two different things.
I pray that this second opinion is my answer to my prayers.

When my BP gets that low I go by paramedic to the hospital. I've even gone by paramedic from my primary doctor to the hospital, I just wanted to go home. She is not a good doctor I'm sorry to say. She should have sent you by ambulance to the hospital or given you IV fluids and steroids in her office until you stabilized. You can start to get major organ damage at that point.

As for traveling, it seems that about 25% of us or so have trouble when traveling. I have to double my HC for two days before traveling, and double my dose while traveling. Otherwise I go into a crsis. Those of us who have this don't know why. If you get diahrea you have to stress dose for that, at least double your HC. Lots of fluids, don't get dehydrated. Will your primary give you Lomotil ? That has always stopped the big D for me. Flying is always worse for me than driving. It puts stress on your body according to an ICU doctor I saw in Hawaii. Wasn't a fun vacation obviously. I was sick by the time the plane landed and just went downhill from there. I would do the extra Xanax too.

I hope the new doctor is good. Let us know what happens. I still can't believe they didn't take your BP again. Unreal.

How do I get a good Addison's doctor ? The one treating me, I agree, doesn't seem to know what she's doing. I'm so scared.
My husband is so excited about going on this vacation to Hawaii and I know I should be but I'm petrified. I don't want to go . I'm afraid of planes and I obviously won't be making any cortisol and the stupid doctor I'm seeeing says I don't need to stresss dose. Really? I think diaherra and severe stress calls for stress dosing.
I hate asking you , you've been so helpful but what kinds of questions should I be asking this "new " endocrinologists tomorrow to find out if she knows what she is doing and how to treat Addison's patients. I feel like i'm going on an interview.

That's a really good question. I guess I would start if she/he has other Addison's patients and how long has she/he been treating them. How do they feel about stress dosing? How often are you going to see them and do labs? How do they feel about the injection kit? Or do they only want you to go to the hospital? Your also on a low dose of steroids and don't feel good, can you raise your dose a little and see if it helps your fatigue, etc. Will they fit you in if your sick or do you need to go to emergency. A lot of endo's are booked for months in advance, can you get in to their office in just a few weeks if you really need to see them for something you need that doesn't need a trip to the ER. Will they work with your other doctors?

I see my endo every 3 months after I have labs. I tell him everything that is important that has happened over the last 3 months. We go over my lab numbers. Between my explanation of what I've been going through it usually makes the labs make sense to the doctor. We then discuss my treatment for the next 3 months. All my doctors, 5, work together to try and keep me up and running.

It's been a long time since I've had to think about this. If I think of anything else I'll post later today. Wishing you good luck with the new doctor!

I'm not thrilled about my endo either, what labs does ur endo do every 3 months?

My visit with my " new " went well. She spent at LEAST an hour with me . Explained the disease and picked up the slack of the last slacker endo.
She ordered the following blood tests; Estradiol, Ferritin, Folate, RBC, FSH, Follice stimulating hormone, Insulin-like Growth Factor 1, Iron & Iron Binding capacity and Vitamin B.
My Insulin-like Growth factor is 332 and it should be only in the range of 118-298. Values well above the age and gender matched reference interval indicate a possible pituitary tumor secreting growth hormone. My last slacker doctor blew it off and said not to worry about it . This new endo . thinks I should be worried about it. Although, my MRI didn't pick up a pituitary tumor.
She changed my medication from Hydrocortizone to Dexamethasone. This medication lasts all day and doesn't need to be spread into doses.
She also thinks the medication should have worked by now . She said there might be another problem casuing the extreme fatigue and that is what she will try and figure out.

Thanks for this post. It's enlightening.

I'm glad you found an endo that knows what they're doing.

Darla, I get my lab results next week. I'll post what is ordered. I do get different labs at different times of the year. But I'll post next Wednesday or Thursday for you.