Allergies can be associated to both too high a level of cortisol and also associated with the period before diagnosis and having very low cortisol levels also. For example Ashley has asthma type symptoms and chest irritation when his cortisol levels are too low. These type of allergies seemed to be just triggered by breathing in a room that has mould in or dust or anything. We’ve had to get a home ventialtion system installed in our home because the new aluminium windows we had put in have cut down on draft and fresh air and increased condensation levels in the home. All but two in the family now suffer asthma but Ashley only suffers when his levels are too low. More condensation has caused an increase in mould so the home ventilation system keeps the air at a constant temp and pushes stale air and germs out via vents.
On the other hand it is commonly known that TOO high a cortisol dose can cause your immune system to be suppressed and therefore you are more susceptible to other types of allergies like food type allergies I believe. So it’s either way that can trigger allergies really. In that case I feel we cannot truly say that CAH is not the culprit really because it is the CAH at the end of the day that leaves the individual susceptible or predisposed to either too little or too much in either under or over treatment of the CAH with replacement cortisol. This is what then causes the allergenic responses.
In allergies I think most people are probably aware that the histamine levels are raised. I’ve been studying this myself a great deal because I myself have certain allergies and now believe that they are triggering my UTI attacks monthly. I’ve had more in the past 12 months whilst trying to get cut and defined and participating in a lot of weight training and cardio which in itself raises cortisol levels in the body and puts a stress on the body. I’ve also had more colds, coughs but less asthma episodes. It is leading me to think that I can control my asthma by manipulating the cortisol levels in that way, but that the level of stress I am tapping into to lift now is causing quite high levels and weakening my immune system some.
I’ve just had to take a full month out this month to recuperate because I had three lot’s of flu and colds in a row in the space of 3 months. In the last three months my bladder is extremely irritated and when i remove certain foods from the diet, it is relieved. Mainly eggs and dairy are causing it. I havn’t tried removing wheat yet because I thought I’d just start by removing the things that I have increased the past 12 months to build mass. I.e. whey protein shakes, eggs and egg whites and also oats and splenda (artificial sweetner) and also sea food like surimi and prawns. I also had to cut out sugar and work on yeast issues.
Often the only way to deal with allergies is to remove whjat you think are the causes for a certain period and then re inroduce them one by one and observe the symtpoms. This is the process I am going through at the moment I guess.
Glucocorticoids act as both immunosupressants and anti-inflammatory agents. This means that either to much or not enough cortisol can cause problems with immunity and allergy.
How cortisols work: Cortisol interacts with target cell membrane receptors and protein receptors in the cytoplasm, leading to changes in DNA synthesis. Among its many actions, cortisol/prednisone:
- Stabilizes lysosomal membranes, preventing the release of proteolytic enzymes that initiate inflammation. This results in decreased capillary permeability, which limits the loss of plasma into the tissues.
- Decreases the formation of prostaglandins (recall that Prostaglandin D is a vasodilator) and leukotrienes (recall that Leukotrienes C and D increase permeability) from arachadonic acid, thus decreasing vasodilation and capillary permeability.
- Suppresses the immune system, especially T-lymphocytes, which are necessary for antibody release (recall that T-cell CD40L receptors interact with B-cells and IL-4 is released from T-cells to activate B-cells). Glucocorticoids can induce apoptosis in lymphocytes. This decreases the amount of antibody available.
Actually I don’t know why Doctor’ s state it is not CAH related. It’s a bit of a no brainer to me. Just like a diabetic cannot eat too much sugar because of their diabetes when it is in poor control, I feel a CAH’ers metabolism also causes the food allergies when they are being controlled inadequately with their replacement medications. So the best thing to do like a diabetic avoids sugar as much as possible is to avoid the allergens, because they can never control CAH perfectly like they can never conrol diabetes perfectly for each individual IMHO.
(Some of the above is excerpts cut and pasted into the body of the post from another site) Here is the rest:
Glucocorticoids and epinephrine are hormones released by the body in response to stress. Thus, anecdotally and in research, it has been observed that individuals with greater stress (i.e. more stress hormone and less immune function) are less able to defend against invading organisms, and are more likely to develop colds when exposed to rhinovirus (the organism that causes the cold). Given that hives are caused by an active immune system, the implication is that stressors should improve urticaria by causing glucocorticoid and epinephrine release, which inhibits the immune system. But many people insist that stress causes or worsens hives--why?
| There may be other mechanisms involved: 1. Current research indicates that stress causes an increase in histamine release in rats. Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) is hypothesized to be the link between stress and increased degranulation. CRF is normally released from the hypothalamus, inducing adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) secretion from the pituitary gland. ACTH, in turn, stimulates the release of cortisol, androgens and aldosterone from the adrenal cortex. (See fig 6 for pathway.) It is possible that CRF is also released from local nerves to act on mast cells. CRF has been found in sympathetic and dorsal root ganglia, and CRF receptors and mRNA have been identified in immune cells, human skin and human leukemic mast cells. |  Fig 7. CRF, ACTH, glucocorticoid release pathway |
2. Mast-cell neuron interactions may be involved in the development of urticaria. Mast cells can be activated by the nervous system: (1) peripheral mast cells are known to be activated by Substance P and neurotensin (a peptide neurotransmitter), (2) parasympathetic stimulation can augment or trigger mast cell secretion (of course, stress is usually considered a sympathetic response). In addition, mast cell-derived histamine can stimulate peripheral neurons.
Due to the lack research on stress and urticaria in humans, it is not clear whether stress (1) is a cause of urticaria, (2) simply exacerbates it, or (3) has no relationship to it. Some experts suggest that stress simply lowers the threshold for a person to develop urticaria. Although the relationship is not clear, removing stressors can always help improve health. (If you are interested in removing stress through meditation you may want to consult Meditation and Medicine.)
It can be found here:
http://ist-socrates.berkeley.edu/~jmp/EstherWeb/treatment.html