AS Connected to Low Cortisol Levels

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Mechanicalgirl39 do you believe you were born with low am cortisol that rises late in the evening due to having AS, or do you believe you developed it following years of the stress associated with having AS? I know people talk a lot about Adrenal Fatigue, which seem to come on after years of stress. My son has ASD and is only 4.5 years old yet he seems already to show signs of low cortisol, he goes through phases of regression whereby it is clear that his "coping, stress hormone" is more burnt out than at other times. I would guess that he was born with low cortisol rather than something developed over time such as with Adrenal Fatigue. He seems to have less cortisol in general; however in the mornings he copes way better than in the afternoons, it's like he starts off with less cortisol when he wakes and it depletes so much quicker as a result of having less. Venus

Personally, from the earliest tales my parents tell, I would not wake in the mornings and was alert and fitful at night. As I've gotten older, the problem has gotten worse. If anything, I think I started with low morning cortisol levels inherently and have developed further issues as the result of overload and self-stimulation (stress, etc) as self-medication pushing heavily on my adrenal system.


M.

i bet all of this is so common on the spectrum. first the low cortisol to begin with--(i don't mind mine being a little low. but would like to modulate things to some degree.) then the vast amounts of daily stress just figuring out how the world works. (along with the various traumas, etc.) kind of worried that my whole system is just going to crash one day.

i noted that DHEA levels were high, but cortisol low. i didn't know this was possible. does that mean that DHEA is high because it's not making its way into cortisol? (ignore this question if you like: this is my hyperfocus talking.)

what i hate most is that once the adrenaline gets going, it seems hard to shut off. there's no inbetween anywhere.

Just bumping this old thread and wondering if there has been any new data on the original topic ("AS Connected To Low Cortisol Levels").