A: If you've done a recent saliva test that shows really high levels of cortisol throughout the day, and you are having symptoms of high cortisol– such as feeling really wired and edgy and trouble falling asleep– then I would encourage you to take a look at the Troubleshooting Cortisol/Blood Pressure Issues that you may find helpful. It’s located in the portal under the Handouts tab.
As for the adrenal adaptogens, it may be that you're taking too many of them, and some of them can be stimulating. I would consider doing perhaps just one adaptogenic tea. One that a lot of people do well with is holy basil, also known as tulsi tea. It is very tasty as well, and it has adaptogenic properties that don't tend to make people too wired. It actually tends to make them feel more relaxed and less anxious. So, if that is a symptom that you're struggling with, that would be something to consider doing.
Another adaptogen that might be very helpful is reishi. It tends to be very chill inducing and helps people sleep better at night. So that might be something that you may wish to consider in the evening.
There is an adaptogenic blend called Cortisol Manager by Integrative Therapeutics that is specifically tailored to people with high cortisol throughout the day. It contains magnolia bark and phosphatidylserine, which are used to help lower the daily doses of cortisol throughout the day. You may want to talk to your doctor about utilizing supplements like that.
Then of course, I would continue working on lifestyle strategies that focus on stress reduction, because the common root cause of why we have either high cortisol, low cortisol, or cortisol that bounces all over the place, is stress in our body. This could be due to inflammation in the body, or anything else that causes us stress.