I wish I could read the original report instead of the other site's summary. I checked your URL and looked on the nature ** search engine for "How Cortiscol Helps You Adapt to Stress" (Nature Neuroscience), but couldn't find it.

In 1997 I went to an endocrinologist. He ordered a cortisol blood test and the reading came back at 1. He said if it had been any lower, I'd be dead.

I don't know if he was right (cortisol testing now is seen as most accurate when it's by saliva testing), but I always remembered what he said.

Since then I have wondered if my cortisol level has been low, because I've had other symptoms of adrenal fatigue, and fail the pupil test. I've also suspected low cortisol has affected or even caused my current peripheral neuropathy, which I didn't have back in the 90s.

It seems to be a vicious cycle. If your cortisol is low, your nerves overheat; that heat/burning causes you more stress, which in turn drives your cortisol even lower.

Sleep is a huge issue when you have chronic adrenal fatigue. My days are horrible when I don't get enough sleep. I've tried to get my adrenal health corrected but the burning wakes me up, and keeps me up. I don't think my adrenal glands will ever heal until I can get enough sleep every night.

One night about a month ago, when I had my worst sleep in years, the PN burning and prickling was the worst I'd ever experienced. I'm gradually becoming more and more convinced of cortisol's importance for nerve health.