Cortisol Replacement Therapy

Better health outcomes by working together.

Your Endocrinologist will work with you to determine your optimum dose of replacement corticosteroid. Higher doses are taken in the morning, as this matches the body’s natural cycle. This dose needs to be adjusted when you are sick or under physical or psychological stress to match the natural increase in cortisol levels that would normally occur during these times.

After a serious accident or medical emergency, a cortisone injection may be necessary. Your Endocrinologist will discuss this with you and provide written instructions, including providing a sick day management plan. If you are vomiting or have diarrhoea, your medication will not be absorbed properly. When this happens, you will need to be given a cortisone injection in the muscle and seek urgent medical attention. Wearing a medical alert bracelet/tag and carrying instructions for emergency steroid treatment is essential. This is very important, as low cortisol levels can cause a life-threatening emergency.

For further information, refer to the ‘Cortisol Injection Fact Sheet and Guide’ or the short ‘Emergency Hydrocortisone Injection Kit’ video clip.