Your Supplement Adjustment Guide

Your Guide to Starting, Building, and Adjusting Your Supplement Protocol

Watch first: Dr. J's Supplement Start & Adjustment Walkthrough

A short video guide to starting your protocol, adjusting your dose, and handling any symptoms along the way.

▶ Click to watch the video on YouTube

This guide works two ways. Read it before you start your protocol so everything goes smoothly from day one, and come back to it any time a supplement isn't sitting right.

Just starting? Begin with Step 1 to pick your starting level. Most people can use the simple approach and be done.

Something bothering you? Go to Step 6 to see what counts as a reaction, and Step 7 to adjust.

The Goal: Add One Supplement at a Time

The whole approach comes down to one simple rule: add one supplement at a time. Start one, give it a day, and if you feel fine, add the next. Going one at a time means that if something ever bothers you, you'll know exactly which supplement it was. Side effects are uncommon, and most people build up to their full doses without any trouble.

When to Reach Out to Us

👉 If you're not feeling stable within 1–2 weeks, please schedule a consult with our office. No appointments available? Email office@justinhealth.com and we'll try to fit you in sooner.

Step 1: Pick Your Starting Level

Most people can start at full dose and move at this pace. That's Level 1, and it's all you need. The only reason to slow down is if you tend to react easily to supplements, if that's you, the levels below ease you in more gently.

Level 1: The simple approach (most people start here)

• Start each supplement at its full dose.
  
• Add one new supplement per day, working down your protocol sheet: #1 on Day 1, #2 on Day 2, and so on.
  

If you react easily to supplements, pick the level below that fits and ease in more slowly:

Level 2: You react to caffeine, alcohol, or medications

• Build each supplement up over about 4 days using the tables in Step 2 before adding the next.
  

Level 3: Multiple food sensitivities or histamine issues

• Build up the same way, but go slower, hold 2–3 days at each step, and add the next supplement only once the current one is settled.
  

Level 4: You've reacted badly before, or you're reacting to nearly everything

• Use the Minimal Dose Strategy in Step 3.
  
• For adrenal drops specifically, use the Water Dilution Method in Step 4, the gentlest approach we have.
  

Not sure which level? Almost everyone is Level 1, start there. You can always slow down if you need to.

Step 2: Build Up to Your Full Dose

Most supplements build to full dose over 4 days:

• Day 1: 1 drop, your test drop
  
• Days 2 and 3: step up
  
• Day 4: full dose
  

Find Your Product Below

• Pregnenolone and DHEA are always 3 times per day.
  
• Licorice varies, anywhere from 1 to 3 times per day. Check your protocol sheet for your number.
  
• DHEA builds on its own schedule, see the note below.
  
• Cycle Balance (progesterone) builds more slowly, see Step 5.
  
• Pregnenolone is usually 6–15 drops. Use the row matching your protocol sheet. If your dose falls between rows, follow the lower one and stop when you reach your number.
  
• If your capsule dose is more than 1 capsule, add one capsule at a time instead of using quarters.
  

Example: Pregnenolone, 15 drops × 3 per day

If your protocol says to take something more than once a day, build the drop count up using the table above, and take that amount at each of your doses. The number of times per day never changes.

Same idea for a 2x/day product, just take the day's drop count twice instead of three times.

Step 3: Very Sensitive? The Minimal Dose Strategy (Level 4)

This is for when you keep bumping up against a reaction and can't get anything established.

Instead of building each supplement to full dose before moving on, the goal is simply to get everything into your routine at the lowest dose you can tolerate. Dose comes later.

• Start at the top of your protocol sheet.
  
• Add each supplement one at a time at its lowest possible dose, 1 drop, ⅛–¼ capsule, or half a packet.
  
• Keep working down the list until everything is in, even if every dose is tiny.
  
• If you're unsure about a particular supplement, add it last.
  
• Once everything is in and you've been stable for 1 week, go back to the top and nudge each one up gradually, one supplement at a time.
  

Getting everything in at a small dose is the win. Full dose can wait.

Step 4: Adrenal Drops, the Water Dilution Method (Level 4)

This is the gentlest way we have to get adrenal drops in, and it's meant for the most sensitive patients only. If you can take the drops directly without symptoms, skip this section and follow your protocol sheet.

Instead of taking the drops straight, you dilute them in water and sip across the whole day. That spreads the dose out so your body never gets it all at once.

• You can combine multiple adrenal formulas in the same glass, count the total drops across all of them.
  
• Only move up a step if the day before was symptom-free.
  
• Once you're taking them directly, work up to the full dose on your protocol, or the most you can comfortably tolerate.
  
• Most patients do well here. Going slowly usually prevents problems, symptoms are often related to detox or immune sensitivity, so easing in helps.
  
• Can't tolerate even 1 drop sipped in water? Stop and bring it up at your next consult. This is already the gentlest approach, so there's nothing slower to try on your own.
  

Step 5: Cycle Balance (Progesterone) Timing and Build-Up

When to take it depends on your hormonal profile

• If you're still cycling: take it during the second half of your cycle, typically day 15 through day 27. Day 1 is the first day of your period. Stop after day 27 and resume next cycle.
  
• If you're menopausal or no longer cycling: take it daily, without a break.
  

How to build up (go slower than the others)

• Full dose is usually 12 drops, taken morning and bedtime (2 times per day).
  
• Start at 1 drop, morning and bedtime.
  
• Add 1 drop every day or two, as long as you're feeling well.
  
• If symptoms show up, hold at that number until they settle, then continue.
  
• If your window ends before you reach full dose, resume next cycle at the dose you reached, don't restart at 1 drop. It may take 2–3 cycles to reach full dose, and that's fine.
  

If your cycle length varies, stop when your period starts rather than counting to day 27.

Step 6: Know What Counts as a Reaction

Mild and brief is okay. Significant is not.

Most people get through their protocol without any symptoms at all. If something does come up, here's how to tell what matters and what doesn't.

Usually fine, keep going

• Mild, brief loose stool or gas in the first day or two
  
• A mild headache that fades within a day
  
• Slight fatigue that settles quickly
  

Stop and reassess

• Fatigue that lasts more than a day or two
  
• Mood changes, irritability, or anxiety
  
• Skin flares, rashes, or breakouts
  
• Digestive symptoms that get worse instead of better
  
• Sleep disruption
  

If you're seeing any of these, go to Step 7 for exactly what to do.

Rare, stop and check in with Dr. J

Most people adjust to their supplements without any trouble. Occasionally someone turns out to be allergic to an ingredient. Stop that supplement and check in with Dr. J if you notice:

• Hives or a widespread rash
  
• Swelling of the face, lips, or tongue
  
• Trouble breathing or chest tightness
  

To reach us, schedule a 30–45 minute follow-up consult or email office@justinhealth.com.

If you're having real difficulty breathing, seek emergency care rather than waiting to hear back.

Step 7: If Symptoms Occur, Pause and Reset

First: Pause

• Stop the most recently added supplement(s) first.
  
• Not sure which one? Pause everything for 3–7 days, or until symptoms resolve.
  
• Add them back one at a time, starting at 20–50% of the dose (lower if sensitive), and increase slowly.
  
• Minor, tolerable symptoms? It's fine to keep that supplement in rotation.
  
• Symptoms you can't live with? Stop it, we can revisit it later once everything else is stable.
  
• Symptoms persist? Schedule a consult right away.
  

Then: Restart Lower

• If symptoms return during a dose increase, go back to your last comfortable dose.
  
• Stabilize there, then continue on to the next supplement.
  

Still can't tolerate a product?

• Pause it and use the Minimal Dose Strategy in Step 3.
  
• Detox or drainage support may help improve tolerance.
  
• Still stuck? Schedule a consult for guidance.
  

Step 8: Track Your Progress

Fill this in as you go. It makes your consult far more productive, and it's easy to forget what you added when.

Quick Recap

One at a time is the whole game. Add supplements one at a time so you always know what caused what.

• Most people are Level 1: full dose, one new supplement per day (Step 1).
  
• Drops build over 4 days, and Day 1 is always a test drop (Step 2).
  
• DHEA builds weekly. Cycle Balance builds slowly, morning and bedtime.
  
• Only move up after a symptom-free day.
  
• Mild and brief is okay. Significantly worse means slow down (Steps 6 and 7).
  
• This process takes patience, and it works. There's always a Plan B, C, or D.
  
• Reach out if symptoms stick around. We're here to help.
  

Where to Get Your Supplements

All products are available through the Just In Health store. Click any product below to order. They're grouped in the same order as your protocol sheet.

Adrenal & Energy Support

• Pregnenolone Drops
  
• DHEA Drops
  
• Licorice Drops
  
• Adrenal Revive
  

Female Hormone Support

• Cycle Balance
  

Gut & Immune Support

• GI Binder
  
• NAC Supreme
  

Thyroid Hormone Support

• Thyro Balance
  

Browse the full store: justinhealth.com/healthy-living-store

Some product pages are password-protected. Your password is the same one you use for the members area, and it's also printed at the bottom of your protocol sheet.

Related Handouts

• Die-Off Reaction Handout & Ginger Tea (for GI clearing herbs)
  
• Digestive Support Guide (for HCL, enzymes, and bile support)
  
• Thyroid Dosing Support Guide (for Thyro Balance dosing)
  

Questions or not feeling stable?

Schedule a Consult

This guide is for general education and support with your protocol. It doesn't replace personalized medical advice, so always follow the plan Dr. Justin designed for you. If you take prescription medications or see other providers, let them know what supplements you're on, since some can interact. Questions about your care are always welcome at the office.

Just In Health  ·  Dr. Justin Marchegiani, D.C.  ·  justinhealth.com  ·  office@justinhealth.com