Adrenal Exhaustion/Adrenal Fatigue

Adrenal exhaustion or adrenal fatigue is one of the most under diagnosed illnesses in western society. It has been estimated that 80% of adults suffer some sort of adrenal fatigue. Adrenal fatigue, also known as hypoadrenia, is a dysfunction of the adrenal glands ultimately resulting in diminished production of adrenal hormones which adversly affects your physiology. 

The most common signs of adrenal fatigue include: continued fatigue, exhaustion, trouble sleeping, trouble getting out of bed, depression, anxiety, sugar and/or salt cravings, weight gain and inability to lose weight, increased effort to do everyday tasks, decreased sex drive, decreased ability to handle stress, light headed when standing up, low body temperature, more prone to colds and flu and less tolerance to stress.

As your metabolism slows down with declining adrenal hormones and thus as a result your energy production declines your body attempts to compensate by up-regulating your nervous system so you are fueled by your nervous system to keep you going. At this stage anxiety gets worse, insomnia, inability to relax, nervousness and a racy mind may also occur and in more severe cases breathlessness, palpitations and even tremors may manifest.

As a result of decreased adrenal function people with adrenal fatigue frequently also suffer from hypoglycemia (low blood sugar levels), allergies, arthritic pain and low immune response. Women with it also have hormonal imbalances such as increased menstral problems, PMS and menopausal symptoms.

Adrenal fatigue is caused by stress wheather it be emotional, mental or physical stress. Energetically it is due to giving your power away to others or to ideals and/or beliefs which creates stress in your life.  If you say yes to anyone even though you really do not want to is giving your power away to others. Whenever you do anything you feel that is not right or true for you, but do it anyway, is giving your power away. There may be many areas in your life that you may be doing this however it takes a great deal of self honesty to recognise and accept in what areas you are doing it. Everytime you give your power away you leak kidney energy which is needed to fuel your adrenals. A couple of common examples of giving your power away to an ideal or belief could include men working too long and too hard to be a "good" provider at their own, and ultimately their families, expense is an ideal they often try to live up to, while women tend to sacrifice themselves for their children in order to be seen as a "good" mother which eventually harms them and their children eventually anyway.

Doing things that you know are not good for you also contributes towards adrenal issues as you are not honoring your body and in complete disregard of yourself. This could include eating foods you know are not good for you, drinking too much, taking drugs, smoking, going to bed late, not getting adequate rest and relaxation, etc, etc. This kind of disregard of oneself will physically manifest as "poisons" in your physiology that will physically affect your adrenal glands contributing futher towards adrenal problems. These could include: heavy metals, pathogens such as viral, bacterial or fungal infections, parasites, allergens, toxins, etc. It is a good idea to test for these and if found to be present need to be eradicated in order to allow your adrenals to repair.

Unfortunately modern medicine does not recognise adrenal exhaustion as a distinct syndrome, only recognising its most severe form being Addison's disease. Unfortunately this attitude contributes towards many unnecessary health problems for many adrenal sufferers whom are unable to access the necessary treatment. Adrenal fatigue syndrome is a fully recognisable condition which can be healed. The first step is to find a sympathetic practitioner who will order the necessary hormone tests in order to properly diagnose this condition. The reason testing is so important is that other conditions such as hypothyoid, sex hormone imbalances, etc, etc all share very similar symptoms so an accurate diagnosis will ensure the appropriate treatment. In addition adrenal issues can cause thyroid and sex hormone imbalances which may also need to be addressed for a more complete treatment programe.

The two main hormones of interest with adrenal exhaustion are DHEA and cortisol as these two hormones are continuously secreted in response to long term chronic stress.

Cortisol

A normal functioning adrenal gland produces a whole array of hormones but of particular interest is cortisol. The adrenal glands of a healthy person produces about 20mg of cortisol each day which can increase to 200mg a day during periods of stress in order to help the body cope with the stress. Cortisol is responsible for maintaining normal blood sugar levels, it immobilises fat and protein stores for more energy, it is an anti-inflammatory, controls and modifies most blood cells that participate in immune and/or inflammatory reations, effects blood vessels and therefore blood pressure, and electrolyte levels in the heart tissue, heart beat, as well as influencing the central nervous system controlling mood and behaviour.

During early stages of adrenal stress cortisol levels are usually high which can increase obesity, cholesterol, blood pressure, alters brain chemistry causing depression and anxiety, causes insulin resistance and osteoporosis, to name a few.

During late stage adrenal exhaustion cortisol eventually falls to levels which are insufficient to adequately maintain normal physiological function. Therefore it is very important that cortisol levels are maintained at a optimal level for normal physiological function because if levels are too high or too low can both cause problems.

DHEA

The second adrenal hormone of importance that declines during periods of stress is DHEA. An average healthy man produces about 30mg of DHEA a day, while women produce abound 20mg a day however during adrenal stress may fall to very low levels. DHEA's main actions are through conversion into other more potent hormones such as the estrogens and testosterone. It also appears to have its own action on the immune system and endothelial cells helpsing boost the immune system and preventing atherosclerosis.  If production of DHEA decreases under stress and is not rectified a hormonal cascade effect could occur resulting with a deficiency of other sex hormones such as estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. If these hormones get too low then a whole range of other systems and problems can also occur such as PMS, Menopause, andropause and hypothyroidism.

The adrenal and thyroid glands work together producing their coresponding hormones which are responsible for maintaining and controlling your metabolism and thus energy levels. During periods of stress when adrenal function decreases the thyroid responds by producing more thyroid hormones in order to overcompensate for underactive adrenals. This is where you get the tired but wired symptoms. As time progresses the thyroid gland eventually burns out producing less thyroid hormones and thus causes hypothyroidism which further exacerbates your adrenal symptoms. 

It is obvious that adrenal exhaustion can be devastating to your overall health. It causes diminished cortisol and DHEA levels which adversely effects thyroid and sex hormone levels. Without appropriate treatment the adverse hormonal cascade effect will be amplified resulting in very poor health.

Stages of Adrenal Exhaustion

There are three stages of adrenal exhaustion which include:

Stage 1

The first stage, which is called hyper-adrenalism, is characterised by abnormally high cortisol levels and low DHEA levels. High cortisol may cause poor sleep, sugar cravings, confusion, weight gain, hot flushes, water retention, glucose intollerance and muscle wasting. Cortisol also decreases serotonin and melatonin levels which may cause depression and insomnia, respectively. It is also an immunosuppressive which may result in a compromised immune system resulting with frequent infections and illness.

HIgh cortisol also can inhibit the metabolism of T4, a thyroid prohormone produced by the thyroid gland, into its active T3 form. This can create a thyroid hormone imbalance known as reverse T3 dominance which can further exacerabate your adrenal symptoms.

Stage 2

During stage two DHEA remains low while cortisol supplies will hover in the low-normal range leaving you feeling tired and stressed, but functional.

Stage 3

During stage 3 cortisol finally falls to low levels throughout most of the day just like DHEA leaving you with low adrenal function.

Testing for Adrenal Fatigue

In order to determine which stage adrenal fatigue you are in and therefore what is the most appropriate treatment you will need some testing. We recommend either a saliva test measuring levels four times throughout the day or alternatively a serum DHEA-S blood test in conjunction with a 24hr urine cortisol test. Thyroid testing (T3, T4, reverse T3) is also highly recommended as previously mentioned adrenal fatigue may result with certain thyroid imbalances which further complicate fatigue symptoms. 

The correct interpretation of your results is essential for appropriate treatment. Click here for details.

Treatments

Treatment of this condition may include:

(1) Learn to say no! In order to completely heal from this condition you must stop giving your power away to others and to your ideals and beliefs in order to prevent further kidney energy leaking. You need to learn to act according to your truth and by how you feel and not by what you are conditioned into believeing what is expected of you. You also need to stop being in disregard of yourself. Be more self loving and stop doing what you know is bad for you. Techniques such as esoteric healing and chakra puncture can help facilitate this process. This step is most important because if you seek treatment in the form of a pill or supplement without addressing this you will only improve your bodily function but will not truely heal and restore harmony back into your body. Restoring function without addressing the underlying energy will only bury the ill energy deeper in your body which will arise again in the future with a greater force and thus more severe symptoms.

(2) Support your physiology with the use of certain nutrient cofactors which are essential for adrenal hormone production. Mild to moderate cases may benefit from the use of certain nutrients to aid adrenal function. More moderate to severe cases may require bioidentical adrenal hormone supplementation at physiological doses in order to restore optimal adrenal hormone levels. We tend to caution patients from using adapogen herbs such as the Ginsengs which tend to overstimulate the adrenals when they need to rest which provide short term benefits but often result in cortisol levels crashing after long term use. Herbs are not recommended in stage 2 or 3 adrenal fatigue and if used in stage 1 only for short term. For more detailed information on the treatment of adrenal fatigue including bioidentical hormones, doses used and ongoing monitoring of this condition you are required to log into the free members section.

(3) Generally your body will require plenty of relaxation, an adrenal diet (supplied during a consultation) and good quality sleep in order for it to heal and repair any damage done. This is a time of self nurturing and self love to aid the healing process. This process can be facilitated by the gentle breath meditation.

Related Conditions

There are a number of conditions that stand out as having an adrenal component which include: chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia, hypoglycemia, hypothyoidism, ischemic heart disease, chronic and recurrent infections, rheumatoid arthritis.

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