Adrenal Fatigue

[margiebee]

I know this is likely somewhat of a touchy topic because there is mixed evidence about this condition, but I was just wondering anyone here's opinions and/or experience on Adrenal Fatigue?

I am asking because I was recently looking through some of my blood tests I had done and I noticed that my cortisol was on the low-normal side, within the normal range but just barely. Nobody really explained to me why this could be, only that my doctor at the time was looking for Addison's disease and this disqualified that theory. I am also taking/coming off of a benzodiazepine which I know has been pinpointed by some to be a potential cause for this so called "adrenal fatigue". I have symptoms of Addison's which is why I was tested, which seem to be similar to the symptoms of this condition, without the darkened skin which I do not have.

Has anyone on here ever looked into this phenomenon as I'll call it? Any believers or non-believers in it? Has anyone been treated for this? I am just curious about this being a potential (but somewhat controversial) cause to some of my issues.

[Guest Alex]

Margie, I'll PM you a bit later on this.

Alex

[songcanary]

I had all the symptoms of Addison's without the skin changes. But both my serum and saliva cortisols were off the charts high. A friend who is an integrative MD told me that it is common for cortisol to rise before it plummets. And that was me.

I radically changed my lifestyle to de-stress, and it really helped. I also improved my diet to help my adrenals. I took up yoga and stopped working for a few years. All those things got me through and today I am back to work part time and feeling well. But I will never forget that nightmare. I totally believe in the condition and it can take a real search to find a doctor who will treat it, but they are out there. And they're your best friends IMHO.

[margiebee]

I have definitely been taking steps lately to de-stress as much as I can, I am curious as to what dietary changes you made? That is the part where the information seems to vary a bit.

[Hope]

I have looked into it. I bought an Adrenal Fatigue book before I was diagnosed with POTS. The symptoms are much like CFS and POTS. Mycortisol testing was barely inside the markers and I think I was tested too late in the day. From what I was told it was suppose to be in the wee hours of the morning and we were pushing 9:30am, so did that change my outcome? I don't know. Either way, no doctor I have talked to will even have a conversation about Adrenal Fatigue. I have followed the book quite a bit in order to get myself to where I am now, but I take whatever tid bits I can get from anywhere if they sound applicable. I lived on the "recovery soup" from that book for the better part of the past 1 1/2 years. I changed it up a little to suit my needs. One important thing it said was having fruit and yogurt for breakfast will put an adrenal fatigued person on the floor (and I was on the floor a lot at that point), and just changing that simple part of my diet to eat my fruit or drink my fruit juice in the afternoon (and I don't eat yogurt any more, although I'm looking for Amande around here) was significant! So that's all I have on that. I can't say that is my problem, but I've gotten some great tips out of it!

[songcanary]

It was around that same time that I discovered my food allergies. So I went organic and completely stopped eating anything from a box. I had to eliminate many foods but those I could still eat I bumped up with more protein, organic dried fruits, and nuts. I had read that protein is good for the adrenals. And the nuts and dried fruit provide trace minerals which are also good.

I think diet was probably the least important aspect of the change, but I still think it contributed a lot and I love my organic diet now. I used to drink Pepsi every day and eat lots of carbs but no more. Plus, last year I found out I am gluten intolerant so I am GF also.

[Relax86]

I strongly felt like I had adrenal fatigue in my first few weeks of the worst POTs flare. I had a east meets west Dr who agreed and prescribed me HC. I bought what I thought was a good book on AF by Katherine Simpson called "Overcoming Adrenal Fatigue". I wasn't 100% sure on what my beliefs were but my symptoms (specifically being terrible in the mornings and feeling near normal by evenings) matched quite well.

To be sure I saw an endocrinologist who was appalled that I would buy into this theory and he was super mad and arrogant. He did however do the testing to rule out Addisons, and he did test my blood volume. He said my adrenals were completely fine and to stay off the HC (which I didn't) and he said my blood volume was low; subsequent retests put me into the low end of normal range.

My symptoms evolved t/o the rest of the year to look more like dysautonomia and less like POTs. It's 17 months later and I feel about 90-95% better and I'm not using any prescription meds at this time. I personally feel that adrenal fatigue had some merit for me. And some of the things I learned from the book helped me. I still don't think I have fully functional adrenal glands; but I'm much much better. In the heart of my flare I should have sent away for the saliva kit, but I have good insurance and was a little pressed for cash so I stuck with tests that could be covered by my lab. Good luck to you and I believe everything is worth some research.

[Carrie]

I think adrenal fatigue is real in the sense that you really do have disrupted cortisol, either constantly low or an abnormal daily rhythm. However, it doesn't seem like the adrenal gland is actually worn out; it's more an issue with the signals the adrenal gland is receiving from the HPA (hypothalamic-pituitary axis). I "cured" adrenal fatigue without using hydrocortisone by resting, eating more, and taking salt. I tried about 17 adaptogenic herbs and all sorts of things, but really my body was just exhausted. It took about two years to recover. However, now I think it's all just part of POTS with strange nervous system signaling.

[margiebee]

Carrie, the way you word it makes me wonder if its just another aspect of dysautonomia in some way, perhaps my adrenals just aren't being regulated properly as well. I have always been very sensitive to stress for as long as I remember, and that is probably my biggest trigger. I only experience syncope when I am stressed. So perhaps it is adrenal related but all under the dysautonomia umbrella?

I do need to take care of myself more, but I am a college student so I have constant pressure to "keep moving" and in general I can manage it but I feel it is taking a toll, wearing my adrenals down pretty badly.

[ramakentesh]

its possible - often the body tries to use adrenalin to re-regulate faulty circulatory control - no idea if its actually possible to wear the gland out and I tend to agree with what Carrie said.