Adrenal fatigue is a real and very problematic hormonal problem. The simple definition of this syndrome is the lack of production of hormones produced by the adrenal glands. These very important glands are attached to the top of the kidneys and produce many hormones, but for this discussion we are focused on cortisol. Cortisol is one of the hormones that triggers the fight or flight response that our body reacts to when challenged physically or mentally.
Your body makes cortisol to help it store fat reserves should you need energy later, primarily meant to act like that when we were cavemen, but cavemen we are not. It causes weight gain as the fat stores increase.
Our challenge today is STRESS ! Stress under constant pressure initially causes overproduction and increased weight, but after a while the constant stress we feel in everyday life, whatever the source, causes the adrenal glands to shutdown production of cortisol. Your cortisol level dips low, but unfortunately the built up fat stores remain. It is important to know that we have to have cortisol. Without it in your body’s hormonal system, it could cause death.
STRESS really does a number to our bodies, in many ways. In respect to adrenal fatigue the most common signs are:
• Tired for no reason?
• Having trouble getting up in the morning?
• Need coffee, colas, salty or sweet snacks to keep going?
• Feeling run down and stressed?
• Crave salty or sweet snacks?
• Struggling to keep up with life’s daily demands?
• Can’t bounce back from stress or illness?
• Not having fun anymore?
• Decreased sex drive?
• Feel depressed and do not know why?
Sounds a lot like most other things……doesn’t it? How do we tell the difference from all the other “fatigue” related syndromes? It’s all in the hormones and in the ability of the physician, and it can be a ‘part’ of your whole unbalanced hormonal system.
As the name suggests, its paramount symptom is fatigue that is not relieved by sleep but it is not a readily identifiable entity like measles or a broken finger. You may look and act relatively normal with adrenal fatigue and may not have any obvious signs of physical illness, yet you live with a general sense of unwellness, tiredness or “gray” feelings. People suffering from adrenal fatigue often have to use coffee, colas and other stimulants to get going in the morning and to prop themselves up during the day.
This syndrome has been known by many other names throughout the past century, such as non-Addison’s hypoadrenia, sub-clinical hypoadrenia, neurasthenia, adrenal neurasthenia, adrenal apathy and adrenal fatigue. Although it affects millions of people in the U.S. and around the world, conventional medicine does not yet recognize it as a distinct syndrome.
Adrenal fatigue can wreak havoc with your life. In the more serious cases, the activity of the adrenal glands is so diminished that you may have difficulty getting out of bed for more than a few hours per day. With each increment of reduction in adrenal function, every organ and system in your body is more profoundly affected. Changes occur in your carbohydrate, protein and fat metabolism, fluid and electrolyte balance, heart and cardiovascular system, and even sex drive. Many other alterations take place at the biochemical and cellular levels in response to and to compensate for the decrease in adrenal hormones that occurs with adrenal fatigue. Your body does its best to make up for under-functioning adrenal glands, but it does so at a price.
How common is adrenal fatigue? Although there are no recent statistics available, Dr. John Tinterra, a medical doctor who specialized in low adrenal function, said in 1969 that he estimated that approximately 16% of the public could be classified as severe, but that if all indications of low cortisol were included, the percentage would be more like 66%. This was before the extreme stress of 21st century living, 9/11, and the severe economic recession we are experiencing.
Treatment is relatively simple. After identifying the culprit, restoration of a cortisol like hormone is taken, and levels monitored. There are also adrenal stimulators, proprietary blends of natural substances that work to stimulate adrenal production. They are often very successful. You can also be proactive and use techniques to de-stress your life, as one of many other methods.
Don’t worry! We always check your cortisol level on an initial screening. Also if we and you do not see the results we expect to, that is increasing your energy level, we would look at this much under-diagnosed culprit again.