Adrenal Fatigue - Familiar Symptoms
Are you always tired?Every day, I see patients who complain that they are just plain tired. They wake daily unrefreshed, drag themselves through each day, feel they could nap every afternoon if given the opportunity, and may only feel a slight increase in energy in the evening after dinner (if then). Many tell me they feel it takes them forever to wake up in the morning. They may hit the snooze button over and over, and still be barely able to drag themselves from the bed. When they wake, it is like coming out of a coma. They often drink many cups of coffee before they feel “human.” Some of these patients sleep very poorly. They may take hours to fall asleep each night, or fall asleep easily, but be wakened throughout the night for no apparent reason. Others report that they sleep soundly, yet still wake exhausted. During the day, tasks may seem much more difficult for these patients than they once did. Even the activities they used to enjoy will seem like a chore. It takes more effort to do every task, and sometimes just getting out of a chair is an effort. Those who used to accomplish long lists of duties each day find their productivity is down. They have trouble staying focused and finishing jobs, and everything seems to take longer than it once did. Are you depressed or irritable?
Often these same patients find that the activities they once enjoyed no longer bring them pleasure. The effort involved in their favorite activities seems too great, so they give them up. Some patients complain that they are “emotional,” crying at everything. Others report a decreased ability to handle stress. They tell me they have a “short fuse,” that they are irritable, that every little thing bothers them, even the things that never annoyed them before. They worry that they yell at their children or spouse for “little things.” Some have road rage. Others have anxiety for no apparent reason. Still others find they are eating compulsively, smoking, drinking or using drugs to handle stress. Most complain of decreased sex drive – they have either lost interest, or sex seems like more work than it’s worth. Are you unable to lose weight?
The majority of patients who complain of symptoms listed above also have trouble losing weight. Frequently, they find weight gain concentrated around their mid-section, and many report that despite vigorous exercise and healthy eating habits, they can’t shed a pound. This may be adrenal fatigue!
The symptoms above are extremely common symptoms of a very common problem: adrenal fatigue. Conventional medicine doesn’t often recognize adrenal fatigue as a legitimate health concern. Many doctors don’t believe the adrenal glands, which sit atop each of your kidneys, are of concern unless they are significantly over- or under-producing. Dangerous under-production of adrenal hormones causes a rare disease known as Addison’s Disease. Cushing’s Syndrome is at the other end of the spectrum; it is the significant over-production of adrenal hormones. Both these conditions are relatively uncommon, and routine laboratory testing, along with some key physical symptoms should reveal either. Most people don’t suffer from Addison’s or Cushing’s. Adrenal fatigue is another matter, and many people are in some stage of adrenal fatigue. Why? Well, put in a nutshell, the adrenal glands get a real workout in our stressed out culture! The adrenal glands, sometimes called “the stress glands,” produce the “stress hormones” cortisol and adrenaline, among others. When you are stressed, the adrenal glands work extra hard pumping out cortisol, adrenaline, and several other hormones, as the body attempts to balance its stress response. Stress causes adrenal fatigue.
Stresses that affect the adrenal glands come in many forms and your adrenal glands respond to every kind of stress, no matter what the source. Some stresses are emotional or psychological, such as those caused by poor family relationships, stressful work environments or a failing economy with all its financial concerns. Other stressors are physical; these include such things as back pain, arthritis, or a physically demanding job. Environmental stressors include cigarette smoke, seasonal allergies, noise pollution, pesticides and the like. Infectious stresses are the many bacteria and viruses to which we are all exposed and which our bodies rally to defend us against daily. Even a poor diet is a stress to the body that kicks the adrenal glands into action! The adrenal glands are intimately involved in most of the important functions of your body. These include blood pressure regulation; thyroid function; metabolism of blood sugars, carbohydrates and fats (and thereby weight gain and inability to lose weight); balance of other hormones like the sex hormones; gastrointestinal function; immune function; strength and stamina; allergic reactions; and many other functions. When a person experiences a stress, the adrenal glands must work harder to counter that stress and balance body functions and responses. When we are stressed constantly, it’s easy to imagine how exhausted these glands can become! Adrenal fatigue has many symptoms.
With all the bodily functions affected by the adrenal stress response, you can see that adrenal fatigue may lead to a host of unpleasant symptoms, including those listed above and many others. Frequent colds, flu, or other infections are often a sign of adrenal fatigue. Patients may have ringing in their ears or feel dizzy or light headed when they stand up. They may be hungry all the time, and feel no amount of food satisfies their cravings, or they may crave salt in particular. Environmental or food allergies are often a sign of adrenal fatigue, especially if they are new symptoms not experienced before. Many women who suffer from PMS find that these symptoms go away once their adrenal fatigue is treated. Most of my patients who suffer from adrenal fatigue complain of “brain fog,” absentmindedness, or an inability to think clearly or remember things as they once did. Adrenal fatigue is easily treated!
The good news is that adrenal fatigue is easily diagnosed and treated. If you experience many of the symptoms mentioned above, it’s likely you have adrenal fatigue. However, many disorders have overlapping symptoms, so it’s important to see a skilled doctor who can differentiate between your symptoms, who will do appropriate testing, and who is capable of determining whether your symptoms are caused by adrenal fatigue or by something entirely different. Testing is also important because it helps to determine what stage of adrenal fatigue you are in, and thereby what treatment is best suited to your individual case. Many natural therapies are incredibly effective at treating adrenal fatigue, but they can be targeted to your needs most effectively using the results of adrenal testing. When the therapy is prescribed based on your personal needs, recovery is generally much faster.