Adrenal fatigue
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
Overview
Adrenal Fatigue is a condition of the body in which the adrenal glands are exhausted and unable to produce adequate hormones, notably cortisol, the stress hormone of the body. This condition is currently widely unrecognized by the medical community. However, this fact accompanied by many people suffering gave rise to an industry of supplements and treatments for this syndrome. General practitioners and psychologists routinely mistake symptoms of adrenal fatigue for other illnesses, especially mental. Therefore the patients must be very careful in locating a helpful practitioner to help them in their recovery, before spending their time and money on various supplements and treatments. There is large confusion regarding the relation of this syndrome to another very misunderstood syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome. The two may have common symptoms and it is difficult to distinguish.
Causes
Adrenal fatigue is not typically caused by one source, rather a host of lifestyle factors that contribute to adrenal fatigue as a whole. Such contributing factors include: stress (physical and emotional), poor diet, lack of exercise, significant use of stimulants (caffeine, nicotine, amphetamines), lack of refreshing sleep, lack of relaxation, illness, being overworked, being post-surgery, as well as other stressors.
Adrenal stress tends to occur suddenly after a serious illness or stressful point in life.
Diagnosis
Symptoms
Persons suffering from adrenal fatigue often suffer from chronic fatigue, sleep disorders, trouble getting out of bed in the morning, depression, low energy, cannot recuperate/regain energy levels, lack of endurance, decreased libido, weight gain/loss, and trouble handling stress(physical/emotional).
Treatment
Naturopathic Treatment
According to various 'specialists', usually naturopaths, adrenal fatigue can be treated and reversed with proper lifestyle changes and dietary considerations. By leading a lifestyle more conducive to a healthy lifestyle, avoiding stressful situations, and eating a balanced diet, the adrenal glands can supposedly repair themselves and return to proper functioning. There is wide acceptance among the supplement-makers of adrenal fatigue that is most important nutrients that are deficient are vitamin C, pantothenic acid, vitamin B5. Of the herbal remedies it is worth mentioning licorice, that has a known effect of slowing down the breakdown of cortisol. This keeps more cortisol in the body, thus relieving some symptoms of adrenal fatigue. The naturopathic treatment is known as a "long road", with lots of ups-and-downs, and the way to recovery is long and difficult. However, naturopaths consider this more "healthy" since it is based on healing the body, rather than simply replacing the missing hormones. -
Drug Treatment
Of great importance to treatment of adrenal fatigue is the adrenal hormone cortisol. It is generally recommended that in severe cases of adrenal fatigue, the patient should consume low-doses of cortisol for quick relief of symptoms. This also supposedly (never proven) allows the adrenal glands time to heal themselves, and then the person can wean himself off cortisol. The problem is that most practitioners rely on blood sampling of cortisol to detect adrenal insufficiency. By performing blood draws for cortisol measurement, or even performing one of the dynamic tests, such as ACTH stress test, adrenal fatigue is very commonly missed and not diagnosed. Only the severe cases are given relief by cortisol, and the rest are usually told "they are fine". To correctly identify adrenal fatigue, one must diagnose by performing a cortisol saliva test on 4 samples taken at different time of the day. If there are other hormonal deficiencies, they should be corrected as well using either HRT or supporting nutrients (this includes a malfunctioning thyroid gland, and the sex hormones). The medical treatment (using cortisol mostly) is known to be quick and efficient, with no noticeable side effects. However most medical doctors dread this treatment as "dangerous". This results from the fact that cortisol is usually given in very high doses (~300mg/day) to relief various serious illnesses, resulting in very serious side effects. The doctors believe that giving low dosages (~20-30mg/day) would bear the same side effects, it will only take longer. However, in various research texts it has been shown that low dosages of cortisol (<40mg/day) or low dosages of prednisone (<10mg/day) bear no long-time or short-term side effects in the patients, even at long term treatment (see reference at the end). However as knowledge of this treatment and its safety get wider publicity and acceptance it will probably become the rule, rather than the exception.
Criticisms
As of 2008, adrenal fatigue is not an accepted medical diagnosis in the US. It has gained popularity primarily through alternative-medicine books; Which claim to offer cures for this disorder, which is allegedly ignored by the mainstream medical community.
The term adrenal fatigue may also refer to: