WHAT IS ADRENAL FATIGUE?

(Also referred to as HPA dysfunction).

Adrenal fatigue is basically when your adrenal glands are exhausted and unable to produce adequate quantities of hormones, primarily cortisol, due to chronic stress or infections.

Chronic stress is not just the emotional or mental stress that first comes to mind. It also includes physical stress, exposure to toxins (pollution in our environment, what we consume, cosmetic products we use, etc.), candida overgrowth and parasites, physical injuries, gut issues, eating a diet that is high in processed foods, sugar and caffeine, not getting enough sleep, and more.

CAUSES OF ADRENAL FATIGUE

Prolonged, emotional/mental stress: relationships, workplace, poor coping skills, unresolved trauma (can include suppressed trauma), constant worrying.
Prolonged physical stress: injuries, chronic inflammation in the body (not always obvious), parasites, undiagnosed food allergies, candida overgrowth in the gut and system, over- exercising, hyper- or hypoglycaemia, poor dental health.
Diet: processed, refined foods, caffeine, fried fatty foods, gluten, dairy, animal products. Hormonal imbalance, specifically, estrogen dominance.
Pollutants, endocrine disruptors found in various consumable products.
Parasites and candida overgrowth.

SYMPTOMS

Symptoms of adrenal fatigue sound similar to hyper- and hypothyroidism. Adrenal insufficiency and hypothyroidism are both metabolic disorders and both result in the total slowdown in the body’s function and low energy. Below is a list of common symptoms of adrenal fatigue:

Image taken from my free downloadable PDF version of this article.

DISEASES THAT ARE DIRECTLY RELATED TO STRESS & ADRENAL FATIGUE

Fibromyalgia
Chronic fatigue syndrome
Rheumatoid arthritis
Autoimmune disorders
Cirrhosis
Obesity
Asthma, Bronchitis, and more.

LINK BETWEEN ADRENALS AND THE THYROID

When the adrenal glands are weak even normal thyroid activity is a burden. When a GP prescribes supplemental thyroid medication, it may help reduce initial symptoms in terms of energy levels, however, as the adrenal glands become more exhausted (because the source of the adrenal fatigue is not actually being addressed), energy production shuts down and the thyroid pills stop working. Eventually, a higher dose of the medication is prescribed to produce an effect. This becomes a pattern.

ESTROGEN DOMINANCE & ADRENAL FATIGUE

Adrenal fatigue affects more women than men. Women commonly develop estrogen dominance, and the high levels of estrogen cause a corresponding increase in levels of cortisol-binding globulin. This interferes with your hormone function. Someone with estrogen dominance might actually have adequate levels of cortisol, but the free available cortisol level is low because of the increase of the globulin.

It can also go the other way where adrenal insufficiency can lead to estrogen dominance. It is a situation of "which came first; the chicken or the egg?".

ADRENAL FATIGUE & MENSTRUAL CYCLES

Cortisol is made in the adrenal cortex from progesterone. Progesterone is needed for ovulation and maintaining a pregnancy. If someone has low progesterone levels, their cortisol levels are likely to be low too. The body sees cortisol as more important than progesterone, so whatever progesterone is available in the body will be converted into cortisol. You can see how this can be disastrous to regular menstrual cycles and fertility.

I THINK I HAVE ADRENAL FATIGUE... NOW WHAT?

Your everyday symptoms and ailments are likely enough for you to suspect that you have adrenal fatigue. Formal testing involves saliva testing. Blood and urine tests do not correlate with hormones within the cells and do not measure the impact of stress on your health.

Cortisol is normally measured 4x during the day, e.g. 8AM, 12PM, 4PM, 8PM.

It can take a while to recover from adrenal fatigue, depending on severity. For best results, it is important to adhere to the specific diet and lifestyle changes. With proper compliance to these changes, recovery can take anywhere between 6 months to 2 years, depending on severity.

HEALING FROM ADRENAL FATIGUE

As you can see, it can take a long time to heal from adrenal fatigue, which often requires a multi-layered treatment plan. Some ideas of how you can start healing are as below:

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— Amya

Adrenal Fatigue