Adrenal Fatigue

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What you should know about

adrenal fatigue

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ease

by Marcy Holmes, Women's Health Nurse Practitioner, Certified Menopause

Clinician

Our patients' most common symptoms are fatigue, insomnia, weight gain, and

depression. Does that sound like you? If so, your underlying problem may be

adrenal stress.

Every woman who comes to our clinic with these symptoms gets an adrenal test

And the results - over thousands of cases - are remarkably consistent: only

1% have healthy adrenal function, while 99% suffer impaired function,

ranging from significant adrenal stress to complete adrenal exhaustion.

The effects of adrenal dysfunction can be profound: fatigue and weakness;

suppression of the immune system; muscle and bone loss; moodiness or

depression; hormonal imbalance; skin problems; autoimmune disorders; and

dozens of other symptoms.

The good news is that adrenal dysfunction can almost always be relieved. Let

s look both at the problem and the solution.

The original, life-saving role of the adrenals.

Think primitive for a moment. The basic task of your adrenal glands is to

rush all your body's resources into " fight or flight " . When healthy, your

adrenals can instantly increase your heart rate and blood pressure, release

your energy stores for immediate use, slow your digestion and other

secondary functions, and sharpen your senses.

Let's emphasize two points about this healthy stress response. First, it

takes priority over all other metabolic functions. Second, it wasn't

designed to last very long.

Now for the life we live today.

Unlike our ancestors, we live with constant stress. Instead of occasional

demands followed by rest, we're constantly over-worked, under-nourished,

exposed to environmental toxins, worrying about others - with no let-up.

Think primitive again: every challenge to the mind and body creates a demand

on the adrenal glands. The list of challenges is endless: lack of sleep, a

demanding boss, the threat of losing your job, financial pressures,

personality conflicts, yo-yo dieting, relationship turmoil, death or illness

of a loved one, skipping meals, reliance on stimulants like caffeine and

carbs, digestive problems, over-exercise, illness or infection, unresolved

emotional issues from our past or present.

The destructive side of cortisol.

In its normal function, cortisol helps us meet these challenges by

converting proteins into energy, releasing glycogen and counteracting

inflammation. For a short time, that's OK. But at sustained high levels,

cortisol gradually tears your body down.

Sustained high cortisol destroys healthy muscle and bone; slows down healing

and normal cell replacement; coopts biochemicals needed to make other vital

hormones; impairs digestion, metabolism and mental function; interferes with

healthy endocrine function; and weakens your immune system.

Adrenal dysfunction may be a factor in many related conditions, including

fibromyalgia, hypothyroidism, chronic fatigue syndrome, arthritis, premature

menopause and others. It may also produce a host of other unpleasant

symptoms, from acne to hair loss.

Why adrenal dysfunction is seldom detected.

Conventional medicine is truly wonderful at treating disease-state

conditions. Unfortunately its focus on drugs also tends to suppress

early-stage symptoms rather than treat their underlying causes. This can

have the effect of delaying treatment until a disease state has developed.

In the conventional standard of care, any cortisol level within a very broad

range is considered normal, and anything outside that range indicates

disease. In our practice, we measure cortisol at several points in the day

to track the adrenals' day-night pattern (called the " diurnal rhythm " ) using

a panel of simple saliva tests. We hope to see cortisol elevated in the

morning to help you get going, lower but steady throughout the day to

sustain energy, then fall in the evening to support restful sleep.

In the early stages of adrenal stress, cortisol levels will be too high

during the day and continue rising in the evening. This is called

hyperadrenia " . In the middle stages, cortisol may rise and fall unevenly as

the body struggles to balance itself despite the disruptions of caffeine,

carbs and other factors, but levels are not normal and are typically too

high at night. In advanced stages, when the adrenals are exhausted from

overwork, cortisol will never reach normal levels ( " hypoadrenia " ).

Conventional medicine will detect only the extremes of these conditions,

when damage to the adrenals has already occurred (Cushings Disease or

s Disease). Within those extremes, you can feel miserable and still

be told your adrenals are normal. But by responding to early-stage symptoms,

we can reverse the developing dysfunction.

Do you remember how you deserve to feel?

In general, if you feel happy and well, have steady energy and emotions,

sleep soundly 7-9 hours a night, wake up feeling rested, recover well from

stress, and maintain a healthy weight without dieting, then your adrenals

are probably doing well.

On the other hand, if your energy lags during the day, you feel emotionally

unbalanced much of the time, you sleep poorly or less than 7 hours a night,

can't lose excess weight even while dieting, use caffeine or carbohydrates

as pick-me-ups — these are all red flags indicating adrenal dysfunction.

In most cases you can restore healthy adrenal function.

The first step is to have a full physical to rule out disease or other

factors. In our experience, women with mild to moderate cases of adrenal

fatigue can see significant improvement through these steps:

Dietary changes to enrich your nutrition and reduce carbohydrates and

stimulants. We also recommend the addition of high-quality nutritional

supplements, including essential fatty acids from fish oil.

Stress reduction, including moderate exercise and taking more time for

yourself. (It's helpful to make a list of your stressors, especially those

that are constant.)

Get more rest. Your body needs time to heal.

Women with more severe symptoms, or who have reached complete adrenal

exhaustion, usually need greater intervention. At our practice we use the

steps outlined above with the added natural support of phosphorylated

serines, low-dose compounded DHEA, ginseng and glycerated licorice. We

personalize the therapy to each woman's symptoms and test results. (We urge

you not to self-prescribe these substances, as they can have adverse health

effects. Instead, find a practitioner who will guide you. See Next Steps,

below.)

It's important to emphasize the role of emotional factors. Guilt, pain from

past hurts, self-destructive habits, unresolved relationship problems — your

past and present emotional experience may serve as an ever-present stressor.

Dealing with these problems directly is much more beneficial than trying to

compensate for the stress they create, in the same way that " an ounce of

prevention is worth a pound of cure " .

In all but the most extreme cases, we expect to see dramatic improvement

within about four months. For mild to moderate adrenal fatigue the

turnaround can be much faster. Remember, you may feel too tired to make

changes now, but by moving forward in stages, you'll build the strength you

need to stay with it. In perimenopause we get to change so many things. You

will love how you feel when you do.

Next Steps

For women with mild to moderate adrenal fatigue, our Personal Program offers

the nutritional supplements and dietary guidance we recommend. It's an

excellent foundation. In the Program you also have the option of nursing

consultations for individual guidance.

For women with severe adrenal fatigue, you are welcome to call the

HealthCare Center and make an appointment for a telephone consultation. (If

you live within driving distance, we would be happy to see you in person at

our clinic in Yarmouth, Maine.) The toll-free number is 1-.

For further reading on adrenal fatigue, we recommend:

Adrenal Fatigue, the 21st Century Stress Syndrome by . An

excellent and up-to-date introduction.

The Relaxation & Stress Reduction Workbook by Martha . Used by our

nurses in the Personal Program.

The Cortisol Connection: Why Stress Makes You Fat and Ruins Your Health, by

Talbott & Kraemer.

The Relaxation Response by Herbert Benson, MD. An updated version of the

classic text.

The Schwarzbein Principle II, Dr. Schwarzbein's second book, explores more

deeply the relationship between adrenal stress and insulin resistance.

Dr. Northrup gives great inspiration in her work Creating Health

lecture/tape series as well as her written books.

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Thyroid-Adrenal Connection Information & Resources

http://www.bestweb.net/~om/thyroid