Adrenal fatigue

[Guest guest]

Venizia,

You wrote:

>

> I mentioned to him that I had a high cortisol test 2 yrs prior. It

> was about 15 points above normal range. All he said was I didn't have

> adrenal problems. I do not understand how he would know that other

> than the overt symptoms you talk about. I have read that cortisol

> numbers can go high and then will go low before one has adrenal fatigue.

Or, that old test could have simply represented normal adrenal function.

Cortisol is supposed to go up and down in response to stressors. The

signature you mention is high cortisol combined with low levels of other

hormones, particularly pregnenolone. A momentary increase in cortisol,

even a fairly large one, really only suggests that you are under stress,

or have an infection.

" Fatigue " means that the adrenals will fail to respond normally, either

staying chronically high in cortisol during the early stage or

chronically low later. It supposedly means both the adrenal gland is

failing, and that you become persistently fatigued as a result.

The problem is that many other things can cause tiredness, and what is

called adrenal fatigue is technically sub-clinical; no test will

reliably detect it, although some claim that diurnal cycles of DHEA and

cortisol can be an indicator.

A simple measure of serum cortisol is really only good for detecting

severe conditions, such as 's or Cushing's. Those are the

conditions with overt symptoms. If you don't have those, your doctor is

not likely to consider a sub-clinical condition. The symptoms commonly

ascribed to adrenal fatigue are the same as for hay fever, sleep apnea,

or middle age. Consequently, it is not recognized as a syndrome by the

main stream, even though the description has been around since the 19th c.

Chuck