What is Adrenal Fatigue?
Adrenal Fatigue is a syndrome - a sort of non-specific collection of things going wrong. If you got it, however, there should be a reason and it normally has something to do with the body having a very intense demand on it for a very long time. It also tends to be linked to low cortisol levels - cortisol being the chemical your body produces to deal with stress and keep you feeling calm and in control.
Stress is anything from being excited and happy for something or even being worried or scared about something. Something even like a morning commute can suddenly seem like it's too much when your adrenals aren't working.
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| This little guy does a lot! |
Wiki gives a fine definition of it:
Adrenal fatigue or hypoadrenia is a term used in alternative medicine to describe the belief that the adrenal glands are exhausted and unable to produce adequate quantities of hormones, primarily cortisol. The term "adrenal fatigue" may be applied to a collection of non-specific medically unexplained symptoms, but it is not recognized by mainstream institutions. This is distinct from clinically defined adrenal dysfunction disorders such as adrenal insufficiency or Addison's Disease.The only reason I believe I have the medically unrecognized and unaccepted Adrenal Fatigue is that I have had my cortisol levels tested and there are points during the day I have none. Cortisol is needed for homeostasis. Cortisol also is responsible for:
- Increasing blood sugar.
- Suppressing the immune system.
- Aiding in fat, protein, and carbohydrate metabolism.
Testing
You can have your cortisol levels testing through a simple spit test - it's the best way. Why? Cortisol is not a steady thing - in a healthy person, it goes up and down. There were times in the day (from 12n-1pm) that my levels were low-normal. However, the rest of the time, they were zero.
The spit test measures your cortisol over the course of 12 hours to give you a dynamic view of how you system is working.
Sometimes doctors do not want to order this test - mostly because "adernal fatigue" can sometimes be considered a fake illness. Some labs (like ZRT and Genova Diagnostics) allow patients to order tests directly.
Sometimes, treatment is as easy as taking it easy. Those who are highly stressed can work to remove that stress from their lives - either though treating an anxiety disorder or through avoiding the situation that makes them stressed (say, a bad relationship or very high-pressured job).
The treatment for my Adrenal Fatigue is a steroid that mimics the stuff the adrenal glands produce. I am also on a good amount of supplements, vitamins and a healthy diet. The trick with medications is to keep the synthetic stuff at a slight dose so the adrenal still have to work.
Whenever a system is trying to recover, treatment should never take a place of the system, it should just help it along.
Because I was so sick, I have had a couple of my systems artificially stimulated in order to fight off various infections and use treatment effectively. As soon as the stimulation was removed, these systems would crash because the body didn't see the need to keep them going. Very painful. But, it beat dying.
Conclusions
Well, now you know. Right? Adrenal Fatigue is real, it's not in my head, it is not a made up condition and it is testable, treatable, curable and manageable.
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| Fatigue looks like lazy, feels like dying |
After all, I'm training for a 100 mile bike ride. Couldn't do that if I was still on the couch!
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