What is adrenal fatigue?

Are you suffering from morning fatigue? Crave for foods high in salt and sugar? Have a chronic low blood pressure, sensitivity to cold and feeling chilled, with mental for and mild depression? Having a mood swings memory problems, lack of energy and feeling rundown, a decreased ability to handle stress, a decreased ability to recover from illness, muscular weakness, increased food allergies, lightheadedness when getting up from a sitting or lying down position, decreased sex drive, frequent sighing, inability to handle foods high in potassium or carbohydrates unless they’re combined with fats and protein.

Well these are just the common symptoms of adrenal fatigue. A collection of signs and symptoms, known as a "syndrome", that results when the adrenal glands function below the necessary level. Most commonly associated with intense or prolonged stress, it can also arise during or after acute or chronic infections, especially respiratory infections such as influenza, bronchitis or pneumonia. Its paramount symptom is fatigue that is not relieved by sleep but it is not a readily identifiable entity like measles or a growth on the end of your finger. You may look and act relatively normal with adrenal fatigue and may not have any obvious signs of physical illness, yet you live with a general sense of unwellness, tiredness or "gray" feelings. People suffering from adrenal fatigue often have to use coffee, colas and other stimulants to get going in the morning and to prop themselves up during the day.

Throughout the past century, adrenal fatigue has been known by many other names throughout the past century such as: Addison's hypoadrenia, sub-clinical hypoadrenia, neurasthenia, adrenal neurasthenia, adrenal apathy and adrenal fatigue. Although it affects millions of people in the U.S. and around the world, conventional medicine does not yet recognize it as a distinct syndrome.

In the more serious cases, the activity of the adrenal glands is so diminished that you may have difficulty getting out of bed for more than a few hours per day. With each increment of reduction in adrenal function, every organ and system in your body is more profoundly affected. Changes occur in your carbohydrate, protein and fat metabolism, fluid and electrolyte balance, heart and cardiovascular system, and even sex drive.

This is Dr. Steve Wander from Rockville Medical & Disc Center LLC. Hope my first post helped you a lot. To help you get out of pain, restore and rehabilitate your spine to maintain a god health and great wellness is our main objectives. Why not share or ask something about chiropractic? As this forum site looks great, I’m looking forward to establish a good relationship and have an interesting discussion with you.
Yours in good health,
Dr. Steve Wander
Rockville Medical & Disc Center LLC

Mayo Clinic writes this on it:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/adrena ... ue/AN01583

Excerpt:

Adrenal fatigue is a term applied to a collection of nonspecific symptoms, such as body aches, fatigue, nervousness, sleep disturbances and digestive problems. The term often shows up in popular health books and on alternative medicine websites, but it isn't an accepted medical diagnosis.

This is one of those conditions that medical science can't prove and doesn't necessarily support. It's similar to thyroid conditions that are present, but not necessarily measurable by testing.

I remember visiting a chiropractor in the 70s from back pain due to an injury caused by over extending my back. It was a combination of pulled muscles and back mis-alignment. He cured that and also perceived an adrenal problem from testing that he did. He gave me adrenal compounds and iron supplement tablets. I took them and within a couple of days, I felt better than I had in my entire life. I awoke with terrific energy and had stamina to last all day. My mental state bordered on euphoric compare to my previous run down state. They ran out and I ran back down, but it made me realize just how good it felt to be peaked out.

My primary physician sent me to an endocrinologist for high triglycerides once. During the visits he tested my thyroid and told me I was within range on the low end. My mother has borderline low thyroid and I asked the doctor if supplemental thyroid could be tried to get me into the middle of the range just to see if it helped my lack of energy. He blew it off and told me that I was in range and they don't prescribe medications until you are out of range and not without further testing even then.

I think a lot of endocrine problems are dismissed because the ranges for blood tests are based on the general population. The means everyone from youth to old age are rolled into what is considered "natural" blood test ranges. If I'm 16 (I'm not) and my readings are in the 90 year old average range, does that mean I'm OK to go?