Could you have Adrenal Fatigue?
What is Adrenal Fatigue?
The term Adrenal Fatigue was coined in 1998 by James Wilson PhD, a naturopath and expert in alternative medicine.
The adrenal glands are small organs located above the kidneys.
They are controlled by the pituitary gland which is a small pea-sized gland in our brain that tells the adrenal glands to produce hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline, these are the fight or flight hormones that used to save our lives when we were hunter gathers trying to avoid wildlife that wanted to eat us for dinner!
Cortisol and adrenaline are demonised when it comes to stress but we do need a certain amount of these hormones to give us our get up and go. Issues arise when we are in a prolonged state of stress which tires our body.
Adrenal Fatigue is NOT an actual medical diagnosis.
It is more of a lay term to describe a group of symptoms that you can’t quite pin point to a disease.
Symptoms of Adrenal Fatigue
Symptoms can include but are not exclusive to:
- Tiredness/fatigue
- Weakness
- Trouble falling asleep or waking up
- Dependant on stimulants such as caffeine
- Craving salt
- Stomach issues – diarrhoea/vomiting/nausea
- Lightheadedness/low blood pressure
The trouble is these symptoms could be put down to a normal busy lifestyle but they could also be a sign of something else going on so you should always get yourself checked out by a GP and not treat adrenal fatigue as a disease you can treat yourself.
These days our stress isn’t always used for quick bursts of energy.
Sustained stress puts our adrenal glands under chronic pressure which can exhaust our body.
Adrenal Insufficiency
This is a more medically accepted term and you can ask for a blood test which will determine if your adrenal glands are producing sufficient hormones.
If you are found to have adrenal insufficiency you can be treated with artificial hormones.
It is important to note you should not use hormone supplements without medical supervision as misuse could stop the adrenal glands working and send them to ‘sleep’ for months even after you stop using them leading to adrenal crisis.
Reversing Adrenal Fatigue
So what can you do if you are feeling some or all of the above symptoms and the GP has ruled out anything more sinister?
You may be recovering from an illness such as flu or pneumonia which has put your body under stress. There may have been a death in the family which has created chronic long-term stress.
It is time to look at your lifestyle.
Can you remove or avoid any stressors? If not, what can you do to de-stress? You can read more about stress in a previous post Chronic Stress and Hormones.
I teach the 4 pillars of health and wellness in my 1-1 and online programs. You can try the following quite easily yourself, the key is to make them habits.
- Nutrition: Add more nutritious ingredients and foods to your daily meals increasing micronutrients.
- Movement: Make sure you are moving your body in a way you enjoy every day, preferably getting outside in natural light and nature.
- Rest & Relaxation: Sleep! Ensuring you are getting as much quality sleep as you can and introducing good sleep hygiene.
- Spirit: Taking care of your emotional health. Having fun!
Further Reading
Since writing this post over 3 years ago I have other posts you may find helpful, you can read them via these links;