Snyder - Adrenal Fatigue For Dummies

Adrenal Fatigue For Dummies

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Copyright 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2013954225

ISBN 978-1-118-61580-5 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-118-61569-0 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-61578-2 (ebk)

Manufactured in the United States of America

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Chapter 1

In This Chapter

Examining how the adrenal glands work

Noting the factors and symptoms of adrenal fatigue

Getting screened for adrenal fatigue

Investigating potential causes of adrenal fatigue

Treating adrenal fatigue

If you're reading this book, you're likely sick and tired of feeling sick and tired, and you want to know why you feel that way. You know something isn't right, and you're looking for reasons as to why you feel so run down. You may have grown frustrated with your healthcare providers inability to pinpoint why you don't feel right. You suspect that you have adrenal fatigue.

You can take solace in the fact that thousands of people are experiencing similar symptoms and have complaints similar to yours. This book helps you understand what adrenal fatigue is, examines its causes, and explores how to evaluate and treat this condition.

The adrenal glands are two organs of the body that people don't often think about. Yet they're vital to your health and well-being because they do so much. To fully understand how adrenal fatigue can affect your health, you first need to understand the many functions of the adrenal glands.

You can think of the adrenal glands as regulators of the human body, overseeing many processes. Your adrenal glands are important in regulating blood pressure and acid-base balance. They're also important in the production of many hormones, which are crucial in the evaluation and management of adrenal fatigue. Examples of the hormones that your adrenal glands secrete include aldosterone, the sex hormones (namely, androstenedione, dehydroepiandrosterone [DHEA], and pregnenolone), and the all-important cortisol. We cover the fundamentals of adrenal gland structure and function in Chapter .

If you were to keep your car running 24/7 and never shut it off, your engine would simply burn out. If you never had your car tuned up, never changed your oil, and used lower octane gas, then your engine would be at a much higher risk of burning out faster. Similarly, adrenal fatigue occurs when the adrenal glands are constantly working and never have time to rest and recover. Stimulated by acidity, inflammation, and chronic illness, the adrenal glands secrete way more cortisol than they should.

Cortisol is a necessary hormone. In the setting of an acute injury or illness, this hormone is important in turning off the acute inflammatory process when it's no longer needed. However, in chronic illness and chronic inflammation, the adrenal glands continue to produce cortisol. Over time, the adrenal glands become so fatigued that they aren't able to produce enough of the hormones that the body needs to function on a daily basis, such as cortisol and aldosterone.

A number of factors may lead to adrenal fatigue: heredity, stressors early in life, medication effects, and environmental and psychological factors. In Chapter , you read more about these factors, the stages of adrenal fatigue, and the differences between adrenal fatigue and other adrenal-related syndromes, including Cushing's syndrome and Addison's disease.

The best patients are those who are attuned to their bodies. Often, a patient with adrenal fatigue can have one or many symptoms, including constant fatigue that doesn't get better, even with a good night's sleep. You may notice increasing dizziness or lightheadedness if you stand up too quickly. You may notice that your blood pressure is lower than usual. You may find yourself craving salt more. In Chapter , you read about many of the typical and atypical symptoms that someone with adrenal fatigue can experience.

Proper testing for adrenal fatigue is important to see whether you need supplementation with the hormones you read about in Chapter , including cortisol, aldosterone, and sex hormones like DHEA.