04 June 2009

Are You Suffering from Fatigued Adrenals?

The adrenal glands sit atop the kidneys.Image via Wikipedia

By Anju Mathur, MD

What is Adrenal fatigue?

* Tired for no reason?

* Feel exhausted when confronted with difficult situations?

* Having trouble getting up in the morning?

* Need coffee, tea or sugary treats to keep going during the day?

If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, you may be suffering from Adrenal Fatigue, the 21st century condition. Adrenal fatigue could occur in anyone who is suffering severe or constant physical or emotional stress. It is also an important contributing factor in many ailments ranging from obesity to allergies. Despite its prevalence, the medical community has largely ignored it. Although it affects millions of people throughout the industrialized world, conventional medicine does not recognize it as a medical condition.

There are other references to the subject of fatigued adrenals and it has been referred to as Non Addison's Disease, adrenal apathy, and other such names that mean the same thing. This problem can make your life extremely difficult. Adrenal Fatigue occurs when the adrenal gland cannot keep up with the requests of the body because of stress factors in one's life. The level of stress being faced by the individual determines the demand placed on the adrenal glands to produce more hormones. When the demand is constant and extreme, like in today's society where people can experience stress demands every few minutes, results in the fatigue and symptoms listed above. In such cases, the adrenal becomes so jeopardized that it impinges upon the other body functions which include balances in the body such as mineral to water, ability to convert food into energy, properly functioning heart and a persons libido. In more severe cases the adrenal glands can be so exhausted and working so far below optimum a person can feel tired all day and hardly able to function for more than a few hours at a time.

What kind of people get adrenal fatigue?

Nearly everyone, at some time in their life, will experience adrenal fatigue. It can be brought on by a sickness, emergencies in life or demanding problems, all of which can even deplete the adrenal resources of a person that has no physical problems. There are certain factors that can make you prone to adrenal fatigue. Some items that can be causes of adrenal fatigue can include a persons choice of a way of life such as cigarettes, taking drugs, not getting enough rest, a job with too much stress, not eating well or recurrent body problems including infections, allergies and so on.

How common is adrenal fatigue?

Since 9-11 occurred in the US, over 80% of North Americans suffer from adrenal fatigue sometime in their life. Sometimes it is temporary or it could last for a long period of time and could be very debilitating.

How can you discern if you are suffering from Adrenal fatigue? Here's some clues to look for:

* If you are lethargic and weary very often without cause.

* Can't get out of bed in the morning even if you go to bed at a reasonable hour.

* Feeling rundown with no energy or completely swamped.

* Can't bounce back from illness or stress?

* Have an intense desire for sugary or salty treats?

* Feeling best only in the evening?

Other physical problems that are influenced by adrenal fatigue

* Low blood sugar

* Aching tissues and muscles

* Diabetes

* Chronic recurrent infections

* Food, plant and animal sensitivities

* Chronic inflammation of the joints

* Sleep disorders

* Difficult Menopause

* Disproportion in the hormone balance for women

Adrenal fatigue is an important health problem and should be handled. It could be diagnosed and handled with nutritional and occasionally bioidentical hormones (no synthetic or animal-derived hormones) are needed to fully recover from adrenal fatigue.

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