So tired today. No, I am not sleepy, it is more like exhausted. The can’t get out of bed in the morning and catch my breath if climbing stairs tired. Also been feeling anxious and depressed when I really have no reason to be. Have you seen my phone? I just had it but can’t remember where I put it and I am late for an appointment I completely forgot about….
Any of this sound like you? I have been there.
I was fortunate enough to find the help of a practitioner who knew about Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome and wanted to pass on what I have learned to the next exhausted and sick person who has no idea how to feel better.
Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome occurs when the adrenal glands in your body are overworked and produce too much hormone either very quickly or are overworked for a long time and finally can no longer keep up with the stress on your body. The adrenal gland is not an often thought of part of the body, yet it plays a very important role in how the body functions and responds to stress. The adrenal glands are located right above your kidneys and are the key to how your body responds to stress during the day. When under stress, the adrenal glands produce a hormone called cortisol which allows you to adapt to the situation.
Cortisol is the hormone responsible for the “fight or flight” response you have likely heard of. A stressful situation causes your body to undergo changes to prepare it for action. Cortisol increases sugar released into the body to use as energy, enhances sugar use in the brain and increases the release of substances into the body to help in healing tissues and decreasing inflammation. Long-term emotional, physical, or mental stress can cause the adrenal glands to be in a continued state of producing cortisol. After a while, the adrenal gland will be unable to keep up with the demands of the stressed body and will get “tired” and not produce enough cortisol. The reason it is unable to produce enough cortisol is usually lacking enough vitamins within the body to continue hormone production. A body responding the best way to stress will be able to produce enough cortisol to respond to a stressful event, and then be able to turn off the response and return to a normal state.
Examples of stress on the body:
injury
surgery
infection
poor nutrition
emotional stress from work, relationships, situations
continued exposure to environmental issues such as allergens and chemicals
There is currently no medical lab test that can accurately detect adrenal fatigue. There is a condition called Addison’s disease which happens when the adrenal gland is almost non-functioning. With adrenal fatigue, the adrenal glands still work but are unable to keep up with the demands of a body under long-term stress. Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome is usually detected by knowing what the signs and symptoms are. Some providers will say Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome is not a true diagnosis or problem because it can not be evaluated or measured with a lab test. I can tell you from personal experience the symptoms are real and can be fixed with the proper nutritional supplements.
Signs of Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome can include:
energy levels following a pattern of swinging from low to high (very tired when waking, feel a boost of energy during the late morning, followed by a crash of energy levels mid-afternoon, increased levels again at 6 pm and crash again at 9 pm)
craving salty foods
mood swings
low sex drive
foggy brain/ trouble with memory
shortness of breath
depression/anxiety
unexplained hair loss
pain in the neck and upper back with no apparent cause
fat excess in the belly area
The adrenal glands produce cortisol through the process known as the adrenal cascade. All of the B-vitamins play a role in the production of hormones through the adrenal gland. Providing the body with the nutrients it needs to function properly will allow you to respond better to stress. The 8 B-vitamins are:
thiamine (B-1)
riboflavin (B-2)
niacin (B-3)
pantothenic acid (B-5)
pyridoxine (B-6)
biotin (B-7)
folic acid (B-9)
cyanocobalamin (B-12)
Other important vitamins involved in energy production in the body and important to supplement if experiencing Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome include:
Vitamin C
Magnesium
Zinc
There are many products I recommend to help your body return to a place of full function and health. The supplements I use are supplied by the NutriDyn company because they are so thoroughly tested for quality, safety, and backed up by research studies on how effective they are. I love the quality and how they are diligent with providing gluten and GMO-free supplements which is important to me. Here is a list of nutrient supplements I feel will best provide your fatigued body with what it needs to heal and feel its best with Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome.
Cortico-B5B6 (Vitamins C, B-5, B-6, Calcium, Magnesium, Citrus Bioflavonoids) Contains the vitamins most important for cortisol production
Adrenogen (Vitamins B-2,B-5, B-6, Raw Adrenal Concentrate, PABA- part of folic acid production) Contains an extract from cow adrenal glands which helps your body make more cortisol.
Adrenal Resilience Blend of herbal extracts to support the process of hormone production by the adrenal gland and will help body to respond to stress
Multigenics Intensive Care Multivitamin designed for best absorption by the body
Zinc Lozenge I tried many different zinc supplements before I found this one. Zinc can cause nausea but this lozenge is very easy to stomach, tastes good, and provides enough zinc to boost your immune system.
NutriDyn Fruits and Greens Daily drink with the antioxidant power of 20+ servings of fruits and vegetables- comes in 8 different flavors. Tastes amazing and fuels your body with what is missing from your diet (we are all lacking in this area, even with best intentions it is very difficult to achieve all the nutrients needed to function at our greatest potential).
UltraFlora Balance Probiotic combination to provide digestive and immune health. When the body has been under stress it affects the entire system and our health begins in our gut. Supporting the body with a proper balance of probiotic bacteria will enhance our immune system and help the gut recover from the damage done by inflammation in the body caused by Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome.
You do not have to use every one of these products, but I do suggest at the very least you add into your health routine some fruits and greens drink, one of the options to provide your body with the necessary B-vitamins and a quality probiotic.
In addition to nutrient supplements, your body also needs some ways to decrease and manage the stress. I will not go into a lot of detail in this article but will touch on a couple of techniques I have found to be helpful. Most mornings I have a quick (5-10 minute) yoga routine to get my blood and energy moving and to stretch all my tight muscles. It does not have a be a 45-minute yoga session to improve flexibility and reduce chronic pain. Sometime soon I will post a video of the moves I do each morning. The other technique I recommend you add in to reduce stress is a form of meditation. You will have to experiment with different options and find the one that makes the most sense/ is most helpful for you. The meditation I have found easiest for me is color breathing. You can practice this anytime but it is especially helpful when feeling stressed or anxious. What you do is close your eyes and picture your favorite color is filling the space surrounding you. Take a deep breath and imagine you are breathing in that color and absorbing all the positive thoughts and feelings it gives you and breath back out white air. Continue to take deep breaths trying to spread the color into all parts of you and breathe out the white air since you absorbed all the color. Do this until you have calmed down or as long as you want to practice meditation. The purpose of meditation is to train your mind to be focused on one thought. This practice is referred to as mindfulness and helps to reduce the chaos of thoughts and stimulus impacting the body every day.
Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome can make it feel like the life has been sucked out of you. It is exhausting and makes getting through every day a struggle. We all experience stress each and every day to some extent. I remember feeling very disappointed in my body when learning that this was caused by stress, almost mad at myself that I was so unable to handle the stress in my life that my body broke down because of it. It is not your lack of being able to “deal with stress” that leads to adrenal fatigue though. It is just a body that has been wearing down and not provided the nutrients needed to build itself back up and keep going. I am still having to take supplements every day to keep my body going, but at least it is going now. I can get up, get through the day and have energy at the end of it for my family. Contact me with questions and I will try to guide you down the right path to heal your body and reclaim your health.
Your Health Matters
Tiffany Herring PharmD
**THIS AUTHOR AND SITE INTENDS ONLY TO SHARE INFORMATION AND NOT TO DIAGNOSE OR TREAT DISEASE.
Excellent article…I will start with the greens and probiotics..thanks