{"id":2790,"date":"2007-09-05T10:03:39","date_gmt":"2007-09-05T15:03:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wholehealthchicago.com\/?p=2790"},"modified":"2021-03-22T21:49:54","modified_gmt":"2021-03-23T02:49:54","slug":"solving-adrenal-imbalance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wholehealthchicago.com\/blog\/2007\/09\/05\/solving-adrenal-imbalance","title":{"rendered":"Solving Adrenal Imbalance"},"content":{"rendered":"

They\u2019re about the size of walnuts, your two adrenal glands. Picture them there, resting comfortably, one on top of each kidney. If you reach around your back with your hands open, your thumbs will be about where your adrenal glands are perched.<\/p>\n

There are two parts to your adrenals: inner (medulla) and outer (cortex).
\n\u2022 The medulla responds to emergency signals from your brain<\/strong>, releasing epinephrine (adrenaline) that puts your whole body into emergency super-high gear. When you read about a 90-year-old woman beating back a mugger with her umbrella, you can be sure she has an enviable pair of adrenals.
\n\u2022 The cortex responds to long-term stress<\/strong>, producing DHEA (a pre-hormone that makes other hormones), cortisol, and some of your sex hormones, progesterone and testosterone.<\/p>\n

When nutritionally oriented doctors talk about adrenal fatigue, they\u2019re referring to the depletion of DHEA and cortisol, a condition virtually always caused by long-term stress. When life\u2019s pressures become insurmountable–job, money, relationships–and you feel \u201cfried,\u201d that\u2019s adrenal fatigue. It\u2019s the afternoon crash when you reach for some coffee or sugar to keep you going.<\/p>\n

One problem patients face when dealing with adrenal fatigue is that it\u2019s not an actual disease and so, like low blood sugar (also not a disease), a lot of conventional doctors question its existence altogether. But were they to measure your pathetic cortisol levels and see how they plummet as the day progresses, they\u2019d be convinced.<\/p>\n

Symptoms of adrenal fatigue<\/strong> Fatigue, mainly, especially in the afternoon when your adrenal glands start running out of steam. (Before assuming you have adrenal fatigue, however, your doctor should rule out other causes of fatigue, like anemia or an underactive thyroid.) Other symptoms of adrenal fatigue include lightheadedness, especially when you stand up too quickly, and craving salt, sugar, and caffeine. But mainly it\u2019s fatigue.<\/p>\n

Testing for adrenal fatigue is easy<\/strong> You order a small kit<\/a> and collect samples of saliva four times throughout a single day. The test is generally covered by your health insurance, but if you go that route, your doctor has to order it through her office. If you have adrenal fatigue, you\u2019ll see low levels of cortisol, low levels of DHEA, or both.<\/p>\n

If you can reduce the relentless stress that\u2019s depleting your adrenals, the glands will heal themselves. However, about a third of women with adrenal fatigue need to also boost their stress-buffering serotonin (this is described in my book The Triple Whammy Cure<\/em><\/a>). Take this online quiz<\/a> to see if you\u2019re among the Triple Whammy set.<\/p>\n

Otherwise, treatment can usually be managed without medication. A good adrenal restorative, like Adreset<\/a>, contains the herbs and nutrients your adrenals crave. If your DHEA is low, you can add this<\/a> as well, but every couple months you should re-measure your DHEA so you don\u2019t overshoot the amount you need. The main symptom of too much DHEA is mild acne, which disappears within a couple weeks after you stop the DHEA.<\/p>\n

Some people also need temporary low doses of cortisol to jump-start their adrenals. Cortisol, however, is available only by prescription.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not your imagination that you\u2019re exhausted at 3 in the afternoon. And yes, you can successfully treat it yourself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

They\u2019re about the size of walnuts, your two adrenal glands. Picture them there, resting comfortably, one on top of each kidney. If you reach around your back with your hands open, your thumbs will be about where your adrenal glands are perched.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2087,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,2,3,246],"tags":[173,469,470,175,431,428,432,249],"class_list":["post-2790","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-a","category-blog","category-knowledge-base","category-thyroid-adrenal-sex-hormone-issues","tag-adrenal","tag-cortisol","tag-dhea","tag-fatigue","tag-progesterone","tag-sex-hormones","tag-testosterone","tag-triple-whammy-cure"],"yoast_head":"\r\nSolving Adrenal Imbalance - WholeHealth Chicago<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/wholehealthchicago.com\/blog\/2007\/09\/05\/solving-adrenal-imbalance\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Solving Adrenal Imbalance - WholeHealth Chicago\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"They\u2019re about the size of walnuts, your two adrenal glands. 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