I know I have adrenal fatigue, & have had for 20 years. Symptoms:hypoglycemia, lack of energy, excessive thirst, excessive urination. Had to be in bed by certain time or dead the next day, etc. The problem is a year ago I began having bad insomnia(never had before). If I didn't sleep one night the next night I would crash early(the old days).
Instead my adrenals were firing full blast at night(had saliva test done). My problem I tried all the natural stuff(hit or miss). While suffering bad out of the country relative gave me a benzo. I didn't want to take.. docs & proscripts had screwed me up 20 years earlier. I was desperate so I took it. When I got back to the states I found a Dr. who specialized in adrenal fatigue(supposedly). He scripted me the benzo, by this time I had done research online & saw how bad they were. The docs response was "a drugs a drug". I tried not to take, & even tried other non addictive meds, but they would work like once, & then stop. I'd break down & take the pill. I went to tons of docs, specialist, natureopaths over the year. I've cold turkeyed(horrible) tried to reduce(bad)& switched over to valium so I can make smaller cuts. Btw I usually need lunesta,remeron,gabapentin with my valium to sleep. I don't get deep sleep & with my adrenal fatigue(I also tested positive for chronic EBV) I can barely function. I have a family to support. I know the benzo is bad...how do I withdraw(should I even try)with chronic fatigue. I'm at a place where I don't know if I should dramatically increase my dose or wean(put my exhausted adrenals through more damage). My health has only declined in the last year.Thanks for listening.
Have you tried using some supplements that are often helpful for your symptoms. That might enable you to use lower doses of medications with fewer sfx.
Magnesium easily would be the first thing I'd try, probably 2 or more times per day.
GABA is an obvious thing to try.
Some find pregnenolone and adrenal cortex extract useful to assist adrenals but only so you could reduce the dose of meds, not replace them when there is a serious case.
Testing for HMs is tricky at best. Dr. Cutler and Dr. Pompa discuss the challenges they faced in getting diagnosed for their heavy metal problems. http://www.healthcentersofthefuture.com/DrCutler/
I have adrenal fatigue and am on a benzo as well. It's an extremely difficult drug to get off of. I'm honestly not even going to try to get off of mine anymore until I somewhat fix my adrenals; I just can not handle the stress of withdrawals. I was on Ativan 2mg (doesn't seem like much but is actually a high dose, especially for my age) and I've cut it slowly all the way down to .25mg in the past year. What has helped me the most is changing my diet. I truly wish there was an easy fix, I don't want to be on this diet forever (basically only meat & veggies, very few complex carbs), and I won't be. You've got to fix your underlying problem. I have no idea what my underlying problem is yet, I think the adrenal fatigue came way later because I've been on a benzo since the age of 13 (yikes). My first attack started while eating KFC and watching an intense movie. I've done a hair analysis test and I definitely have some nutritional deficiencies going on - not a surprise since I grew up poor. Anyhow, the supplements that have helped my anxiety most:
*Magnesium malate - I use Source Naturals. 2 in the morning and 2 at night.
*L Theanine - I use Jarrow Formulas. This is a big one. It's the ingredient in Green Tea that helps you calm down. It signals your GABA receptors like benzos do. A guy once told me he feels like 200mg of this does more for him than his .5mg of Ativan did.
*L Glutamine - I use Body Tech, but feel as if the L Glutamine in ReNew Life's IntestiNew worked a whole lot better and is definitely worth the price difference. It's another amino acid. This is a biggie as well. I take plain L Glutamine powder (better to get the powder than pills) when I wake up, on an empty stomach. Great for brain fog as well.
*I feel as if it's important to actually get all of your amino acids in. Plain whey protein isolate powder is good for this. I use BioChem's natural flavor because there's no added sugar or any other chemicals. I only really use it after a walk/little work out, but it's helpful every day.
*Evening Primrose Oil - I use 500mg every night, but 1000mg was helpful in the beginning. Fish Oil may work better, but it breaks me out so, you really have to listen to your own body.
*And meditation helps heaps. Energy healing.
For the hypoglycemia, I haven't really figured that out yet. I have to eat every 2 hours - a small meal consisting of protein OR a complex carb WITH veggies AND a spoonful of healthy fat (olive, coconut or flax) - to keep symptoms at bay. Chromium supplementation overtime will help with this.
My friend finally got one recently. It, like the typical cortisol blood test, reported that AM cortisol was fine. She can get things done in the morning. She can even do light exercise. However her saliva cortisol was low the remainder of the day. She struggles to get things done the remainder of the day and used to need a nap. Now with additional pregnenolone and low dose of hydrocortisone so may aspects of her life are improved.
Re Theanine & glutamine. My friend also likes that before bed. Have you ever tried GABA. The body makes it from glutamine. It might kick in more quickly than glutamine, especially if you take a sublingual such as GabaCalm tablets.
Re Hypoglycemia. This can be due to both adrenals and chromium. You sound like me and to a lesser extent my friend. I have to eat frequently and also take my medicines ( formerly Adderall for ADD and chelators ) more frequently than most. Cr was low-red on one of her hair tests.
Hopefully you are aware that your symptoms could have mercury (Hg) as an underlying factor. Hg hammers the adrenals ( stress response, involved in blood sugar and sodium regulation, sex hormones, etc).
Growing up poor also usually involves living in an old house where there is a greater likelihood of encountering heavy metals, especially lead. Lead is almost certainly my main problem--in the red on hair test while chelating--#354.
Don't wait for your doctor to magically resolve the problem like I did. Sadly I wasted a decade of my young adult years. Keep looking for better explanations. Good luck to you.
I don't believe that adrenal fatigue can be treated by the supplementation of single or a combination of supplements. The reason is that adrenal fatigue comes about by excess adrenaline production over a long period of time.
The function of adrenaline is to convert sugar stores in the body (glycogen) into Glucose, the source of energy that the brain requires in order to convert nutrients into feel good neurotransmitters such as the conversion of tryptophan into serotonin. In fact glucose is converted to adenosine triphosphate (ATP) - biological energy - necessary in biochemical reaction and metabolism. When the brain is starved of energy it will trigger the release of adrenaline, which when not treated will lead to "adrenal exhaustion". A further consequence may be diabetes type II. Hence we need to concentrate on getting sufficient energy to the brain in order for it to produce feel good neurotransmitters. Adrenaline does this in emergency situations when the brain is starved of energy. But excess adrenaline production from the adrenal glands will eventually give rise to exhaustion and depression - signs of what you call "adrenal fatigue".
Thus the question is why is the brain starved of energy. That energy ultimately is derived from carbohydrates in food - especially sugar. If you have a disease of insulin resistance - common among people who over the years have consumed excess sugar - the body cannot convert carbohydrates and other forerunners of ATP and hence cannot produce feel good biochemical in the body. The body sets up a defence mechanism against excess sugar consumption that causes free radicals to attack our organs, in the form of insulin resistance. It will stop the absorption of carbohydrates. This may cause brain starvation ---> triggering adrenaline production.
The disease in question is called popularly "hypoglycemia" - as yet not recognized by conventional medicine.
Thus if we want to treat "adrenal fatigue" or depression, the simple treatment would be the adoption of the hypoglycemic diet.
Interesting, thanks for the post. I can identify with much of what you write (hypoglycemia, sluggish brain, adrenaline issues) but I think you are missing a factor in a number of middle aged and older folks today.
You seem to be ignoring the impact of chronic mercury exposure on adrenals, adrenal related pituitary hormones and their receptors. Andy Cutler--noamalgam.com--thinks mercury fouls up production of cortisol and other hormones in the adrenal cortex but it does not have as much of a negative effect on production of adrenaline in the adrenal medulla cf p30 of Amalgam Illness.
Boyd Haley, former chair of the chem dept of the U of KY, says a hormone receptor related to ACTH and other stress related hormones holds onto mercury about as well as anything can hold onto it. He also points out that the levels of ACTH are quite low in the body. Those levels are roughly the same as levels of mercury ( in the context of his discussion I presume those levels of Hg are mostly from a half dozen or so amalgam fillings) The quote is at the end of this long presentation. http://www.myspace.com/video/vid/7383821
Consider also Hg's negative effects on magnesium retention. This would lead to less than optimum levels of GABA and serotonin.
You could add to that Hg's effects on methylation and sulfation making it more difficult to get rid of certain chemicals that might make a person feel more amped up and contribute to poor sleep.
I've heard from many who benefit from adrenal related supplements but also from many who also need low doses of adrenal medication such as 10-15mg hydrocortisone. I am one of the former, a close female friend is using both supplements and low dose HC.
I fully agree that are many factors at play in anxiety and adrenal exhaustion, including heavy metal intoxication. The trouble is how to isolate these factors and where begin treatment. The advantage of the hypoglycemic diet as a first step in treatment also addresses heavy metal intoxication, for instance by zinc supplementation.
Thanks for the post. In my case I did exactly what you write. My hypoglycemia symptoms were the first ones I addressed when I finally realized that I could not expect my doctor to fix me.
I certainly did benefit from eating smaller meals along with small healthy snacks. I was aware of the glycemic index of foods. I took a multi with unusually high levels of minerals.
After about 7 years of reading, various medical practitioners, and experimenting with a combo of supplements and a little medication my health was back in the normal range for people my age.
However this did not address the underlying problem in my case. It turned out that heavy metals--lead cadmium and probably some mercury-- were major underlying factors.
After 2 yrs of frequent dose oral chelation, my bone density was almost back to normal. My doctor finished weaning me off of my last medication--adderall for ADD. My hypoglycemia symptoms were improved. Memory, mood, energy and other symptoms improved as well.
I'm not suggesting that everyone has a similar problem; however, if the symptoms match, isn't it worth considering?
At the site you mentioned the following could be linked to mercury as well:
Alzheimers--Hg's effects on tubulin.
Gluten intolerance--Hg's effects on DPP-IV enzyme
Adrenal fatigue--Hg's effects on adrenal hormones made in the adrenal cortex (these include the glucocorticoid cortisol) effects on related pituitary hormones and hormone receptors.
Problems with salicylates--Hg's effects on sulfate which is involved in break down of them and related chemicals.
There are virtually no syndromes and/or diseases that are not reversible. If you are interested in taking control of your own health [and I sincerely hope you are], the following will give you all the information you need:
Any of the discourses by Luigi Cornaro (available free online);
Any of the books by Horace Fletcher (available free online);
Any of the writings of Arnold Ehret.
Just like virtually everything else in life, it is all ultimately up to YOU.
You have all my best wishes for a successful journey and resolution,
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