7/14/13
H eal i ng fr om Adr enal Fati g ue
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Healing from Adrenal Fatigue Kathy
My father passed away last year on November 1st, , 2011, at the age of o f 60, after 5 years of livi living ng with with cancer. Although not unexpected, it was a shock. The shock, the pain, and the stress of it all suppressed my immune system: I got sick the day he went to heaven, and I stayed sick through New Year’s. I guess that kind of reaction is not uncommon, but for me, chronic sinus infections were the tip of the iceberg. I got hit with adrenal fatigue in mid-November, and it laid me out. I was was actually actua lly really lucky to have figured fig ured out what I was was suffering from. I didn’t see a doctor about it (although I saw the doctors 5 time in 2 months for my sinus infections), and it probably wouldn’t have made a difference if I had, because many doctors don’t do n’t take adrenal fatigue seriously. But I’m a sleuth…I loved dressing up as Sherlock Holmes (or “Sheerluck “Sheerluck Hemlock,” as my Dad used to tease) as a kid and running around ar ound in a trenchcoat with with a spyglass. And And today, I love to scour PubMed and the internet for clues to healing from disease and optimizing health. Healing mys myself elf from fr om Multiple Sclerosis (when the doctors couldn’t) has given me confidence to take my health into my own hands. So what is Adrenal Fatigue and why did I think I had it? For me, it manifested as an extraordinarily weak immune system (3 violent sinus infections in 2 months), debilitating fatigue (couldn’t do much besides lay on the couch until about noon each day), a pattern of fatigue and ener gy that is typical typical of Adrenal Fatigue (low energy until mid-morning, mid-morning, burst of energy after 6 pm p m and 11 pm, pm, eating briefly brought energy back), and most tellingly, a complete inability to handle stress (I fell apart sobbing when I had trouble putting air in my car’s tire, I couldn’t attend church without escaping to the bathroom to cry). Adrenal Fatigue Symptoms 1. Your cortisol, which which is produced by the adre nal gland, is not functioning functioning properly. You You ought to have high cortisol in the morning to help you wake up, and low cortisol at night to help you sleep. You have almost almost the opposite oppo site pattern (here (her e fatigue is related to low cortisol cortisol,, and energy is related to high cortisol): 1. Morning fatigue fatigue – not feeling awake awake until about 10 am 2. Afternoon fatigue – sleepiness sleepiness and brain fog between between 2 and 4 pm 3. Early evening evening wakefulness wakefulness – a burst of energy around 6 pm 4. Late evening sleepiness – sleepiness sleepiness between between 9 and 10 pm, but you resist going to sleep sleep 5. Nighttime wakefulne wakefulness ss – a second wind wind around aro und 11 pm that lasts until 1 am; ifif you were were asleep aslee p at 11 pm, may wake up suddenly 2. Never feeling rested, re sted, no matter matter how much sleep sleep you get; low ener energy gy 3. Poor exercise recove recovery ry fi t4g odonl i ne.com/heal i ng - fr om- adr enal - fati g ue/
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Healing from Adrenal Fatigue
4. Decreased ability to handle stress 5. Mood swings 6. Nervousness, fearfulness 7. Easily irritated by others, decreased tolerance toward others 8. Startle easily 9. Brain fog, forgetfulness 10. Mild depression 11. Poor sleep 12. Low sex drive 13. Need to drink coffee or eat salty high carb foods to get yourself going 14. Sugar cravings 15. Weak immune system – get sick often and stay sick longer 16. Brittle nails, vertical lines in the fingertips 17. Gut dysbiosis, leaky gut, bloating 18. Increased seasonal allergies 19. Increased food allergies and intolerances 20. Low blood pressure 21. Heat intolerance 22. Increased sensitivity to sunlight 23. Feeling cold all the time, cold hands and feet 24. More PMS symptoms 25. Hot flashes 26. Purple or blue circles under eyes, sunken eyes 27. Dermatographism – a white line appears on your skin (and stays there for one minute) if you run your fingernail over it 28. Palms of hands and soles of feet are red or orange in color 29. Weight gain, especially in the abdomen 30. Difficulty losing weight 31. Achiness, joint pain 32. Feel faint, especially when getting up from lying down 33. Frequent urination, water goes right through you, urinating in the night Alarmingly, there are a ton of factors in our everyday lives that can bring on adrenal fatigue. Here are some common stressors to watch out for: Common Triggers of Adrenal Fatigue Chronic illness Chronic stress Chronic infection, especially dental Autoimmune disease Divorce fit4godonline.com/healing-from-adrenal-fatigue/
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Death in the family Cheating in a marriage Chronic pain Depression Excessive exercise Gluten intolerance Low blood sugar Malabsorption due to phytates and lectins (phytates and lectins come from grains, legumes, and nu ts) Gut dysbiosis, leaky gut Surgery Late hours Sleep deprivation Night shift work Excessive sugar in diet Excessive caffeine A diet too low in carbohydrates (for some people) Intermittent Fasting (for some people) Ketosis (for some people) For me personally, it is easy to look back and see what triggered my adrenal fatigue. I believe I actually had an episode of it in August, marked by extreme intolerance of noise and pe ople, 5 pounds of sudden weight gain, and intense sugar cravings, brought on primarily by being Very Low Carb (VLC – 35 grams per day or less) for several months when trying to go fr om 133 pounds to 128 po unds and intermittent fasting, both of which put me in ketosis much of the time and probably created some nutrient deficiencies. The ketosis was exacerbated by environmental stressors, including the stress of my daughter ’s broken arm, my father ’s decline from cancer, and, b elieve it or not, being totally cooped up indoors ( with a 6-yearold with too much energy and a 3-year-old with a broken arm who couldn’t be active ) d ue to the severe heat wave we had here in Texas. It was like torture. Seriously! My second bout of adrenal fatigue, which occurred in November, was more severe, and was clearly brought on by the stress of my father ’s death and the chron ic sinus infections. What Is Adre nal Fatigue? Adrenal fatigue is a state in which the adr enal glands have produced so much cortisol (a stress hor mone) that it is exhausted and unable to pr oduct adequate quantities of hormones to meet daily needs. There are 4 stages of adrenal fatigue, as outlined by Dr. Lam: Stage 1: Alarm Reaction Increase in anti-stress hormones such as cortisol. The bo dy is able to handle this increase. Fa tigue is mild and only occurs in the morning upon wakening or in midafternoon. People may use caffeine and sugary snacks like doughnuts to get them through. Many, perhaps most, people ar e living in this state. Stage 2: Resistance Re sponse The adrenals cannot keep up with the amount of cortisol required to deal with either chronic or severe levels of stress. The person can carry on daily functions, but feels very tired and the body needs more rest than usual. Even a long n ight’s sleep leaves the per son tired in the morning and afternoon. Sleep difficulties arise. Infections, feeling cold, and weight gain become common. All the typical symptoms listed above can become apparen t at this stage. This is the point at which most people start to take notice and visit their doctor. Stage 3: Adrenal Exhaustion Adrenal glands ar e exhausted and cannot keep up with the body’s demand for cortisol in the face of stress. fit4godonline.com/healing-from-adrenal-fatigue/
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Cortisol output starts to d ecline. The body enters a catabolic state where it starts to break down muscle for energy. Chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, depression, and endocrine axis dysfunctions (ovarian-adrenalthyroid in women, adrenal-thyroid in men). The person cannot function during the day, often there ar e only a few hours a day that are pr oductive and the rest of the da y is devoted to rest. Stage 4: Adre nal Failure The adrenal glands are totally exhausted. High chance of heart attack, sudden p ain in lower back, dehydration, vomiting, diarrhea, loss of consciousness. Recovering from Adrenal Fatigue So, what did I do to recover from this unpleasant state of adrenal fatigue, where I spent all day on the couch, tired and irr itable, unable to cope with church, chronically sick, and having “frea k outs” at 11 pm when I was supposed to be sleeping? You can find a doctor willing to take adrenal fatigue seriously who will treat you with bio-identical cortisol. But I like to do things naturally. I find that tends to work best in the long run. God created our bodies to be able to heal themselves, and in my experience, He’s usually right. (Just kidding, as I’ve learned over and over, He’s ALWAYS right!) Read on for steps you can take if you think you have adrenal fatigue: Steps to He aling from Adre nal Fatigue Healing from adrenal fatigue will require a commitment on your part to making significant lifestyle changes for a minimum of 2 or 3 months and perhaps more, depending on the severity of your case. Sleep It is critical to sleep as much as possible to allow the body to rest and recover. You will want to aim to be asleep between 10 pm and 7 am or even 8 am. You must be in bed and on your way to sleep by 10 pm so as to avoid the 11 pm cortisol squirt that will then keep you up until 1 am. To ensure a good night’s sleep, and to help your body fall asleep, you will want to dim lights after 8 pm, use no electronics (TV, computer, etc.) after 8 pm, and go to b ed in complete darkness. You should not be able to see your hand in front of your face. This means you will need some blackout liners on your curtains, and you will need to use some dark colored felt to cover up any red or yellow lights emitted by electronics or alarm clocks in your room. For more information on getting goo d sleep, see my article on Sleep, Sun, and Supplements. Diet You should be eating a diet that heals the gut, minimizes toxins, and provides nourishing foods…hmmm, is there any diet out ther e like that? Oh, yeah! FIT4God! Check out these articles to learn more about healing your gut, eliminating the toxins of grains , gluten, industrial seed oils, and sugar . In short, you should be eating plenty of grass fed be ef, pastured poultry, wild caught fish, organ meat, pastured egg s, pastured butter, coconut oil, leafy greens, colorful vegetables and fruits, and some seeds and nuts, and perhaps full-fat raw dairy if you can tolerate it. You will want to eat within 30 minutes of waking up in the morning. You want to eat right away because if you don’t, your cortisol will kick in so that you can produce fuel through gluconeogenesis, and you want to keep from excreting cortisol unless you have to. Never, ever skip breakfast…or any meal for that matter. And this may sound cra zy, but a huge breakfast that contains 50 grams of protein can be really helpful! I know that is a lot of protein, but it helped me tremendously. It amounted to 8 ounces of hamburger for me (I can’t do eggs), and it was a lot, but it was great! Also have a glass of water in the morning with ½ to 1 teaspoon of Redmond’s Real Salt. The reason for this is complicated and has to do sodium loss and hormones, so I won’t elaborate here. You need to eat 3 meals a day and eat plenty! This is not the time to be low carb, just keep your carbs “safe” by sticking to fruits, veggies, potatoes and white rice. Make sure you eat early. Eat breakfast within 30 minutes of waking, eat lunch early aro und 11 or 11:15, and ea t dinner ar ound 5 pm. If you go too long without eating and wait until you are really hungry, you will only cause your cortisol to spike, and you want fit4godonline.com/healing-from-adrenal-fatigue/
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Healing from Adrenal Fatigue
to keep your cortisol low. You have precious little cortisol as it is; don’t squander what you do have by eating late! Exercise and Rest You want to avoid become overly fatigued at all costs. Don’t overtrain. Light walks, yoga, tai chi are a good way to go. Weight training and harder exercise may have to wait until you feel better. Rest as much as possible. Exercise only if it makes you feel good and energized, not if it makes you feel weak and tired. Mind Body Connection I know that this is hard advice in our go-go-go world of work and to-do lists, but you must do things every day that relax you and bring you enjoyment. Laugh as much as possible; seek out funny pe ople and funny things. Do a hobby you enjoy every day. Be with people who make you feel good; avoid those who are toxic to you. Pray and meditate. Practice deep breathing exercises. Laugh! !! Supplements There are quite a few recommendations for supplements out there, but I’m not comfortable recommending them. I did up my intake of Vitamin C (1 gram per day) and magnesium (400 mg per day or Epsom Salt baths 3x per week 12 minutes each with 2 cups of salts), per recommendations. Otherwise, I just kept to my usual routine of multivitamin, probiotic, 4000 IU Vitamin D, 2 g fish oil, 500 mg calcium, and 400 IU Vitamin E. It worked for me, and I hope it will work for you! I know for myself, I am going to be much more careful about low carbing and fasting, and will try to laugh and relax as often as possible!
Here are Two Great Re cipes That Support the Adre nal Glands Chicken Vegetable Soup Bye Bye Hunger Adrenal Support Soup
For M ore Information, Check Out These Resources I Found He lpful Pretty In Primal’s Adrenal Fatigue Article Dr. Jack Kruse’s Adrenal Fatigue Article Dr. Jack Kruse’s Leptin Rx Dr. BG’s Animal Pharm Article on Adrenal Fatigue Dr. Lam’s Adrenal Fatigue Article Dr. Aieta’s Adrenal Symptoms Questionnaire
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