Treatments For Adrenal Fatigue

TREATMENT FOR ADRENAL FATIGUE

Do you often feel tired and worn out even though you are getting enough sleep? Do you crave salty food? Have you been to your physician a multiple times? Went under several diagnostic tests but haven’t had any luck? Have you been suffering at the hands of adrenal fatigue? Or do you want to find possible treatments for adrenal fatigue for someone you know? What is adrenal fatigue? What it does to the person dealing with this illness for every single day of their lives? How can you be of any help in their treatment?

If you are looking for answers to any of the aforementioned questions then this article is here to serve you that purpose.

Adrenal fatigue also known as Addison’s disease-a hormonal abnormality caused by adrenal insufficiency. The insufficiency may be either due to an abnormal or damaged adrenal gland.

It is believed to occur in people who have been other mental, emotional or physical stress for a long period of time. If you are living life under stressful conditions of work, home or school; or if you are alcoholic or a drug abuser then you are most likely to develop adrenal fatigue. (1)

The symptoms of adrenal fatigue resemble to any other fatigue condition but what sets it apart from any other fatigue illness is your craving for salty and sugary stuff.

You are losing weight for unexplainable reason when you’ve been taking good care of your diet, your brain is foggy and you are unable to motivate yourself for doing normal routine work and addition to that you are either finding it difficult to fall asleep at night or wake up in the morning then these are few telltale signs of adrenal fatigue. (2)

If you haven’t paid attention to these symptoms before then look into more depth from now onwards and consult your doctor immediately. But if you already have gotten the diagnosis then the next question is how will you treat this illness?

Your doctor must discuss with you every possible treatment approach for adrenal fatigue and get you a plan best fit for your needs, after discussing it with you. Generally, there are a few approaches for the treatment of adrenal fatigue, these are;

• Medication
• Counseling
• Supplements
• Lifestyle changes (2)

MEDICATION AND SUPPLEMENTS:

Immediately after diagnosis you get told to take supplements and vitamins. But united states FDA does not regulate any of such supplements so there efficacy and safety is uncertain. Taking adrenal hormones supplements without any underlying medical condition can be very dangerous. They can either hyper-activate or suppress the adrenal gland either of which can end you in a much worst condition.(3)

However, medication on prescription are available and regularly given to patients with adrenal fatigue upon a prescription o f a registered medical practitioners. These include

• Dexamethasone
• Cortisone
• Dxevo
• Crotone acetate.(4)

DECREASE STRESS:

Adrenal fatigue is heavily influenced by stress. Find ways to stay calm and stress free. A few of approaches that may help are;

MEDITATION

Start taking interest in meditation. It may be an ancient tradition but it is still practiced in cultures all over the world and has profound results on your mental and physical health.

BREATHING EXCERCISES

The way you breathe has a significant impact on your whole body. Try deep breathing. It is associated with many health benefits from reducing the stress to lowering blood pressure.  

EXERCISE

Exercising is not solely for weight loss. You need to exercise in order to keep your body fit and healthy. Exercising improves your sleep wake cycles and also works on making your muscles strong and flexible and in relaxed state so that any unwanted pains and fatigue stays away from your body.

UNPLUG FROM ELECTRONIC DEVICES

“This digital time drain is real. Having our phones, laptops, smart watches, and tablets constantly within reach has made us hyper-connected - and hyper-distracted.” this reliance and waste of time on electronic devices wear out your mind and body, avoid that. (2)

LIFESTYLE CHANGES:

CLEAN FOOD:

First change to be made to your lifestyle is, cleaning of your diet. Clean your fridge of any refined carbs, alcohol, sugars or any other inflammation causing food items. Replace them with healthy options of good fats, grass-fed or wild caught meat and antioxidant-rich veggies.

Intermittent fasting can also be helpful in improving your condition as intermittent fasting has evidence based results of enhancing fat loss and promoting mental clarity. Give these two easy steps a try and I can assure you that it will be well worth your try.

QUALITY SLEEP:

Second change you need to make is focusing on quality of sleep. Your body produces a hormone called cortisol that needs to stay in check in order to keep you far from stress. When your sleep wake cycles are disturbed, cortisol fluctuation is a mess you don’t want to deal with.

You may be thinking that by improving your sleep you need to get the recommended at least eight hours of sleep? Well it is just a general perception that eight hours long sleep solves the issue. It is quality not quantity that will help you with your fatigue. You may get five hours sleep and feel absolutely rejuvenating. Try working on falling into deep sleep quickly and stay there as long as possible. You can get guidance from any professional or guides for sleeping hacks online. (5)

COFFEE ALERT!

Our lives begin with coffee but as adrenal fatigue patient you might be told to avoid coffee entirely as it spikes cortisol. It may not be as simple as that. In reality, coffee does spike cortisol but only when you drink it occasionally (6).

Basically your body needs to fall into a routine with coffee when you have adrenal fatigue. You can either

• Give up on coffee altogether and never go back
• Or take your everyday dose of morning coffee regularly.

If you used to drink coffee at almost any time of the day then you need to work on establishing a routine for yourself.

REFERENCES

1.         Adrenal Fatigue | Endocrine Society [Internet]. [Cited 2020 Jun 22]. Available from: https://www.hormone.org/diseases-and-conditions/adrenal-fatigue

2.         Adrenal Fatigue Treatment: Medical and Home Remedies [Internet]. Healthline. [Cited 2020 Jun 22]. Available from: https://www.healthline.com/health/adrenal-fatigue-treatment

3.         Adrenal Fatigue: Myths, symptoms, disorders, and treatment [Internet]. [Cited 2020 Jun 22]. Available from: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/245810

4.         List of Adrenal Insufficiency Medications (8 Compared) [Internet]. Drugs.com. [cited 2020 Jun 22]. Available from: https://www.drugs.com/condition/adrenal-insufficiency.html

5.         Bassett SM, Lupis SB, Gianferante D, Rohleder N, Wolf JM. Sleep quality but not sleep quantity effects on cortisol responses to acute psychosocial stress. Stress Amst Neth. 2015;18(6):638–44.

6.         Lovallo WR, Whitsett TL, al’Absi M, Sung BH, Vincent AS, Wilson MF. Caffeine Stimulation of Cortisol Secretion Across the Waking Hours in Relation to Caffeine Intake Levels. Psychosom Med. 2005;67(5):734–9.