Adrenal Fatigue -- the end point of chronic stress.

When the “stress” is an aerobic work out or weight training, our adrenal glands give us the surge of energy that allows our muscles to contract strongly.

Adrenal hormones have stimulated his heart to beat faster to move blood faster. The hormones have routed blood away from the digestive tract and other internal organs so that most blood goes to the brain and the muscles. They have also raised blood sugar so that the muscles and brain have plenty of fuel to handle this stressful situation--climbing the wall.

Adrenal hormones route blood and fuel to the brain to allow critical thinking in stressful situations.

The “stress” can also be an emotional. Whenever we experience intense emotions, our body also experiences stress. If you are angry, your muscles tighten, your heart beats faster and your blood pressure goes up. These body reactions are produced largely by the adrenal hormones.

The Adrenal Stress Response -- First Wave

The inner part of the adrenal gland secretes adrenaline and noradrenaline, hormones which help you mobilize for immediate action. These two hormones act quickly to increase the flow of oxygen and glucose to the muscles and brain, increase heart rate, blood pressure and muscle tension.

They also direct blood away from the digestive tract and skin. (This is why you don’t feel hungry when you’re under stress, and why some people appear very pale when stressed).

These adrenal hormones also suppress the immune system. Why do you think you are more likely to get sick when you are stressed?

The short term adrenal response allows you to get out of harms way. You may have to run from a mugger or fight off an attacking lion. The surge of adrenaline makes it possible.

I remember reading of a mother who lifted the front end of a car off the ground to free their infant pinned under the front wheel. This is the work of adrenaline. Climbing the face of a wall straight up would be another adrenaline feat. Wall climbing is a modern version of tree climbing, something you had to be good at in prehistoric times to get away from bears and other meat eaters.

Football coaches are skilled at stimulating adrenaline before the game with their pep talks. Can you imagine a football coach leading his team through a calming yoga session before the game? Winning players have a lot of adrenaline pumping through their arteries.

The Adrenal Response to Stress -- Second Wave (Long Acting)

They also help us to recover from acute stress. Running and escaping from a tiger takes its toll on us (even if the tiger doesn’t catch us). After the stressful event, our body must replenish and repair itself. This recovery is also orchestrated by adrenal hormones.

Two of the major hormones secreted from the adrenal gland (cortex or outer part) are cortisol and DHEA.

Cortisol regulates energy storage in the body. When secreted by the adrenal glands, cortisol raises blood sugar, making energy available to cells of the body. If that tiger chasing us is persistent and won’t give up, we’re going to need an ongoing supply of fuel (blood sugar) to keep running.

Any drop in blood sugar is dealt with like a crisis by the body. Over night we may go ten to twelve hours without eating. As a result our blood sugar can drop too low. An alert is sounded by the brain which signals the adrenal glands to raise cortisol levels. The elevated cortisol raises blood sugar averts the crisis.

This “alarm” reaction in the brain may also cause us to awaken from sleep. One of the causes of awakening from sleep in the middle of the night is hypoglycemia or a tendency to have low blood sugar.

Cortisol levels normally rise upon waking in the morning, helping to mobilize our energy stores after our long night’s fast. Outside of the stress response, cortisol secretion rises and falls in a 24-hour rhythm. In an unstressed state, cortisol secretion is highest in the morning upon waking and declines through the rest of the day and night. Cortisol levels are lowest in the early hours of the morning.

Cortisol does more than regulate blood sugar in the body. Because of this, the disruption of cortisol levels (due to stress) affects many body functions. DHEA is another primary hormone secreted by the adrenal cortex. It has been called the “mother of all hormones” because it serves as a building block for the many other hormones secreted by the adrenal cortex (pregnenalone, estrogens, progesterone, testosterone, aldosterone).

What Is Adrenal Fatigue?

In my clinical experience chronic stress and the resultant weakening of the body’s stress response it is one of the top three causes of fatigue. The other two are poor nutrition and the build up of toxins in the body.

What is meant by adrenal exhaustion? It means less than optimal function of the adrenal glands. We depend on our adrenal glands to give us acceleration. Think of it as pushing your foot down on the gas pedal when you want power. When our adrenal glands are fatigued we don’t have the power we want when we need it. Adrenal fatigue is not hard to identify once you know what to look for. If you get up in the morning feeling tired, if you need a cup of coffee in the morning to get going, if your energy sags in the mid afternoon, if you get a second wind in the evening—these are all typical of adrenal fatigue.

The symptoms of stress and the symptoms of adrenal fatigue are almost inseparable. If your adrenal glands are working well, your body responds adequately to every stressful event you experience. Your system revs up to handle the stress and then relaxes.

Stress is only a problem when the adrenal glands lose the ability to handle it adequately. When your adrenal glands become depleted you begin to experience stress symptoms. To learn more about the stages of adrenal fatigue, click here. What are the symptoms of stress? Do you have them?

If you aren’t full of energy and feeling a zest for life, it is possible that you suffer from some degree of adrenal fatigue.

These blood tests are generally “normal” and the doctor tells you that everything is fine. He may say something like “There’s nothing wrong with you” or “You’re getting old” or “Maybe you’re depressed”. Much adrenal fatigue is misdiagnosed as depression.

If your adrenal hormones are checked through standard medical testing, patients with adrenal fatigue will often still come back "normal". Why? Because modern medicine looks only for diseases. By definition a disease is a serious (often life threatening) condition.

From a medical standpoint, adrenal hormones must be extremely low and almost life threatening in order for a treatable condition to exist.

As a result traditional medicine denies the reality of adrenal fatigue. In medicine when the adrenal glands fail to function completely, it is termed Addison’s disease. Short of failing completely adrenal function can be so low that it disrupts the function of other organ systems. In this case medicine calls the condition “adrenal insufficiency”. Both Addison’s disease and “adrenal insufficiency” are diseases(1) and are typically not caused by stress.

Adrenal fatigue and adrenal exhaustion are not life threatening, but they are life debilitating. They cripple people's enjoyment and productivity in life.

Modern medicine usually has no treatment for vague symptoms like fatigue, malaise, low energy, irritability. etc.

Medicine is not concerned with feeling good, having energy or being able to function optimally in your life. Medicine searches for a disease and if it doesn’t find one, by definition you’re healthy.

When speaking of adrenal fatigue or exhaustion we refer to low function of the adrenal glands before one has a recognized disease.

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