The adrenals are small glands that are responsible for releasing hormones (corticosteroids and catecholamines) in response to stress. With insufficiency of adrenal function, people are often not able to handle physical and psychological stress. Many people are believed to be suffering from adrenal fatigue symptoms, according to alternative health practitioners. Although most doctors consider adrenal disease to affect less than two percent of the population, other experts involved in alternative medicine believe that adrenal insufficiency is often overlooked as the cause of symptoms like fatigue and stress.
Adrenal Fatigue Symptoms
There are various symptoms caused by adrenal fatigue. Following shows some of them which can help people roughly decide whether they have this condition.
1. Dizziness
Dizziness due to a change in body position (from lying to sitting or sitting to standing position) occurs due to the inability of blood vessels to increase blood pressure during these shifts. Poor adrenal function often leads to this symptom because of the inability to produce epinephrine, a hormone involved in adjusting blood pressure when body position is changed.
2. Headache
Adrenal gland dysfunction can cause blood pooling in your abdomen and pelvis, which can lead to reduced blood supply to your head.
3. Allergies
Symptoms of allergies appear due to inflammatory processes. Reduced adrenal function worsens allergies. However, with proper treatment, inflammatory responses are reduced.
4. Inflammation
The adrenal glands produce cortisol and glucocorticoids, which have anti-inflammatory properties. Poor adrenal function can lead to symptoms of inflammation, which usually respond to steroid treatment.
5. Salt Craving
Your adrenal glands also produce other hormones like aldosterone, which regulates the balance of body fluids and electrolytes in your blood and tissues. Adrenal fatigue may result in low aldosterone production and causes increased excretion of salt from the kidneys ("salt-wasting"). This leads to dehydration and electrolyte imbalance.
6. Sleep Disturbances
Disturbed cortisol production from the adrenals manifests as sleep disturbances such as insomnia. Low adrenal function during the day induces the body to produce more cortisol at night, which prevents restful sleep. Overproduction of adrenaline hormone to compensate for low cortisol levels also results in insomnia.
7. Respiratory Symptoms
People with lung problems, such as bronchitis and asthma must be examined for adrenal function. Your lungs may not respond adequately to stress, due to lack of cortisol. Emotional stress can trigger asthmatic attacks and treating poor adrenal function may help relieve respiratory symptoms.
8. Low Blood Sugar Levels
Adrenal fatigue may be accompanied by blood sugar levels, which causes you to crave for anything that can raise your blood sugar, such as soda, candy, or even a cigarette. Adrenal fatigue can also lead to the alcohol abuse as well as drug abuse.
9. Recurrent Infections
Adrenal fatigue symptoms may manifest as recurrent infections such as respiratory infections. Severe or frequently infections occur often and last longer, when one has adrenal fatigue.
10. Back Pain and Muscle Weakness
Weakness of muscles in the lower back and legs may be manifestations of adrenal fatigue symptoms, which lead to low back pain, knee pain, tired feet, aching calves, and weak ankles. These symptoms improve when adrenal gland function is restored.
11. Behavior and Memory Problems
The adrenal hormone cortisol is also involved in regulating the electrical activity in the brain, which influences mood, behavior, and memory. Changes in behavior, sleep disorders, intolerance, poor memory, and altered thought processes may be some adrenal fatigue symptoms.
12. Excessive Urination and Thirst
Low aldosterone levels may cause you to urinate several times a day, leading to extreme thirst and drinking excessive amounts of water. Adding salt to the water can help relieve fluid and electrolyte imbalance.
13. Swelling
Adrenal fatigue symptoms may also manifest as swelling due to fluid and electrolytes imbalance.
14. Hemorrhoids
These are varicose veins that form in the rectum when blood pools in your abdomen and your pelvis. However, hemorrhoids may be caused by other factors such as liver congestion and constipation.
15. Varicose Veins
Enlarged veins in the legs result from pooling of blood in your abdomen and pelvis, similar to hemorrhoids.
16. Indigestion
Sluggish circulation in your abdomen can lead to indigestion and poor nutrient absorption.
17. Hyperpigmentation
Increased skin pigmentation or “bronzing” is not a common symptom of adrenal fatigue and it is more often seen in Addison's disease.
18. Abnormal Heart Sounds
Abnormal second heart sounds may be heard by a doctor during physical examination. This is related to constriction of the airways in the lungs, which is due to lack of adrenal hormone production.