Adrenal Stress and Diseases

ADRENAL FUNCTION URINE TEST

Monitor your health through your adrenals

 

Adrenal Stress and Diseases

Adrenal disorders can cause your adrenal glands to make too much or not enough hormones. With Cushing’s syndrome, there’s too much cortisol, while with Addison’s disease, there is too little. Some people are born unable to make enough cortisol. Tumors can also cause disorders in your adrenal glands. Bleeding and infection can cause an adrenal gland problem that can be fatal without quick treatment.

Adrenal Fatigue
When the adrenal glands are not functionining optimally, you can have a condition that is known as adrenal fatigue, or adrenal exhaustion. Adrenal fatigue often develops after periods of intense or lengthy physical or emotional stress, when overstimulation if the glands leave them unable to meet your body’s needs.

Some other names for the syndrome include non-Addison’s hypoadrenia, sub-clinical hypoadrenia, hypoadrenalism, and neurasthenia

Symptoms include:

• excessive fatigue and exhaustion
• non-refreshing sleep (you get sufficient hours of sleep, but wake fatigued)
• overwhelmed by or unable to cope with stressors
• feeling rundown or overwhelmed
• craving salty and sweet foods
• you feel most energetic in the evening
• a feeling of not being restored after a full night’s sleep or having sleep disturbances
• low stamina, slow to recover from exercise
• slow to recover from injury, illness or stress
• difficulty concentrating, brain fog
• poor digestion
• low immune function
• food or environmental allergies
• premenstrual syndrome or difficulties that develop during menopause
• consistent low blood pressure
• extreme sensitivity to cold

Cushing’s Syndrome
Also called: Hypercortisolism
Cushings syndrome is caused by long-term exposure to too much cortisol, a hormone that your adrenal gland makes. Sometimes, taking synthetic hormone medicine to treat an inflammatory disease leads to Cushing’s. Some kinds of tumors secrete a hormone that can cause your body to make too much cortisol.

Cushing’s syndrome is rare. Some symptoms are:

• Upper body obesity
• Thin arms and legs
• Severe fatigue and muscle weakness
• High blood pressure
• High blood sugar
• Easy bruising

Most of the time, Cushing’s syndrome can be cured.

Addison’s Disease
Also called: Adrenal insufficiency, Adrenocortical hypofunction, Hypocortisolism
Your adrenal glands are just above your kidneys. The outside layer of these glands makes hormones that help your body respond to stress and regulate your blood pressure and water and salt balance. Addison’s disease occurs if the adrenal glands don’t make enough of these hormones.

A problem with your immune system usually causes Addison’s disease. The immune system mistakenly attacks your own tissues, damaging your adrenal glands.

Symptoms include:

• Weight loss
• Muscle weakness
• Fatigue that gets worse over time
• Low blood pressure
• Patchy or dark skin

Lab tests can confirm that you have Addison’s disease. If you don’t treat it, it can be fatal. You will need to take hormone pills for the rest of your life. If you have Addison’s disease, you should carry an emergency ID. It should say that you have the disease, list your medicines and say how much you need in an emergency