Tuesday 1 June 2010

Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome?

OK, anything with the word 'syndrome' in it is suspect, as far as I'm concerned. (Though I definitely had chronic fatigue syndrome about twenty years ago and it was a drag. So to speak.)

But this was the money shot for me:
Generally patients who present with adrenal fatigue can often be heard saying, "After______, I was never the same."

So, with the three-and-a-half year ordeal of the Eviction, Exile and Return, I figured it would take me a while to recover. But I'm not.

I got shaky. I cut out caffeine. I was getting amazing stomach cramps about half an hour after eating dairy products. Cut them out. Out of the blue anxiety attacks. Started yoga again. Light-headed, heart palpitations. Didn't know what to do about those.

Today, lightbulb moment. Several years ago docs found I have an enlarged adrenal gland. ('Twas incidental discovery from CAT-scan for something else.) Got sent to an endocrinologist who in turn sent me for biannual ultrasounds to see what was going on until we both got bored.

Lightbulb: anxiety/shakiness = adrenalin! Googled.

Symptoms:
Common symptoms of most adrenal gland disorders include lightheadedness; tendency to gain weight; lack of energy in the mornings; difficulty concentrating; poor memory; chronically high stress levels; reduced sex drive; mild depression; dry and thin skin; unexplained hair loss; heart palpitations; dyspepsia; constipation; hypoglycemia (low blood sugar); food allergies; and high frequency of the flu or infections.

I don't have all of those, thank the goddess, but a lot of them.

As I read more -- and from the iffier side of the intertoobz -- I was thinking: hell, this is flaky, sounds like something my sister-in-law would get and bore the shit out of everybody talking about.

The remedy is très flaky too.

So. Anybody got experience? Opinion?

7 comments:

ck said...

Actually, I'm having my own frustrations regarding my health and doctors and local hospital as of late. I was even going to blog about my day in the ER last Friday from severe pain, like somebody swung my neck like a sapling and banged my head to the concrete. Yes, those who have been following my blog or on Facebook know that I suffer from migraines which have gotten considerably worse since around Christmas: I usually only get them in the summer with other problems. Summer weather is not my friend.

I was going to blog about it because while I was one of 2 who got to stay at the hospital to be treated, the migraine patients were referred elsewhere; my neighbourhood ER was above capacity. I decided against it...for now...

Anyhoo, a few changes took place before Xmas. One was, in November, I quit smoking. And no, I don't feel like me to this day.

I've gone from chonically cranky to actually down sometimes.

My sense of smell has been heightened (in my case, really not a good thing): everything stinks. I can't visit my husband's sons next door because the house reeks of sulpher and dirty dish water. I can't be outside in hot weather because of the smell of garbage. To me bakery smells of fresh bread or the smell of toast makes me nauseous.

Most food or condiments I used to like, suck now.

I cough much more since, have heart palpatations, chest pains, choke when I swallow.

In December, HR at the social service agency I work at changed the job description of my job and moved me to the front desk where if the lobby's lighting isn't exactly to my specifications; it's just not workable.

I get migraines more often now. More freguent and of longer duration. If painkillers including my prescription dont' work, it's a trip to the ER to get two iv bags of maxarin running through my veins to put me out of my misery.

These days, trying to go to work a full week is a challenge (absenteeism high since December)

I have a new family doctor who frankly, gives me the creeps and seems much more interested in my father's liver failure (my dad is in TO and not his patient, needless to say) than in my own condition, in spite of my husband and inlaws recommendation, I think he's strange. I have seen 2 neurologists who are still throwing prescription meds at me rather than signing me up for a scan to find the cause of these head-aches.

Yanno, I'm wondering if I were to start smoking again, most of what's ailing me these days would gradually disappear (well, I'm stuck with summer migraines and other heat related issues; can't have it all).

I would say that I have about half the symptoms you mention above and some not even mentioned.

Luna said...

Flaky sometimes works. Especially the B100, the B6, the amino acids, and the DHEA in this case.

And I swear, the wv was "wingly". :)

Politics'n'Poetry said...

My cousin was recently diagnosed with this condition. I'm not sure of what treatment she's received but it was not through the conventional medical system. She's working with a naturopath.

fern hill said...

Barbara, you can get our emails by clicking on our names under Contributors. But I'll email you. And remove your comment if you want.

Bina said...

Nutritional supplementation never hurts, as long as it's within the RDA. I was able to overcome clinical depression with B-complex vitamins, and I still take them now. Haven't been depressed since. It's quite possible to be eating a balanced diet and still need supplements, especially if your endocrine system is out of whack. I found that being on the Pill made me need more Bs. The Pill prevents adequate absorption of those vitamins, which are vital to normal neurological functions. And I have an inherited tendency to unipolar depression, to boot. No wonder I was depressed, especially when on the Pill!

Long story short: It can't hurt to try. Cheaper than drugs, and it's something your body needs anyway.

fern hill said...

Hell. Bina, I just accidentally deleted your further comment.

Bina said that comment from Barbara is spam. The domain name is a mesothelioma site, which I'd never heard of.

Sorry.

fern hill said...

And indeedy, Bina is correct. I just checked my gmail and there it was.

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