Insights into cortisol’s connection to hot flashes and night sweats.
Low Cortisol
If you experience any symptoms characteristic of low cortisol levels — such as abdominal pain, chronic fatigue, depression, irritability, or muscle weakness — you may have been diagnosed (or you may have diagnosed yourself) as having adrenal fatigue, HPA axis dysfunction, or some other adrenal disorder. In this post, we present and describe a variety of health conditions related to the adrenal gland, some of which may be caused by dysfunction upstream of the adrenal. With a greater understanding of the adrenal gland and dysfunctions that impact the adrenal, our hope is that anyone with symptoms of an adrenal disorder seeks out a professional medical diagnosis, like those offered here at BioDesign Wellness — the Tampa Functional Medicine practice — to find out what is really going on rather than try to self-medicate with adrenal support supplements. Adrenal fatigue In 1998, chiropractor James Wilson coined the term “adrenal fatigue.” He
Are you an anxious over-achiever? If so, you have something else to worry about — adrenal fatigue. Adrenal fatigue occurs when the adrenal glands, positioned on top of the kidneys, produce too much or too little stress hormones (including cortisol and adrenaline) due to long-term exposure and response to stress. That being said, adrenal fatigue is admittedly a bit of a misnomer. That’s because the brain actually signals the adrenal glands, which fatigues. Regardless, the result is the same — neuroendocrine imbalance. As a result, you may feel anxious and irritable or burned out and depressed. Or you might alternate from one state to another as your adrenal glands sputter and spit in an attempt to keep you going. Unfortunately, conventional medicine refuses to accept adrenal fatigue as an illness. It recognizes only two adrenal diseases: Addison’s Disease (low cortisol), also referred to as adrenal insufficiency, typically results from an autoimmune