Adrenal Fatigue and Immune System

Hi there,
I have adrenal fatigue, and I'm confused about it.
I've heard that high adrenal function can cause a weak immune system, and low adrenal function can cause inflammation. I supposedly have low adrenal function, but my blood tests have shown that I have lower than normal inflammation. This probably means I have a weak immune system, right? If so, then this would lead me to wonder if taking a remedy for my adrenal glands would weaken my immune system even more, since higher amounts of cortisol are associated with a weak immune system.
My naturopath told me that I should take a gemmotherapy remedy (which is a homeopathic sort of thing made from the buds, shoots, and roots of certain plants) that would increase my adrenal gland function, but is that really what I should be doing? I am worried that it would it weaken my immune system, but I don't really know if it would do that, so I'm hoping that somebody here can help me understand all this better.
Sorry if this sounds really weird. It's hard to write when I have a lot of brain fog!
Thanks.

Mangaka,

The issues pertaining to the HPA axis are complex, but there are a few simple truths that can be perceived even by novices such as ourselves.

Yes, the Adrenal Glands often overproduce cortisol (hyper) during the acute phase of an illness. Yes this is inflammatory, and may actually suppress aspects of the immune system. However it may be advisable to "support" the Adrenals with supplements that protect them. This will not cause the Adrenals to produce more cortisol, but will help to prevent them from burning out or underfunctioning (hypo) in the future.

If the Adrenal glands are stressed for a long time such as in chronic illness, then the Adrenals may burn out, and lose the ability to even produce physiological amounts for normal immune function. This creates a completely new set of medical challenges. Many physicians prescribe supplements known to heal the aAdrenals, or when the Adrenals are unresponsive, then low-dose replacement hormone therapy may be prescribed.

So how are we to understand all of this? When the body enters a state when either too much or too little cortisol is produced, then it may be become detrimental to ones' health. The secret is to maintain "physiologic" levels of cortisol in the body. Too much cortisol may suppress certain parts of the immune system, and too little cortisol may suppress other aspects of the immune system. Both scenarios are bad. Here is an abstract that states that:

" there is impressive evidence that physiologic amounts of cortisol, the chief glucocorticoid normally produced by the human adrenal cortex, is necessary for the development and maintenance of normal immunity."

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2062254

I am not a physician, so I am not giving any medical advice. I have simply discovered that many of the better LL physicans have seen value in seeking to restore their patients' Adrenal function to a more normalized status. Hopefully you have access to a physician that has the ability to diagnose and treat your situation.

Don

Post Edited (Heathersdad) : 2/18/2015 8:02:55 PM (GMT-7)

Speaking from experience (severe adrenal fatigue), take care of those adrenal glands!!! Support them when they need to be supported - they are what keep our main body systems running.