Rikky1 -
The funny thing about
adrenal problems is that you likely don't notice them until you're into a problem. The biggest red flag for most people is a very, very tired body (exhaustion, weakness, low energy) but you cannot relax your mind.
There are either 4 or 7 stages of adrenal exhaustion, depending on the source. The final stage is death--your body cannot function without your adrenals. But luckily, there are clear warnings for us before we're close to that stage, if we pay attention and understand our body. You are awesome for seeking info! I wish I had done that--I did a horrible job of doing that, was woefully uneducated about
it and my condition was very dangerous for awhile. The info Girlie provided is good at explaining and helping identify possible symptoms.
There are likely a couple of reasons lymees are susceptible to adrenal problems--one is the extraordinary stress we are under with lyme & co infections. Stress can be psychological, physiological or physical. And the lyme & co infections, the damage done by the infections, enduring the treatment really takes a toll on our bodies, physically/physiologically.
But the psychological stress involved for many of us probably tips the scales--the stress of seeing MD after MD who either won't diagnose us or misdiagnosis us or so very often, blames us for the problems, or finding someone who has the capacity to provide information and is willing to test/treat, and then dealing with the rest-of-the-world who doesn't have a clue about
what all this really means and how it affects our daily life.
At the end of the day, our bodies are in crisis mode--and for many of us, it's been in crisis mode for a very long time. The adrenal response is to maintain a "fight-or-flight" function, which depletes the coping mechanisms that should only be for emergencies.
There are other causes that are the result of an imbalance in the function of other body systems including the thyroid and immune and digestive systems. These (and other) system are interconnected and when one mechanism starts to malfunction, the other systems operate at risk and can also become dysfunctional.
If after reading into it you think you have an issue, follow Krimpet's suggestion and have a naturopathic specialist do a 24-hr saliva test (includes 4 saliva samples and usually a urine sample). Don't do the test of just one saliva sample--it's a waste of money.
Hope this is helpful--if not, keep asking questions!
-p
Post Edited (Pirouette) : 5/19/2016 7:29:32 PM (GMT-6)