Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome: Announcing a New Breakthrough in Chronic Fatigue
June 13, 2009 by Dr. Gregory Ellis
Filed under Health & Fitness
Leading a life that’s full of joy and happiness requires an abundance of vigor and energy. For many people there is not enough gas in their tanks and each day drags on and tiredness is the daily battle.
Every physical action and both emotional and mental actions expend energy. When energy is used, it must be replenished. The stress of living drains our energy resources.
Our hormonal system is highly involved in coping with the stress of life. The HPA axis (hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal) is a coordinated messaging service that activates and dictates all the actions all the parts of the body must take when they are exposed to stressful situations. This system cannot stay turned-on because if it does then harm can actually arise from its actions.
The Stress Response System Must Turn-On, Then Turn-Off
Unfortunately, for many people, it rarely turns off so it has no chance to recover and heal. The adrenal gland has two parts: the medulla which secretes adrenaline. This is the well-known fight-or-flight hormone. Quick acting, it prepares us to fight or flee from imminent danger.
The adrenal cortex secretes cortisol which acts more slowly and is the primary hormone involved in dealing with chronic stress, such as war. Medical studies of the chronic and extreme fatigue syndromes have implicated the HPA axis as being involved.
The idea that deficient cortisol output led to fatigue developed in the late 1800′s. There is, however, little consensus among the medical people about the level of involvement of adrenal fatigue syndrome as a causative factor in chronic fatigue.
The primary reason for the lack of a definitive answer about adrenal fatigue syndrome is due to the wide range of variations in measuring adrenal output. People with adrenal insufficiency are at risk for adrenal crisis, usually caused by a major stress, such as severe infection or surgery.
Sub-Clinical (No Diagnosis) is What Most People Suffer From
For most chronically fatigued persons, the medical investigation does not turn-up any specific dysfunction or cause. Only about 1-2% of chronically fatigued persons are diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). The lack of a diagnosis and the lack of support of the physician don’t make the condition any less real to the individual.
Current investigations have shown that the HPA axis is involved and that the primary defect is a reduced output of cortisol from the adrenal gland. Studies have shown that adrenal gland size is reduced by about half in those diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome showing a functional reason for less cortisol output.
The understanding that the adrenal gland has a reduced capacity to secrete cortisol because it has lost its mass suggests its involvement in all cases of chronic and extreme fatigue. This fact, however, has not led to the development of any effective medical therapies.
In the field of alternative medicine, however, nutritional supplementation plans, such as the use of DHEA, and more complex programs involving exercise, diet, vitamin/mineral complexes, and the judicious use of specific herbal formulations suggest that adrenal fatigue syndrome can be dealt with effectively.
Using alternative medicine modalities is outside the boundaries of mainstream medicine and is looked upon as a mistake. The patient receives no support from his doctor and might even be released from his care if he takes his health into his own hands. Many people, today, are doing just that and looking for other ways to maintain their health that does not rely on the use of the regular medical community.
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