How Do Doctors Test For Adrenal Fatigue
Practitioners who test for adrenal fatigue believe that lower-than-normal cortisol levels are a hallmark of the disease.
However, cortisol, and other hormone levels, fluctuate based on time of day and month. Hormones also interact with each other, so thyroid hormones are often tested as well. Your thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland in your neck that regulates growth, metabolism, and a range of bodily functions.
The tests listed below are usually ordered when a persons symptoms suggest an adrenal, pituitary, or thyroid problem or other medical condition that indicates a hormone inbalance. You may want to get a second opinion for any abnormal test results if your practitioner uses this information to support a diagnosis of adrenal fatigue.
Finding An Adrenal Fatigue Doctor
This website is not meant to replace your doctor, but is designed to familiarize you with adrenal fatigue syndrome, so that when you visit your doctor, you will have the background knowledge you need to discuss your condition and treatment options.
It can be difficult to find a doctor familiar with the treatment of Adrenal Fatigue. Doctors who identify themselves as “holistic practitioners”, or offices that use phrases such as Alternative Medicine, are more likely to be educated about Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome and the interpretation of hormone saliva tests than conventional MD’s or endocrinologists. . They are also more likely to be familiar with using bioidentical horomones and diet/lifestyle changes to treat their patients rather than prescribing synthetic hormones and telling you that if you’re taking what they’ve prescribed, then you must be fine.
In this day and age, doctors are getting so narrowly focused, that if you don’t have the exact thing they specialize in, then they are really just as clueless as you are about what’s wrong with you. Unfortunately, most will not admit it, and will just tell you that you are wrong. Now, I am not totally anti-doctor, I am just frustrated with how hard it is to find one that I feel KNOWS anything!
Remember, it hasn’t been that long since PMS was a figment of our imaginations…
What Should I Expect From My Adrenal Test
Adrenal tests begin by drawing a sample of blood from a patient in order for it to be analyzed by a medical laboratory. Patients are commonly asked to avoid strenuous physical activity prior to taking the test, and may even be asked to lie down 30 minutes before their blood is taken. There are also a number of medications which could affect the results of the test, such as steroids, so its important to speak with your physician about what medications you are currently taking preceding your test. Though there is a reference range for results common among Adrenal tests, some labs may have different ranges for you and your physician. Speak to your doctor regarding your results to get more information on how your results concern to you and your health specifically.
Questions about online blood testing or how to order a lab test?
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Q: Is It Possible For Your Adrenal Glands To Be Truly Fatigued
A: The adrenal glands have a big job. Theyre responsible for producing, secreting and regulating specific hormones in your body, including cortisol. They work constantly and have a huge functional capacity just like your heart or lungs.
The term adrenal fatigue is based on the assumption that your adrenal gland has the capacity to fatigue but certain organs in your body are not so easily subverted. They dont simply tire out.
What Are The Symptoms Of Cushings Syndrome
The following are the most common symptoms of Cushings syndrome. However, each individual may experience symptoms differently. Symptoms may include:
- Upper body obesity
- Increased fat around neck or a fatty hump between the shoulders
- Thinning arms and legs
- Stretch marks on abdomen, thighs, buttocks, arms, and breasts
- Bone and muscle weakness
- Excess facial and body hair growth in women
- Irregular or stopped menstrual cycles in women
- Reduced sex drive and fertility in men
The symptoms of Cushings syndrome may resemble other conditions or medical problems. Always consult your doctor for a diagnosis.
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What Is Adrenal Insufficiency
Endocrinologists stress that adrenal fatigue isnt the same as the scientifically proven disease adrenal insufficiency, also known as Addisons disease. People diagnosed with adrenal fatigue dont have the same symptoms and dont meet the diagnostic criteria for Addisons.
There is a stage of adrenal disease prior to full-blown adrenal insufficiency that is subclinical, before the disease becomes serious enough to require treatment.
This pre-disease state may be what people are looking at when they suspect adrenal fatigue. However, calling this stage adrenal fatigue isnt medically accurate.
Some signs and symptoms of adrenal insufficiency include:
Suspect Adrenal Fatigue Heres Whats Next
Anyone struggling with a chronic illness knows how frustrating it can be to go from specialist to specialist searching for answers and still not find the root cause of all their symptoms.
Doctors often order a bunch of invasive testing. When you get the results, still nothing is definitive. Its absolutely frustrating.
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How Do Doctors Diagnose Adrenal Fatigue
How do doctors diagnose adrenal fatigue?
Most medical doctors are not aware of adrenal fatigue. They only recognize Addisonâs disease, which is the most extreme end of low adrenal function.
Astute doctors who are familiar with the varying degrees of decreased adrenal function usually test the adrenal hormone levels in the saliva. This is a simple and relatively inexpensive test that has recently become available from a few labs and is an accurate and useful indicator of adrenal fatigue. A kit can be obtained from the lab and the test completed at home by simply spitting into the test tubes four times throughout a 24-hour day. The samples are mailed in and the results are sent back to either the patient or the attending physician.
There are some other lab tests but they need special interpretation by physicians trained to recognize and treat adrenal fatigue. There are other common lab tests that can be used more indirectly to detect adrenal fatigue, but the majority of medical doctors do not know how to interpret these tests for indications of adrenal fatigue. The adrenal fatigue questionnaire on page 61 of Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome is one of the most widely used tools for assessing adrenal fatigue.
Can children experience adrenal fatigue?
Is age a factor in adrenal fatigue?
People can experience adrenal fatigue at any age but both the very young and the very old are more vulnerable to stress and, therefore, to adrenal fatigue.
Distinction From Addisons Disease
Adrenal fatigue is closely related to, but not to be confused with, Addisons Disease, a disorder characterized by insufficient cortisol production due either to a pathology directly affecting the adrenals or a disruption of signaling between the brain and the adrenals. While symptoms of Addisons Disease are similar to adrenal fatigue, the primary difference is that adrenal fatigue is considered a possible result of the overuse of otherwise healthy adrenal glands due to stress.
The adrenals are necessary to have gluconeogenesis to take place in the liver, as well as the glycogen storage where it stimulates the production of blood glucose, says Dr. Wilson. So, most of the major symptoms of either adrenal fatigue or Addisons Disease are a result of either a lack of cortisol or a lack of blood glucose and the many effects that it has systematically throughout the body.
He theorizes, Unlike Addisons, adrenal fatigue doesnt have a pathological origin, with the exception of the overuse of antibiotics which may partially shut down the use of the adrenal glands. So, you do get different symptoms with versus adrenal fatigue, because youre talking about the difference between a body that cant secrete cortisol versus a body that isnt secreting sufficient cortisol.
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Module : Nutrient Deficiencies
In your 5th month of membership you’ll get access to this module, which explores the roles that minerals, vitamins, essential fatty acids and water play in human physiology. We’ll cover the essential background on all of these nutrients and discuss assessment and evaluation methods for assessing their deficiencies using the “Four Quadrants of Functional Diagnosis”.
Attention will be focused on calcium deficiency, iron deficiency anemia, zinc deficiency, B12 and folate deficiency, and EFA deficiency.
Most Tests For Adrenal Fatigue Are Wrong Heres Why
Did you feel worse after getting treated for adrenal fatigue?
This phenomenon is not at all uncommon. It almost always has to do with poor testing methods.
Your adrenal glands are busy synthesizing cholesterol into cortisol on a regular basis. But 80-90% of your bodys cortisol is not readily available. The majority of your cortisol is bound to a protein called cortisol-binding globulin . The remaining 10-20% of your cortisol is called free cortisol.
Your cortisol gets metabolized through your kidneys and liver and eventually leaves your body through the urine. If you have high levels of free cortisol you should have high levels of metabolized cortisol. This would indicate that your body is digesting and excreting all of its cortisol properly. If you have adrenal fatigue you should also see low levels of metabolized cortisol on your test. This indicates that your body has low levels of cortisol and low levels are also being metabolized.
This becomes confusing when your free cortisol levels are dramatically different than your metabolized cortisol. And its why so many testing methods for adrenal fatigue are inaccurate.
The opposite of this pattern can occur in patients with hypothyroidism. In this scenario, youll typically see high levels of free cortisol and low levels of metabolized cortisol. If this patient ran only a salivary cortisol test, they would be told they have hypercortisolism . When in reality, they actually have very low levels of cortisol .
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Cortisol / Dhea Ratio
This test tells us which point along the Adrenal Fatigue pathway the patient might have reached. In the initial stages of a stress reaction both cortisol and DHEA will be high. But as the body begins to struggle to produce sufficient stress hormones, DHEA levels start to fall. Put very simply, this is because the stress hormone production steals resources from the sex hormone production. Further on in the development of Adrenal Fatigue, cortisol levels will begin to drop too. So this ratio, combined with other tests and information, helps us to determine which stage of Adrenal Fatigue the patient has reached.
How Can Naturopathic Treatments Help
Naturopathic Doctors provide treatments that support the natural circadian rhythm of cortisol and help to manage any underlying stressors that are affecting the adrenal glands. In each patient these underlying causes may be different. For example, if a patient regularly experiences hypoglycemia, this will trigger the release of cortisol from the adrenal glands and over a prolonged period of time contributes to adrenal fatigue. Naturopathic treatments for this patient would then include nutrition and lifestyle management to balance blood sugar levels.
In another patient, insomnia may be a root cause of their adrenal fatigue and the naturopathic doctor would then offer natural treatments that support deep, restorative sleep.
Adaptogens are often included in the program. Since adrenal adaptogens have a wide variety of different properties these are individually chosen to match the patients needs. For example, some adaptogens improve energy levels, whereas others are more calming in periods of intense stress. Some adaptogens lower high levels of cortisol, and others are supportive for patients with low levels of cortisol. Combinations of adaptogens can also be included and timed precisely in the day to match a patients symptom picture and pattern of cortisol more exactly.
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When Normal Is Not Normal With Laboratory Testing
To illustrate how a normal laboratory test can be present in a body that is not well, let us consider the following:
Laboratory testing plays an important and significant part of assessing bodily function. It should not be disregarded. However, as you can see from the above, just because laboratory testing results are within normal range does not necessarily mean a person is free of illness. Many chronic illnesses, including Adrenal Fatigue, progress over time slowly. Sole reliance on routine blood serum laboratory tests for definitive assessment is a grossly incomplete approach to start in the case of Adrenal Fatigue.
What Is Cushings Syndrome
Cushings syndrome is the result of excessive corticosteroids in the body. The main cause is overproduction of adrenocorticotropin hormone in the pituitary gland. ACTH causes the adrenal glands to produce corticosteroids, so too much of ACTH means too much of corticosteroids. Another main cause is taking long-term external steroids like prednisone . In addition, certain lung cancers and other tumors outside the pituitary gland may produce corticotropins. Other causes include benign or cancerous tumors on the adrenal glands. Rarely, Cushing syndrome can be an inherited endocrine disorder.
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What Are Your Adrenals
Your adrenals are two small glands that sit on top of your kidneys. They produce a stress hormone called cortisol. They play many roles in your endocrine system.
Your endocrine system is the collection of glands that produce hormones to regulate your metabolism, growth and development, tissue function, sexual function, reproduction, sleep, and mood, among other things.
Your adrenal glands are regulated by a number of complex feedback mechanisms, known as the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis . Your adrenal hormones work in harmony with other hormones and body systems to keep you feeling energised and alert.
My Adrenals Are Stressing Me Out
Are you feeling stressed out from work, school, and sports where you just cant function? Hanging out at bars & nightclubs, while smoking and drinking, telling yourself that your problems will eventually wither away? What if you had to do a presentation project for your job, and you werent fully prepared? Maybe because of the amount of stress that your boss is impatiently and expecting you to complete! The reasons why you feel this way? Its because your adrenal glands are stressed out!
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Module : The Immune System
In your 10th month of membership you’ll get access to this module, which will cover the immune system. In the initial lessons we’ll explore the normal functional physiology of the immune response and look at ways that this system, when it becomes dysfunctional, can lead to allergies, immune compromise and auto-immunity. We’ll look at the role played by nutrient deficiencies, hyper permeability of the gut, and pharmaceutical drugs. We’ll also take a look at Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and other viral disorders and ways we can use our diagnostic techniques to uncover the underlying cause.
My “Four Quadrants of Functional Diagnosis” assessment techniques will allow us to assess the many organ systems that have an impact on immune function: the GI mucosa, nutritional deficiencies, liver toxicity and the Gut Associated Lymphatic Tissue. In this section we will cover the Modified Food Elimination and Reintroduction process.
Fourth Stage: Burning Out
At this point of Adrenal Fatigue, the body is simply incapable of producing more cortisol and stress coping levels. So, the level of these hormones begins to decrease. Yet, this does not mean that the sex hormones begin to elevate. Quite on the contrary, both stress and sex hormone levels are very low.
This process is also referred to as burning out. The term has been introduced by Dr. Fredenberger and is used to describe the consequences of prolonged stress coping.
The fourth and final stage of Adrenal Fatigue can result in depression, apathy, exhaustion, weight loss, increased irritability and lack of interest in the surrounding world / people. Recovery from this stage requires a lot of time. In fact, it may even require complete change of scenery and lifestyle.
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Maintaining Healthy Adrenals Through Diet & Lifestyle
Keep in mind that your overall adrenal health is dependent upon you maintaining a proper electrolyte balance within your body particularly a balanced ratio of sodium and potassium.
Trace minerals, full-spectrum sea and earth salts, and mineral-rich foods not to mention plenty of clean water and rest are all necessary for keeping your adrenal glands fully charged, adequately hydrated, and ready to go at all times.
Some additional health & lifestyle approaches that can help to keep your adrenals fit as a fiddle include:
- supplementing with vitamins and other minerals such as magnesium
- maintaining an anti-inflammatory diet
Cortisol Saliva Adrenal Test
The Adrenocortex hormone profile is a non-invasive saliva test that serves as a reliable marker of stress response and a critical tool for revealing adrenal imbalances. Lifestyle, physical and psychological stresses put constant demands on the adrenal glands. If they become depleted adrenal fatigue or insufficiency may be experienced.
Each person has two adrenal glands both located on top of each of the bodys two kidneys. These glands are important to the bodys endocrine system. Adrenal fatigue is a very common condition in todays society through the physical and physiological demands we put on our adrenal glands. Each gland is composed of two distinct zones, the large outer cortex and the inner medulla.
Salivary cortisol testing is an effective non-invasive salivary hormone test that evaluates bioactive levels of the bodys important stress hormones, cortisol and DHEA. This hormone test serves as a critical tool for uncovering biochemical imbalances underlying anxiety, depression, chronic fatigue syndrome, obesity, dysglycemia, and a host of other clinical conditions that may affect our day to day lives. This hormone test examines 4 saliva samples over a 12-hour period for levels of cortisol and DHEA. The Adrenocortex test should be used as a general screening test as it plays such an important role for a healthy life.
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