It’s been a while so feel free to take a quick trip down memory lane on how allopathic and natural medicine view adrenal fatigue. Now, let’s look at some symptoms that may be related to your adrenal glands.

16 possible signs of adrenal fatigue

• Sleep problems, including waking up between 2AM and 4AM, difficulty going back to sleep, perhaps awake with racing thoughts
• Chronic fatigue
• Waking up tired and/or slow start in the morning
• Dark under-eye circles
• Afternoon fatigue
• Dizziness when getting up quickly, lightheadedness
• Afternoon headaches
• Excessive perspiration and perspiration with little to no activity
• Weight gain when under stress
• Craving salt
• Moodiness and irritability
• Depression
• Low sex drive
• Hair loss
• Muscle or bone loss
• Brain fog

Could the signs of adrenal fatigue signal another underlying disease? Sure. Your adrenal glands are involved in producing over 50 hormones, many of which are for vital bodily functions.

Could adrenal fatigue progress to adrenal sufficiency or total endocrine failure if it stays unmanaged for too long? Let’s not find out.

7 things you can do for your adrenal glands

A normal blood test doesn’t always mean complete health. Imbalances may still exist in your body, which may lead to disease if you don’t manage them. Here are some diet and lifestyle ideas your adrenals will thank you for:

• Follow a stress-reducing diet,
• Manage well your stressors and stress response,
• Pay attention to imbalances in your body and mind,
• Get your blood work* done every year; pay special attention to your cortisol, TSH, free T3, free T4, ACTH and DHEA numbers,
• Find out your adrenal stress index (ASI),
• Make space for rest and relaxation, and
• Recognize that sometimes good is good enough.

This blog is not intended to diagnose medical conditions or give medical advice. Many thanks to dr. Jeff Turner of Living Ayurveda and dr. Krista Farey, MD, allopathic doctor and ayurvedic practitioner for their review of and contributions to this topic.  

*I use the functional medicine blood test ranges instead of the allopathic medicine ranges. The functional normal ranges are smaller, and these narrower ranges help me detect imbalances earlier–and spot trends when I compare them to past results.

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