Who isn’t tired nowadays? Our brains are constantly on the go with work, friends, family, school, the list goes on to the point we forget to take time for ourselves. But what if you’re so fatigued that even getting a regular night's sleep isn’t enough? You may have something typically called adrenal fatigue.
What are adrenals?
The adrenals are two small glands that sit atop the kidneys. They are responsible for releasing calculated and small amounts of stress hormones, cortisol and adrenaline, that trigger the fight or flight response that helps us deal with life-threatening situations. Because so many of us are living our lives in a stressed-out emergency state, we’re now releasing stress hormones relentlessly.
What is adrenal fatigue?
The term “adrenal fatigue” has been used to explain a group of symptoms that are said to occur in people who are under long-term mental, emotional, or physical stress. The theory is that too much stress wears out our adrenals that then get tired and don’t produce enough cortisol for us to feel energized. So why aren’t our family doctors telling us about this?
Adrenal fatigue is a commonly identified diagnosis from alternative medicine practitioners but is not recognized by conventional physicians. It is based on nonspecific symptoms such as fatigue, lack of energy, depression, weight problems, insomnia, cravings, caffeine dependency, and more. These all can occur with many unassociated health problems.
What are the symptoms to look out for?
- Blood pressure: High or low blood pressure is an indication that something isn’t right. Low blood pressure can often have the symptom of lightheadedness associated with it.
- Food cravings and weight changes: Changes in cravings and/or your weight can signal a problem. This particularly includes abnormal weight gain in the abdomen and thighs, and cravings for salty or sugary foods that sometimes feel uncontrollable.
- Energy: Are you unable to stop, always on speed forward? Or do you have ongoing fatigue, lack of stamina, and feel “tired and wired” much of the time? Do you lack “get up and go?” If your energy levels are all over the place, it’s time to pay attention.
- Emotions and coping ability: Emotional challenges might include an inability to deal with day to day stress, feeling overwhelmed much of the time, struggling to get through the day, being too driven, having a very “short fuse,” anxiety attacks, and/or an inability to reframe your thinking.
- Thinking: Intellectual signs to watch out for include being mentally foggy, having fuzzy thinking, an inability to stay focused on one task, and chronic racing thoughts.
- Immune response: Is your body fighting off frequent infections? Does it take you longer than others to recover from illness, infections, or trauma? Compromised immune function can signify an issue with your adrenal glands.
- Sleep: Sleep issues may include an inability to fall asleep, falling asleep easily but waking up nightly, and sleeping soundly but waking up exhausted.
- Hormones/Libido: You may notice hormonal difficulties such as worsening of perimenopausal symptoms, low libido, or severe PMS.
How can NutriChem help with fatigue?
NutriChem’s BCB test evaluates most of the previously mentioned biochemical causes of fatigue. Food sensitivity tests may be added to the BCB. One of NutriChem’s clinicians will be able to engineer a customized supplement which will address the individualized biochemistry of a person.