Epidemic Adrenal Fatigue

Millions of people suffer from constant fatigue and stress that is not relieved by rest and sleep. This silent and little known epidemic is causing fatigue, weight-gain, and chronic illness in fast-paced America. These are symptoms of adrenal gland problems, also known as adrenal fatigue. By tending to the adrenals through diet, supplementation, lifestyle adjustments, and stress reduction, adrenal health can be restored.

What are Adrenal Glands?

The adrenal glands sit on top of the kidneys, where they play a significant role in the body, secreting about 10 hormones, including epinephrine (adrenaline), cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. Since they produce so many essential hormones, the adrenal glands are responsible for many of the functions we need to stay alive and healthy, including:

  • Fight-or-flight response – needed to respond to life-threatening situations
  • Energy production – carbohydrate, protein and fat conversion to blood glucose for energy
  • Fluid and electrolyte balance
  • Fat storage
  • Normalizes blood sugar
  • Regulates blood pressure
  • Controls the strength of the immune system: Too much cortisol weakens the immune system, setting the motions for increased susceptibility to infections and cancer. Too little cortisol leads to an overactive immune system and autoimmune disease.

Your sex hormones, estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone are produced in both your genital organs and your adrenal glands, about half in each, until female menopause (average age 51) and male andropause (average age 44), when they’re all made mostly in the adrenal glands. For most men and women, sex hormones fall most rapidly in the 40s and 50s, when they can drop as much as 90%. You can deduce the potential for major problems if your adrenal glands are fatigued and cannot make adequate levels of sex hormones.

What is Adrenal Fatigue?

Adrenal fatigue is produced when your adrenal glands cannot adequately meet the demands of stress. They then suffer an inability to produce adequate levels of hormones — the hormones the body uses to communicate and function. The stress response is caused by the action of the adrenal hormones. The adrenal glands mobilize your body’s responses, via hormones, to every kind of stress, whether it’s physical, emotional, or psychological.

Most commonly associated with intense or prolonged stress, it can also arise during or after an illness, a life crisis, or a continuing difficult situation, draining the adrenal resources of even the healthiest person. Adrenal fatigue is extremely common due to our culture’s work til you drop attitude, lack of relaxation, and other lifestyle factors, such as sleep deprivation, poor eating habits and excessive caffeine and stimulant intake.

You may look and act relatively normal with adrenal fatigue and may not have any obvious signs of physical illness, yet you live with a general sense of unwellness, tiredness, a tired, but wired feeling, or “gray” feelings. People experiencing adrenal fatigue often have to use coffee, sodas and other stimulants to get going in the morning and to prop themselves up during the day.

When you are stressed, your adrenals release adrenaline and cortisol. In short, adrenaline works in the short term, while cortisol works in the long term. If you are constantly experiencing adrenaline surges, you cortisol levels will surge, too, but build up at a slower rate. When you get angry or drink a cup of coffee or eat sugar, the initial surge of adrenaline can make you feel good. But, just as your levels of adrenaline start coming down, so rises the amount of cortisol flowing through your veins (See chart). This is the adrenaline crash, which makes you feel anxious, jittery, and have negative thoughts. Moreover, cortisol has a much larger momentum than adrenaline, which means that even though it builds up slowly, it also takes a long time to go back to normal. And should you constantly be engaging in activities which require adrenaline, so will your levels of cortisol slowly increase. Having too much cortisol flowing through your veins has another nasty side-effect: the recovery time from any adrenaline surge increases.

demystifying_depression-cortisol

Your adrenals always keep a certain level of cortisol in your bloodstream, highest in the morning, to allow you to face the day, and lowest at night, to allow you to sleep. Stage one adrenal fatigue is when you cortisol levels are too high all the time in response to stress. You experience stage two when cortisol levels being to drop too low. In stage three, adrenal burnout, cortisol is too low most or all of the time. You feel stressed all the time.

If your stress has gone on too long and your cortisol levels have stayed high for too long, the catabolic, or body-destroying, effects of cortisol may have begun to take a toll. Having excessive elevations of your own cortisol is like getting too many cortisone shots. Your immune system, bones, brain, heart, and muscles can all deteriorate. And even if the stress that triggered the cortisol flood has ended, your glands may have adapted (in as little as three weeks) and may continue to put out what are now excessive amounts of unneeded cortisol.

Causes

Any excessive stress can deplete the adrenals, especially when weakened by poor nutrition. Working too much or emotional stress are two common causes. Excessive stimulation is another cause. Fast-paced, high-stress, fear-based lifestyles are a sure prescription for adrenal burnout. After reading this comprehensive list of adrenal stressors, you will clearly understand why there is an epidemic of adrenal fatigue!

  • Heavy metal and chemical toxicity. Pesticides, heavy metals, polluted air, mercury from dental fillings, household cleaners, food additives, dusts, pollen, molds, solvents, chlorine and fluoride in pools and tap water, and other organic chemicals can all act as stressors on the body that weaken the adrenal glands. These can be removed by doing a Hair Mineral Analysis (details below) and following a protocol based on the results of your test. Proven methods to remove these toxins are infrared saunas, coffee enemas and using targeted detox supplements like vitamin C, glutathione, and lipoic acid.
  • Excessive stress. Work, school, financial, family, social pressure, emotional or psychological stresses contribute to adrenal fatigue. A single overwhelming shock such as the death of a loved one can deplete the adrenals. Psychological stressors include anger, arguing, fearful news and even movies full of suspense or violence. It is actually the resistance or fear of a situation that causes the stress response.
  • Unhealthy mental habits. Unhealthy responses to stress include habits of worrying, or becoming angry or afraid. This applies particularly to high-strung, nervous individuals and those with very active minds, as they are especially prone to adrenal burnout. One’s attitude makes a big difference in determining the stress response. Worry, fear, anger, and resentment increase the stress response. An attitude of gratitude, and compassion for oneself and others tends to diminish the stress response.
  • Caffeine. Most stimulants whip the adrenals. They may cause you to feel better for a while, providing you with energy, but the long-term effect is to weaken your adrenals, making the problem worse. Chocolate also contains caffeine and another stimulant called theobromine — hence its popularity.
  • Excessive carbohydrates or sugars. Every time one consumes sugar or flour, which acts the same way in the body as sugar, the body’s blood sugar rapidly rises. High blood sugar causes cellular damage and is considered an emergency by the body. Any emergency will call on the adrenals to secrete stress hormones like adrenaline. In fact, this is where the “sugar rush” comes from.
  • Nutritional deficiencies. These can begin early in childhood with inadequate diets, poor food quality, or digestive problems. Even natural foods today are low in vital minerals and vitamins because they may be grown in depleted soils.
  • Food allergies and sensitivities. Allergies or sensitivities to foods such as wheat and dairy products may be the most common stressors on the body and the adrenals. The most common food allergies are wheat, dairy, soy, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts (almonds, walnuts, cashews), fish, and shellfish. An elimination diet and challenge with the irritating foods is the most accurate way to test for common food allergies and sensitivities.
  • Poor quality water. Municipal water supplies today are contaminated with over 300 different pollutants, depending upon where you live. Drink only spring water. If this is not practical, drink filtered water via reverse osmosis or distillation. To find out what pollutants are in your tap water, see Environmental Working Group’s National Tap Water Database.
  • Vegetarian and vegan diets. Low protein diet are high in carbohydrates, which break down into sugar in the body and stress the adrenals. Animal proteins also contain many of the nutrients needed for the adrenals to function properly, including cholesterol, zinc, and B12 — nutrients not found or absorbed well from plant foods.
  • Electromagnetic pollution. Cell phones, microwave towers and appliances like televisions, microwave ovens and computers give off strong electrical fields, adding stress to the body.
  • Alcohol or drug abuse. Alcohol and drugs including cocaine, heroin, amphetamines, all diet pills including phentermine and ephedra, and stimulating medical drugs whip the adrenals. While stimulants can cause or contribute to adrenal weakness, some who use stimulants do so because they are in adrenal burnout already.
  • Chronic dieting or starvation. Chronic dieting, calorie counting, and starvation all cause surges of adrenaline when the body is starving. Dropping and low blood sugar levels signal an emergency to the adrenals, which wear them out.
  • Excessive exercise. When you exercise, your body releases stress hormones, which give one a boost in energy, however short-lived. However, this serves to further deplete the adrenals. Moderate, gentle exercise is recommended during healing.
  • Chronic infections. Infections such as h.pylori, bronchitis, pneumonia, and many others place stress on the adrenals.
  • Yeast, parasite, or bacterial overgrowth. Overgrowth of bad bacteria, yeasts, and parasites in the intestines are another chronic stressor on the adrenals. You must starve them with a diet of no sugar and grains. If this doesn’t work, you need to work with your physician to kill these pathogens. These are very resistant to treatment and can take months (yeast) if not years (parasites) to treat successfully. If you have persistent night waking, teeth clenching, drooling while asleep,etc, you may want to get tested for gut pathogens. Wendy can perform a Gut Pathogens Test and help you to eradicate gut dysbiosis, parasites and yeast.
  • Chronic physical stressors. Chronic stressors include allergies and autoimmune disorders.
  • Miscellaneous stimulants. Anything that provides a temporary “high,” like sex, loud music, loud noise, bright lights (at a disco), or any addicting activity, is attractive in part by the secretion of high amounts of adrenal hormones like adrenaline. A person who is tired, due to weak adrenals, may be attracted to stimulants such as these to make them feel better temporarily.
  • Pregnancy. This wonderful time in a woman’s life can be very stressful emotionally and physically. In fact, many women experience adrenal burnout after giving birth and dealing with the stress of a newborn.
  • Medications. Medical therapy, particularly cortisone or prednisone therapy, weaken the adrenal glands by creating hormone imbalances. Use of corticosteroid medications like anti-itch hydrocortisone cream can cause the same problems, including impairment of cortisol secretion, which can interfere with sleep. Alternatives to hydrocortisone include sulphur creams and anti-fungal creams. Natural, highly effective brands can be found online.
  • Stressful situations. Prolonged situations in which you feel trapped or helpless (bad relationships, stressful jobs, poverty, imprisonment) will cause adrenal fatigue.
  • Congenital weakness. Congenital means present at birth. Many children today are born with weak adrenals due to their mother’s nutritional deficiencies. Nutritional imbalances and toxins pass from mother to the child, affecting the adrenal glands. These children are often sick, depressed and have difficulty in school. Some of these children become hyperactive, compulsive, and obsessive or develop various behavior problems. By gently rebuilding their body chemistry, their behavioral and other disorders generally vanish in a few months or years.

Symptoms

Basic symptoms of adrenal fatigue include being tired all or most of the time and having trouble sleeping. Just these symptoms should warrant testing. Other symptoms include:

  • You feel tired for no reason.
  • You have trouble getting up in the morning, even when you go to bed at a reasonable hour
  • Do not feel rested even after excessive amounts of sleep
  • Waking up in the middle of the night
  • Tired but wired feeling
  • Afternoon “low” (feelings of sleepiness or clouded thinking) from 2 to 4 pm
  • You feel more awake, alert and energetic after 6PM – get a second wind
  • You feel rundown or overwhelmed
  • Depression or apathy
  • You have difficulty bouncing back from stress or illness
  • You crave salty and sweet snacks
  • Weight gain
  • Increased PMS or menopausal symptoms
  • Joint aches and pains
  • Muscle stiffness or weakness, frequent muscle pulling
  • Low levels of gastric hydrochloric acid
  • Craving artificial energy like caffeine or stimulants
  • Light-headedness when getting up from a sitting or laying down position
  • Decreased sex drive
  • Decreased tolerance to cold, low body temperature
  • Poor circulation
  • Constipation
  • Chronic or recurring infections, like frequent colds, due to lowered resistance to infection
  • Low blood pressure in the absence of other obvious causes
  • Sleep disturbances are caused because the adrenals are not producing adequate amounts of sex hormones. For instance, low estrogen results in low serotonin. Since serotonin is converted into melatonin, a deficiency will lead to insufficient melatonin production to produce quality sleep. Low progesterone can prevent activation of GABA, the neurotransmitter that promotes relaxation. So, low progesterone means insufficient GABA, not allowing you to relax enough to get to sleep.

Recovery

If you have adrenal fatigue, you can fully live life again by making the necessary lifestyle and dietary changes to treat your common disorder. Treating adrenal fatigue is as easy as:

  • Resting during your work breaks
  • Sleeping 8-10 hours a night
  • Drink 3 quarts of spring water a day
  • Exercising, but not too vigorously, which can stress the adrenals
  • Minimizing stress
  • Taking negative people out of your life
  • Eating regular meals
  • Never skipping a meal, which causes dips in blood sugar and the release of stress hormones
  • Avoiding caffeine or other stimulants
  • Combining unrefined carbohydrates, if eaten, with protein and oils
  • Avoiding junk food, like processed and fast food
  • Eating five to six servings of vegetables each day
  • Taking targeted supplements to feed the adrenals, such as zinc, selenium, calcium, magnesium, vitamin C
  • Adding sea salt to your diet – Celtic, Hawaiian Bamboo Jade, and Himalayan are best, but any colored sea salt is fine
  • Detoxification including infrared saunas and coffee enemas
  • Employing meditation and relaxation techniques
  • Eating organic raw pasture butter which is high in adrenal nourishing conjugated linoleic acid (CLA)

Recovery Time

If you take your treatment plan seriously, you can expect your adrenal fatigue to heal in:

  • 6 to 9 months for minor adrenal fatigue – Stage 1
  • 12 to 18 months for moderate fatigue – Stage 2
  • 24 months or more for severe adrenal fatigue – Stage 3

Seeking Help

Myers Detox with Hair Mineral Analysis

Myers DetoxI highly recommend hair mineral analysis to determine a customized Myers Detox protocol (formerly called Mineral Power) based upon your biochemical individuality. To start a program see Myers Detox protocol.  This is the program I am using to heal my adrenals. There are many companies that do hair mineral analysis, but Myers Detox is quite unique. A hair mineral analysis is an incredibly powerful tool for diagnosing and providing a comprehensive program to recover from adrenal fatigue.

Based on your test results, you will be given supplements to balance your minerals and detox heavy metals, in addition to a detox plan and a diet tailored specifically to your mineral deficiencies. Adrenal fatigue occurs in part due to heavy metal toxicity and deficiencies in minerals and vitamins the adrenals need to function. Once you know and provide the exact nutrients your whole body needs in the exact combinations to properly balance your body chemistry, your body starts to heal itself. Toxic metals and chemicals are removed naturally and safely, cells can make more energy and symptoms start disappearing.

The Myers Detox protocol includes:

  • Nutritional Assessment through hair mineral analysis.
  • Recommendations for a wholesome diet of natural foods appropriate for your metabolism and digestive ability.
  • Lifestyle modification recommendations to reduce harmful stressors.
  • Nutritional supplements to reduce stress and enhance adrenal activity. The adrenal glands require vitamins A, C, E, pantothenic acid (vitamin B5), manganese, and zinc.
  • supplements to enhance overall metabolism, eliminate toxic metals and enhance absorption and digestion of food. Adrenal glandular substance, made from animal adrenal glands, is also recommended to provide adrenal nucleoprotein and other factors to help rebuild the adrenal glands. These contain cortisol and can help to regulate your low cortisol levels. Animal adrenal gland complexes have been used since the 1900’s.

Supplements

There are many supplements you can take to support your overall health and mineral levels.

but I strongly suggest doing the targeted supplement program like Myers Detox protocol based on your hair mineral analysis. One must remember that healing the adrenals entails healing the entire body and this is done with supplements that give the body what it needs to heal itself.

  • Adrenal cortex glandulars. Over-the-counter products made from animal adrenal glands are some of the best products you can take to regenerate your adrenal glands. I personally like Endo-dren, a high-quality glandular supplement.
  • Adrenal Adaptogens. AdrenaVen™ is one of my adatopgen picks, as it features fermented Cordyceps sinensis, Rhodiola extract, and Eleuthero root. AdrenaVen helps the body restore cortisol function and is targeted at helping normalize biochemical imbalances.
  • You can also check out our entire lineup of adrenal support supplements over at the Myers Detox store!

Acupuncture

Acupuncturists have been treating the adrenal glands for thousands of years. Not only are the adrenal glands directly supported through acupuncture, but acupuncture is famous for its ability to raise endorphin levels that are depleted by stress and needed to help regulate cortisol. Acupuncturists also have ancient and accurate methods for diagnosing sex hormone imbalances and treating them. Acupuncture is also incredibly relaxing. Results last for a few days, so it’s ideal to do it twice a week, but once a week will suffice. You’ll need to do it once a week or more for at least a month, but then may only need maintenance sessions once a month after that.

Medical Intervention

Unfortunately, most doctors do not recognize adrenal fatigue until it is quite severe. In medical school, they are only taught to look for extreme adrenal malfunction — Addison’s disease, which occurs when the glands produce far too little cortisol, and Cushing’s Syndrome, which stems from excessive cortisol production. However, most people have symptoms when their adrenals are functioning just a little below normal.

When doctors finally recognize adrenal fatigue, they typically treat it with hormone replacement therapy, including estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone replacement, in addition to cortisone replacement therapy. This does not address the causes of adrenal symptoms, though it will relieve your symptoms. Unfortunately, this therapy may be accompanied by serious side effects, is very expensive, and must be monitored constantly.

Your body’s hormones are monitored and changed minutely by your body. This system is quite difficult to replicate with hormone replacement therapy. Be warned, traditional medical treatment will interfere with proper recovery from adrenal fatigue. Lifestyle changes and a program, like the hair mineral analysis, are far superior to heal adrenal fatigue.

Many doctors today are testing the levels of adrenal hormones in the blood, urine or saliva. However, these tests are not needed. The hair mineral test provides plenty of information about adrenal activity and how to correct the diet and lifestyle. Hormone tests are usually several hundred dollars and must be repeated at regular intervals. This is prohibitive for many people, especially compared to the hair mineral test.

If you want more information about how your adrenals are functioning, the saliva test is very accurate, but needs to be done at regular intervals. It will show you what kind of depletion or excess your adrenal stress hormones may be evidencing and when. It will also show you which stage of stress burnout you’re in — early stage one, stage two, or late stage burnout. Based on these tests your doctor may prescribe prescription cortisol to supplement proper cortisol levels when your adrenals are too tired to do the job.

Those in burnout need an overhaul, not a tune up. One needs to commit to doing whatever it takes and devoting a few years to healing. This needs to become one’s primary occupation or job for a while, allowing all other interests and activities to become secondary to the commitment to healing.

Have you healed from Adrenal Fatigue? Is there anything I left out of this blog that you’d like to add? Tell me your story by leaving a comment below. I want to know!

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Click Here for References+

1. Adrenal Fatigue http://www.healthremedies.com/adrenal_fatigue.html
2. Adrenal Fatigue & Exhaustion http://www.womenlivingnaturally.com/articlepage.php?id=6
3. Craze, Lori Anderson. Foods That Heal Adrenal Glands, December 22, 2010. http://www.livestrong.com/article/340770-foods-that-heal-adrenal-glands/
4. Haskell, Alexander, ND. Low Thyroid Hormone Symptoms.
Advancing Care, Inc, 2010.
5. Ross, Julia. The Mood Cure. Penguin Books, 2002.
6. Veracity, Dani. Recovering from Adrenal Fatigue: How your body can overcome chronic stress and feel energized again. April 6, 2006.
http://www.naturalnews.com/019339.html#ixzz25wiPnaTy
7. Wilson, Lawrence. Adrenal Burnout Syndrome. August 2012.
http://drlwilson.com/articles/ADRENAL_BURNOUT.htm
8. Wilson, James. Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome. Smart Publications, 2001.
9. Wilson, James. What is Adrenal Fatigue?
http://www.adrenalfatigue.org/what-is-adrenal-fatigue
10. Wong, Cathy. Adrenal Fatigue – Natural Remedies for Adrenal Fatigue, May 6, 2009. http://altmedicine.about.com

in Articles/Health Conditions/Myers Detox/Myers Detox Protocol Articles/Survive

Dr Wendy Myers, ND is a detox expert, functional diagnostic nutritionist, NES Bioenergetic Practitioner, and founder of Myersdetox.com. She is the #1 bestselling author of Limitless Energy: How to Detox Toxic Metals to End Exhaustion and Chronic Fatigue . Additionally, Wendy is the host of The Heavy Metals Summit, the Myers Detox Podcast, and the Supercharged Podcast. Passionate about the importance of detox to live a long and healthy life, she created the revolutionary Myers Detox Protocol , and Mitochondria Detox kit after working with thousands of clients, as well as a range of supplements to help you detox from everyday living and maintain a healthy lifestyle!

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Amahl Van Halsema
Amahl Van Halsema
11 years ago

Good job!

Amahl B. Van Halsema Classical and Therapeutic Pilates [email protected] 310-795-8657

best diet to lose weight fast for women

Generally I do not read post on blogs, but I wish to say that this write-up
very compelled me to take a look at and do it!
Your writing taste has been surprised me. Thank you,
quite great article.

Wendy Myers
11 years ago

Thank you so much! What a wonderful compliment 🙂 I have adrenal fatigue. Needless to say I was very passionate about this epidemic!

Linsey Liebenow
Linsey Liebenow
11 years ago

At about the age of 40 men start noticing that their libido and vitality are slowly diminishing. At this time they experience sleeping disorders, memory problems, hair loss, and gaining extra weight. They experience strange fluctuations in mood; they do not feel motivated, get tired and cranky more and more often. The situation may get even worse when they experience other unwanted symptoms, such as aches and pains, flushing and sweating, depression, increased weight and decreased sexual desire accompanied by erectile dysfunction. ^

Have a look at the most popular blog post at our personal internet site
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Jamie Young
Jamie Young
10 years ago

I am wondering if you have had your cortisol checked. I at first thought mine was adrenal fatigue until we discovered my cortisol was at a 3 all day (scale of 1-10). The test I used was the spit test, reliable. I am now diagnosed as Adrenal Insufficiency. I know you know your adrenals. BUT, how well do you know Adrenal Insufficiency or Addison’s. http://aiunited.org/
I started out with this book which is fantastic! Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome http://www.amazon.com/Adrenal-Fatigue-Century-Stress-Syndrome/dp/1890572152 (I have a feeling you have read it, if not a must!)

If you know all this great! I still loved your video and hope you recover from this awful disease. I hate it!
Thanks Jamie Young

Ashley
Ashley
10 years ago

Thanks for the amazing article Wendy 🙂 I’d love to give shout out to my mentor Karen Hamilton and her new website. It’s all about adrenal fatigue and you can find it here – http://adrenalfatiguesolution.com/. Thanks!!

Juan Moisés
10 years ago

Very good article, I would like to share an article that I published with the title “Are you sensitive to suffer Burnout Syndrome?”, where is comment a new science article that affirm to find specific characters of personality in Burnout Syndrome´s patients.
http://juanmoisesdelaserna.es/psicologia/eres-sensible-sufrir-el-sindrome-de-burnout/

laila
laila
10 years ago

The article did not mention hormonal Birth control as potenti al cause of adrenal fatigue. Taking the pill threw me in an Extreme Form of adrenal burn out from which I’m still recovering after 8 months since its interrumption. Stay FAR away from any Form of hormonal Birth control.

Dr Truth
Dr Truth
9 years ago

First time I’ve been on your site and I just have to say this is a really great article. You touched on all the bases. I’m seriously impressed. I am suffering from extreme adrenal fatigue right now and was just watching a live music performance on you tube and it got me pumped up so much I was worried about too much adrenaline being released. So decided to shut it off because I got so pumped up from the last song. I’ve been having such a hard time and don’t want to have another crash. So anyways googled or should I say startpaged music adrenaline and adrenal fatigue and found your site. Looking forward to checking out the rest of your site. Cheers. 🙂

Wendy Myers
9 years ago
Reply to  Dr Truth

HI Dr. Truth!
I’m very happy you found some insight into your adrenaline rush! Enough of those cause adrenal fatigue! Those adrenals are quite picky and get fatigued easily!

Gerrit
Gerrit
9 years ago

Great article. Information speaks of my Human experience, of how poor diet and addiction to stressful jobs, along with excessive exercise, have left me emotionally and physically depleted.

sharon
sharon
9 years ago

Hi Wendy — Thank you so much for all the great info. I’m wondering … I know that to reverse the effects of adrenal fatigue, one must commit to a lifestyle change since it tends to take 6-24 months to even see healing. In this time, if one cuts out sugar and grains, is there room for the occasional slip? Like a piece of cake or a slice of pizza? I’m wondering if that derails all efforts. I’m hoping to NOT slip, but I’m also trying to be realistic and arm myself with the knowledge of how occasional slips affect the healing process. Thank you!

Wendy Myers
9 years ago
Reply to  sharon

Yes you can cheat here and there. I do. You generally want to check your blood sugar with a glucometer. To heal your adrenals, you must keep your blood sugar between 80-90 when you test in the morning and before meals. I have found in my practice it actually takes at least 2 years to heal the adrenals. And diet alone is not enough. The body needs to be detoxed to heal the adrenals as well, which stresses them out. And people need to nourish the adrenals with targeted nutrient therapy. You can get all this on my mineralpower.com program and heal your adrenals.

Wendy Myers
8 years ago

ACE certainly will rev you up! It’s stimulating. But like any stimulant, your body will adjust to it. It’s not something I would recommend. It’s going to further stimulate your adrenals more when what they desperately need is rest to heal. It will send them into further decline. You have to heal your adrenal glands so they can start producing hormones on their own. But since it takes years to heal the adrenal glands, people tend to resort to supplements like this to keep them going. It may make you feel better in the short term and cover up symptoms like fatigue, but long term it’s harming the adrenals.

Wendy Myers
8 years ago

I am not completely familiar with the side effects of essential oils. Sorry!

Kellie
Kellie
8 years ago

I have chronic insomnia for over 4 years…sleeping only 2-3 hours per night. I recently had a hormone test that showed low progesterone and high nighttime cortisol. I also just learned that I have the MTHFR gene mutation, which may be the root of all of these issues. I am focusing on nutrition, and I am taking Kavinace during the day when I feel anxiety and Seriphos in the late afternoon, which is supposed to help bring down my cortisol.
Do you have any thoughts on these two supplements and if there is anything else in addition that would help my body learn to sleep again?

Wendy Myers
8 years ago
Reply to  Kellie

Those supplements are great. I recommend them. The high nighttime cortisol is usually gut bugs. Those have to be addressed. As the immune system is fighting them the cortisol rises. You could also have high glutamate. I do neurotransmitter testing to correct any issues related to this.

anon
anon
9 years ago

Adrenal fatigue, the disease that doesn’t exist until the pharmaceutical industry patents a drug for it. Then suddenly every doctor in America will recognize it.

I’ve had adrenal burnout to the point where I’d sleep for days at a time. I was prescribed hormone replacement therapy which I was eventually able to stop. Then the cycle happened again and now I feel another cycle. My life is in ruins due to a TBI and subsequent loss of most everything and everyone in my life. This time I don’t have the same access to hormone therapy that I had, so I’m looking for alternatives.

A PA recommended that I try adrenal cortex extract. I finally bought some yesterday while I was in recovery from the stomach flu. I hadn’t eaten in a day and a half and spent most of the time sleeping, So I took some ACE yesterday and this morning. I don’t know if my odd feeling is part of my recovery from the bug or if it’s from the ACE. I felt wired when I tried to sleep last night and this morning as well.

Are you familiar with what it’s like to begin taking this supplement? Is it a situation where your body has to get accustomed to taking it and this wired feeling will fade over time? Any input would be greatly appreciated.

A.Dirkx
A.Dirkx
8 years ago

I have started to take thyromin by young living essential oils.. over a three day period I felt very irritable and even more tired then normal. On the fourth day I felt an energy surge which is unlike any that I have had in QUITE some time… I also have been having some ‘hot flash’ like symptoms. Is this common?

charyl
charyl
7 years ago

If everyone says to sleep 8 hours to heal this, how is one to get to sleep if that’s the problem, that they cannot sleep? I literally cannot fall asleep and will go days with no sleep unless I take sleep meds. I don’t want to take any sleep med but I don’t know how else to accomplish sleep to heal. Even on sleep meds I get about 3-4 hours.

Wendy Myers
7 years ago
Reply to  charyl

Yes I hear you! If you search for sleep on myersdetox.com, you’ll find a lot of resources on how to get better sleep. This is the most common complaint I hear from most of my clients. EMF play a HUGE role in poor sleep so look for exposure in your home and try to address this.

kimberly Anderson
kimberly Anderson
7 years ago

I have been bed-ridden and in a wheel chair for a month and a half due to adrenal exhaustion. It seems any physical or emotional ecertion at all makes me feel so very ill. I recently got on 10 mg hydrocortisone, though my body seems very sensitive to steroids. I am also on adrenosense herbs, b-complex, dgl, vitamin c,vitamin d, and endoflex essential oil. I also have been on salt tablets for a month as my salt is very imblanced bringing on low blood pressure. Have spent 3 days in hospital and several e.r. trips. For a while I was having neurological syymptoms until I started keeping my salt more balanced. I am in chattanooga and see the one doc who i know will treat this. She is somewhat knowledgeable about it but says she has never treated anyone this bad off before. Any advice or guidance would be so very much appreciated. I am 36 years old with 3 children.

Wendy Myers
7 years ago

HI Kimberly. I’m sorry that you’re having such a rough time. You do need the hydrocortisone prescription until you feel better. It is replacement hormones because your adrenals have failed. There are invariably other factors at play here. You likely have toxic metals interfering in mitochondrial function like thallium, arsenic, tin, aluminum that you want to address.

I am happy to work with you OR I recommend our medical director Dr. Bruce Jones who routinely works with patients that are severely ill or present as difficult cases.