Comments on: Debunking the Myth of Adrenal Fatigue

By: Elena Goodwin

Elena Goodwin — Wed, 08 Sep 2021 05:00:46 +0000

Inflammation and oxidative stress are the fundamental causes of what people call “adrenal fatigue”.
Cold hands and feet. The paraventricular nucleus and ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) controls temperature regulation.
https://www.psykiater.no/depresjon/

By: Misty

Misty — Mon, 28 Jun 2021 18:54:35 +0000

I think THERE IS a condition called adrenal fatigue. It’s actually referred to as “non-addison’s disease.” Western medicine WON’T recognize it as a symptom. When the body is under chronic stress, the adrenal glands can’t function anymore, leading to a host of problems. Dr. Lam (coaching) experienced it himself and has dedicated his life to helping those who DO have it, along with his family.

By: Diane Bryan

Diane Bryan — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 20:55:59 +0000

I have only one argument with this insightful article. It is calling “Adrenal Fatigue” a myth, when it really is a misnomer. Sure, there can always be misdiagnoses, but as your article points out, most of the time what is called “Adrenal Fatigue” is actually oxidative stress or hypothalamus misfunction. So call it that, and steer the ship in the right direction.

I feel that calling “Adrenal Fatigue” a “myth” is to invalidate all the sufferers in one felled swoop. That is an unkindness. I have seen doctors scoff at people who say their adrenals are exhausted, rather than the MD suggesting a possible correct way of describing their suffering. All because popular media empowered the doctor to scoff at the myth. Be kind, be realistic, and right the wrong by suggesting the new name to validate the disease, while insisting on full diagnosis.

By: Jeffrey Florentino

Jeffrey Florentino — Tue, 11 Jun 2019 02:50:58 +0000

In reply to tiffany grigorian.

Sorry to hear and thanks for sharing, we don’t answer personal health questions in the comments section for privacy reasons. If you’re looking to get answers from Joe, please join SelfHacked VIP at https://selfhacked.lpages.co/selfhackedvip/. Feel free to get in touch with us with any questions about how our VIP members area works at [email protected].

By: tiffany grigorian

tiffany grigorian — Mon, 10 Jun 2019 11:03:20 +0000

I’m 24 with severe “adrenal burnout” my neurotransmitters are low I feel nothing even my Adrenalin is so low I couldn’t even react to anything stressful. I’m not sure what to do anymore I recently got worse. I’m barley sleeping I’m in desperate need of help.

By: Goncalves

Goncalves — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 14:04:21 +0000

Im very short of breath 24/7. Lungs are okay they said. I cant sleep either, not anxious, rather calm. I had alot of panic or stress attacks last 3 years. After a dozen of those, I got very short of breath, but if I relaxed, it got better, still never goes away. Then I got dizzy. Months later, now I barely sleep. I feel like I might black out when going for walks. Had some stressful episodes month ago, this exarberated my shortness of breath. Now it never goes away. I feel like thats preventing me from passing out at night. I took alot of melatonin, valerian, cjamomile. Stuff doesnt work anymore. Tried alot of natural sedatives, only works first time. I triee zopiclone, a prescriptoon sleep pill, only got 3 hours sleep with ear plugs too…help

By: Tarek

Tarek — Tue, 21 Aug 2018 06:36:40 +0000

Weil instead of Providing what could help you find Videos and some courses Where you have to pay Money for. Seems like there is someone Marketing his own Shit…

By: Philippe

Philippe — Sun, 29 Jul 2018 00:52:15 +0000

From my own perspective, it should be called “HPA-Axis Dysregulation” and as mentionned earlier in previous post, can be point out with the feedback loop that occure. Just keep in mind that as it implicate Neurology, Immunology, Psychiatry and endocrinology so I guess, what we could say a pretty mindblowing complex condition, you won’t find a consensus anytime soon among health professionals.

By: Kristin

Kristin — Thu, 12 Jul 2018 19:54:52 +0000

Um….wow. So I have A LOT to say about the hostility of this author towards this topic. And I must say, I have lived “adrenal fatigue” and he is dead wrong and clearly has an axe to grind. No idea why he is so angry at this concept. Its a blood test by the way. This is not some made up thing that is diagnosed with a diving rod. You go and get your cortisol levels checked. Its really that simple. You will either be normal or not and my adrenals just don’t produce enough. It is actually that simple. Im sure he, or anyone, would accept the concept of “percentage of function” of any other organ. The liver, the kidneys, the lungs…its the way the body works. NO organ is just on or off. NONE of them. ALL Organs function on a spectrum. My mother has kidney disease and we test her kidney function twice a year. Percentage of function of ANY organ in the body is nothing to be politically against, as this author is, and its actually HOW THE BODY WORKS. My husband has decreased lung function from smoking. My friend had heart issues and they could tell him what percentage of blood flow was restricted. This will all just be a number after testing. It will be normal, or not normal and its right there in black and white from the lab. And how do we know what that number is, simple basic lab work. This dude angrily gets on this soap box throwing around big words thinking it will support his pissed off opinion. Meanwhile there are people suffering who cant get out of bed or are just more tired than everyone else who may see this silly post and may not go to someone who actually does this for a living and just ask for the blood test. I happened to have had many tests. An endocrinologist did the ACTH challenge to see how my adrenals respond to stress. the answer is – they don’t – at all. nothing happens. I don’t put out enough cortisol under normal circumstances (normal is 25 mg a day – I make 10mg a day) and when a stressful event happens (in the lab they mimic this and retest your blood) and mine actually shut down. Sooooo, what the Hell this dude is going on about and why is beyond me. Once I got these test results I could then supplement with bio identical hydro cortisone and lead a basically normal life now. Adrenal fatigue is also called “adrenal insufficiency” – how is this revolutionary and how is this something to be so angry about??? EVERY ORGAN IN THE BODY CAN BE FUNCTIONING BELOW NORMAL. What the F does he think blood work and imaging tests show? It tests you liver, kidneys, heart, brain, spine, thyroid, ovaries, blood pressure…..you name it there is a test for it and it shows normal, below normal or above normal. WHY or what to do about the not normal results of ANY organ is an art. My causes are known. Sometimes they will not be discovered. That is also true of all “below normal” test results. I Spent 10 years trying every “natural” way (although HYDRO cortisone is bio identical) to repair my adrenals back to normal function and they did not work, for reasons beyond the purview of this post. The point is…one can not reject the entire concept that this one organ in the body is different from all the others and is only ever on, or off, functioning at 100% or at 0%. That is just so dumb. ONCE we accept anything – a knee, an ear, eye balls…can ALL diminish in function we can look for a cause if one can be found, we can address the cause, or we just go get new glasses so we can live a normal life again. This is nothing to Bang on and on about in a furious post against some unknown enemy and convince every one he can that adrenals cant diminish in function, its actually all something else. thats just so silly. I was reading this site and found it interesting and then I came across something I really really KNOW about and realized This dude is a bit of a goof ball. He’s too angry for one. he’s striking back at something. Thats fine but never a good place to make decisions from. If he can be this adamant that he is right and this angry about something i am 110% sure he is dead wrong about….I cant trust anything else he says either.

By: Gail

Gail — Thu, 24 May 2018 17:13:59 +0000

Dear Joe, thank you for your very informative work! When taking saliva tests for cortisol, I have very low cortisol and very low to flat DHEA. I spike cortisol in the early a.m. and take Ennerphos to help with that. I am extremely careful about my diet and inflammation. I’m going to slowly introduce grapefruit in the morning to see if I can raise cortisol levels. You said it on the saliva test usually the DHEA is high, But that is not the case with me. All of my hormones are out of whack. I am going through your self hacked information which is kind of mind-boggling for me right now. Do you have any recommendations as to where I could start? My adrenals seemed to crash when I had a string of incidents: was given OxyContin for her back and only took it for 10 days but had to go into detox as my reaction was so bad, tried to correct reduced heterozygous for MTHFR, And took a natural organic/in organic product for Lyme disease and confections, mold and more. I had been trying to correct and help the adrenals for A number of years, but these three incidents including the loss of a molar and treatment for that caused “adrenal crash.” I’m wondering if you can guide me to what this may be since you say adrenal fatigue is a myth. Thank you so much, Gail

By: Mel

Mel — Fri, 13 Apr 2018 18:07:19 +0000

Joe, your site is a wealth of information for me! I have a severe case of CFS ( I think since childhood actually ), having lived in fight or flight since birth. My condition escalated about 5 years ago with the onset of a shoulder injury (torn Labrum), which led to frozen shoulder for 18 months. I think it’s possible the added inflammation of the injury may have sent my system further into overload. At that time, I experienced a sudden onset of tinnitus and vertigo, both are still affecting me today. This injury occured during some pretty bad emotional stress and leaving my marriage, as well having hormonal imbalances due to menopause. After 18 months, the shoulder released and I have 90% range of motion. Currently, I have a good doctor that is experienced in treating CFS and considered an expert on hormonal issues. He has me taking the following based on labs: HRT ( E2 1.75/P60/D3/T 0.9mg RDT ). Thyroid 32.5mg. B-12. D3. Magnesium. Gaba. Omega 3. Cortisol 5mg.

I don’t feel any better taking this stuff. My life is a train wreck and I can not work or function normal. Everyday is like trudging through quick sand mentally and physically. The anxiety this causes is tremendous on top of the rest of it. I take CBD oil and it does seem to help quite a bit with the anxiety.

I haven’t slept well in years. My circadium rhythm is off. I get very sleepy at night and fall asleep pretty easily ( when my anxiety is low and I’m not having OCD thoughts ), but always wake up for a several hours in the middle of the night. I can fall into a deep sleep when the sun comes up. But, this is terribly inconvenient in life and I can’t usually sleep all day, so am up by 9 a.m.

My doctor has told me I must be exercising which has been impossible for me for years now. He wants me lifting light weights 3x a week for 15 minutes to start. I know there are many reasons I need to be doing this.

Not doctor prescribed, but I just started taking Shilajit this week. I’m praying it’s a miracle cure for CFS, or atleast a significant reduction in symptoms. What are your thoughts? I did read your article about it.

Also, my doctor said at my last visit a few weeks ago that he can CURE my CFS with a Myers cocktail, 3x a week for 3 weeks. I’d like to know your thoughts on this!

One last question, why are the meds and supplements I’m taking not helping me sleep? What is missing and what would you advise? I believe sleep is the key to healing!

By: Angie

Angie — Tue, 20 Mar 2018 12:21:07 +0000

I’ve never wrote on a blog before in my life but I feel I must comment.

I suffered from fatigue for over 20 years that got steadily worse, doctors in 3 states offered me no help and a few suggested it was all in my head. I got to the point where I was sleeping 20+ hours a day and something as simple as walking to the bathroom was a struggle because I could barely hold myself up because my muscles were so fatigued. My brain fog was so bad I couldn’t drive or function to do much of anything. I felt like I was walking through jello in a thick fog 24/7.
Doctors would do blood work over and over and over…nothing stood out…thyroid must be the problem but thyroid was in the “normal” parameters.
I had my silver filings removed.
I detoxed. I took vitamins. I ingested things that were probably more harmful than good trying to cure myself.
Finally I found an “Alternative” Health Clinic and had everything done that they offered. Saliva testing, hair analyses, stool checked for parasites and undigested food, and blood work again.
The saliva testing showed my cortisol levels were messed up (It’s been a long time…but I think the opposite levels, a.m. and p.m. switched?) and they said I had adrenal fatigue.
I went home with a bagful their professional line of supplements, including ACE….Adrenal Cortex Extract…and within ONE WEEK I was feeling better than I had felt in almost a quarter of a century! ONE WEEK! The fog lifted, my energy came back, I started sleeping just at night and woke up feeling normal.
I am sure some of the other vitamins, powders and such helped me long term to recover but it was the ACE that gave me my life back IMO.
I’ve been pretty healthy for the last 17 years, I continue to research to stay that way. I take food based vitamins, eat real food and limit the bad stuff like gluten, white foods, alcohol, sugar, etc. My biggest issue is sometimes I have insomnia but liquid magnesium and herbals help with that.
I haven’t opened Dr. Wilson’s book for years, but I can say without looking of it I had marked many many pages and it was THE BOOK that gave me hope I wasn’t crazy.
Everyone is different in how they respond to drugs, food, and supplements of any kind. Tests are guidelines for what is “normal” based on averages but that doesn’t mean if one is on the normal line that it’s right for them at that time.
Thank you for this site :)

By: Rick herman

Rick herman — Sat, 10 Feb 2018 22:03:10 +0000

Did you get see this meta analysis that supports Joe’s views?

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4997656/

By: josh

josh — Tue, 23 Jan 2018 15:45:36 +0000

joe, Do you think that trying Hypothalamus glandular could make a point here?

By: Ivan

Ivan — Sat, 13 Jan 2018 04:16:09 +0000

Dr. Wilson or Dr. Lam have not invented the “adrenal fatigue” (AF). This syndrome was described by Hans Selye in late 50s as General Adaptation Syndrome. Strange but nobody who works on AF refers to Selye’s work.

By: arnie

arnie — Sun, 07 Jan 2018 20:46:13 +0000

Hello Shannon, I could not agree with you more. Joe certainly knows far more nutritional biochemistry than any MD, young or old because they lack the curiosity and are for the most part. brainwashed by the current medical paradigm. However, there is the issue of semantics, a proinflammatory state does not always precede the energy deficit issue/adrenal fatigue component. There is no denying the HPA involvement but when that negative feedback loop malfunctions, you will be stressing the 3gram adrenals and the symptoms can be endless. You must support the HPA and the neurotransmitter component of this daunting problem. When you have pregnenolone steal, low cortisol total and low DHEA, you will also have hypoglycemia, which further stresses the sysytem. Most cannot afford their own sauna or the vast amount of supplements. Low dose hydrocortisone is the last resort and it has its own risks. Sometimes, the adrenals do not fully reboot when you are weaned off of it. I am glad you are doing better.

By: Helen

Helen — Thu, 28 Dec 2017 19:32:33 +0000

In reply to pru whistler.

Hi Pru, we recommend that you follow your doctor’s orders. But if you’d like Joe’s opinion, you can ask him inside of VIP: https://selfhacked.lpages.co/selfhackedvip/ or over at selfhacked.com/consult.

By: pru whistler

pru whistler — Thu, 28 Dec 2017 01:51:38 +0000

Hi Joe, I found this article fascinating – however I have a question. I am currently on Thyroid medication but my doctor has said for it to work I have to take an adrenal supplement – she did explain it to me medically but not sure I understand – especially since you said adrenal fatigue doesn’t exist – just curious your thoughts?

By: Shannon

Shannon — Tue, 26 Dec 2017 22:24:23 +0000

I never reply to these things but I just had to. Just because western medicine doesn’t acknowledge Adrenal Fatigue does not mean it doesn’t exist. It may come from somewhere else in the body but it is a real condition that affects every aspect of life. I’ve been suffering for years and it only got worse and worse. My blood sugar was 50 all the time no matter what I ate, and I couldn’t deal with ANY stress. My brain would “blank out”. After testing my cortisol levels through a saliva test it showed I wasn’t really making any at all, maybe a little in the morning. I’ve been on just 10 mg cortisol and I already feel like I’ve got my life back. This article is dangerous in the sense that it will deter people from seeking treatment making them think it’s all in their heads. I spent 5 years being thrown around in western medicine, then eventually told its all in my head, spent YEARS in therapy to no avail, countless meds for anxiety and depression. Three days on cortisol and I feel incredible. No stress, thinking clearly, no stomach pain anymore while eating. Normal bowel movements, no shakiness. EVERYTHING I came to my doctor complaining about is improving. This post is not helping to progress modern medicine. Mainly because doctors should be looking at what’s right in front of them: their patients and their REAL concerns and what symptoms they’re ACTUALLY feeling.

By: Christtoff Schulz

Christtoff Schulz — Tue, 04 Jul 2017 20:52:06 +0000

Well we’ve searched high and low to cure this condition, whatever name you name it and what finally actually works to bring back bountiful full nights of sweet sound sleep and more energy are nettle tops and nettle seeds cooked and eaten a a veggie, daily.

By: Nattha Wannissorn, PhD

Nattha Wannissorn, PhD — Tue, 04 Jul 2017 20:46:54 +0000

In reply to Steven Josephs. Joe has experienced years of fatigue that would fit into the adrenal fatigue definition, and has helped thousands of clients with it.

By: Steven Josephs

Steven Josephs — Mon, 03 Jul 2017 21:08:48 +0000

The name of the condition is not really relevant, as those who have this condition, whether you call it Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or whatever know its debilitating effects. The fact that medical doctors don’t understand it and don’t know how to deal with it and therefore disregard those experiencing it as ‘all in their head,’ does not mean it doesn’t exist. It just means that doctors trained in prescribing drugs and not understanding the cause of illnesses are useless for those looking for solutions to their health problems.
Those who have never experienced true chronic fatigue/adrenal fatigue should not be writing about it since they have no frame of reference and are only relying on others opinions who also have not experienced the condition.

By: mij

mij — Sat, 18 Feb 2017 00:52:08 +0000

In reply to Tribl. ^^ This. ^^

By: Adam

Adam — Thu, 18 Aug 2016 02:06:01 +0000

Isn’t your argument here a semantic one as much as anything? Are you disputing the label Adrenal Fatigue because it points to the adrenals as the root of the problem? If they are not the root, rather it is chronic inflammation or a larger stress response, or other factors.. but people can still benefit from interventions that help the adrenals, isn’t that the main thing?