Adrenal Exhaustion

[Bob1721]

I am 67 yrs old, male that has never been sick in over 35 years. I have jogged and lifted weights since 1976 and eat healthy. In 2012 and 2013 I had major stresses that came from my job. I am a part owner of a company and was working 60-80hours a week. Stress all day long. I had to move on top of that. I was so fatigued after moving in late Dec I could hardly get out of bed. I was having insomnia every night and waking up 5 to 6 times a night. I thought I was going to die. I did a series of tests in late Dec 2013 and they were negative. I started having anxiety attacks major and then in March was prscribed Ativan after the Emergency hospital said I was having a panic attack that caused my right leg to go numb on me. I then was prescribed Lexapro and have been taking it today as well as .5mg of Ativan every night to help me sleep. I only take .5mg per day. I did a lot of research and my symptoms were that I had adrenal exhaustion. My Doctor confirmed without taking tests though. I am going to a Humana doctor Thurs for the first time so he can order tests to confirm adrenal fatigue, and meatonin and thyroid tests too. I have been paying cash till now for everything. I want to get off Ativan and Lexapro because my anxiety was caused by not knowing what I had. If the tests prove that I have adrenal fatigue I have heard it can take up to 2 years to heal the adrenal. Do you agree? I am beginning a Doctor approved tapering program Monday to get off the .5mg of Ativan that I have been taking every day for over 3 months. I quit drinking red wine 3/4/2014 because I did not want to have alcohol as the issue of my fatigue but maybe I am still withdrawing off alcohol. What do you think? I also had a major tooth infection and periodontal disease and waited for over a year to get the tooth removed 3/31/2014. I then started having earaches and ringing in the ears after the extraction.The earaches continue.I wonder if stress and the dental problems caused my adrenals to not work that much anymore. I used to handle stress on the job no problem. Now I am lucky to make it through the day. I have to work from home now until my strength comes back. I am only doing treadmill and light weights on weekends. That's all I can do. Please help. Can I be having withdrawals from taking Ativan only at night and my body is craving more during the day?

[dizzydee520]

Bob1721 - I have had similar, including many calls to the ambulance for what seemed like heart attacks - diagnosed as "panic attacks" but I later discovered were related to adrenal problem. BP 107 skyrocketting to 217 within seconds without warning!

Don't forget all the other causes of stress. Not just working too hard and  worrying (when you feel ill, how do you stop?); but MAJOR less well known stressors are food intolerances (Cyrex and Alcat tests - food is a major stress to the body and we can have intolerances to ANY common foods); negative thoughts (I stopped watching TV news and avoid friends who stress me out!); EMFs - I learned I cannot use anything Wi-Fi (anything cordless - I had to change to corded computers/phones, etc.)

It takes years to rebuild a healthy body, but you CAN do it! You are not alone in doing this! It takes a change in lifestyle, nutritional support and learning to listen to what YOUR body needs WHEN it needs it.

I have listened to the Gluten, Adrenal and Thyroid Summits, etc. and learned things my doctors doesn't  know - not their field of interest.

I am now 8 months into the journey and I feel like I am getting my life back, but I have to still be on guard and stay with the protocol. I used to be so tired I just flopped on the floor and wished someone would scrape me up!

[septembernow]

You also might want to have your Calcium checked, along with PTH and Vitamin D. Please read at Parathyroid.com. The whole body works together so you never know what might be going on. Calcium should not be over 10 in adults, otherwise you have many problems.

[Buckupnow]

Because the adrenal glands are the stress glands of the body, extreme  stress can take a toll on the glands and yes function can slow.  It is the beginning of hypoadrenia.  Many Western medicine docs don't believe in adrenal fatigue which is crazy......saying the adrenal glands either work correctly or don't work correctly is like saying the heart either works or it doesn't work.  The adrenal glands can heal but it does take a long time and a change in lifestyle.

[Red_Star]

It can take that long. It took me 18 months to get over my terrible adrenal fatigue caused by severe vitamin B12 deficiency.

[rumpled]

I am of the opinion that your adrenals can become diseased, but they don't get tired.

Do you have abnormal sodium and potassium tests? AI is a salt-wasting disease. Typically one loses weight and has low blood pressure. I did not see those symptoms listed.

Sadly, anxiety, fatigue and pain are not specific enough to attribute to a disease without testing. You need cortisol testing of different types at diagnostic times, other hormones, a stim test, electrolytes and see how it goes.