Water Retention During Adrenal Fatigue/ During Peri-Menopause

[30poundsMore]

Hello, this was posted my me in a different forum, just thought i would put it here as well,
thanks.

Hi, good to see you are around here still.
Well i take nothing since i am drug sensitive, and the Endocrinologist, said years ago when i was at my worse that i didn't have Addisons or Cushings, just Adrenal Fatigue, my Insulin was high, but now i know why, AF  !!
I am sick of being a water balloon woman and waddling about, it looks like i overeat, when i dont.

I am sure that having Fibromyalgia is stressing the Adrenals as well, imagine being in constant pain for 31 years (i am now 50)

Now i am sure of it, my intense salt cravings really were right around the time the weight dropped off in the past, but it is not now, perhaps because this is the "Big" one...MENOPAUSE.
What is a woman to do?
Cant take Progesterone, it might imbalance it the other way, Estrogen Dominance? i have heard it all.
Anti Estrogen Teas, or Adrenal (natural from health store) Supplements make me panicky LOL!!!
too sensitive, it's like my Adrenals are telling me to WATCH EVERY DANG THING I DO, i can barely tolerate sugar.

I took Senna Tea once for constipation and nearly wore a whole in the floor pacing and panicking, it is funny now, but wasn't then.

So here is where i am confused and read about it and am still confused, let me see it i can make sense of this.
During the initial stages of AF, we make too much Cortisol and Aldosterone, then as it progresses, we make less of both, but since i am still bloated, i ASSUMED i was still making too much Aldosterone, but now i read the the Salt cravings are a sign of LOW Aldosterone and Cortisol
so why am i still swollen? well, no Doctor can answer that for me,and they think it is not a big enough deal to test for the Aldosterone, since everything came back normal in the past.

One thing i can say for certainty, is that during the beginning of this AF, i did NOT crave salt.

I have tried many AF forums, but still no clear picture yet.

My theory is that maybe the body is trying to Hold on to Salt because it needs it, REGARDLESS of the stage it is in.
Then when the (Peri) Menopause subsides, it will level out, since the Hormonal changes are my particular cause of water weight.

I have to drink only when thirsty, NOT becasue some Website says that MUST drink 8 glasses of water a day.
whenever i try that, i am VERY sorry the next day, too little water, and i feel tired, so i just Listen to my Body, same thing with Salt, LISTEN, sometimes things are too salty for me and other times, i TEAR up the Kitchen looking or Salty foods.
I crave Potatoes boiled and sprinkled with Salt, so i must be craving the Potassium as well, Potatoes have Vit C too.

I should be eating less TV Dinners, but it is hard to get to food fast enough when your Blood Sugar Drops, and preparing things ahead of time is hard when you have kids and a busy schedule.


If  this water retention gets better, i promise i will come back and tell you all, plus what ever i did (or didn't) do.


Any thoughts or knowledge is WELCOME  :)

[sassytexan]

While in the hospital on low salt diet, I went from 160# to 230# in 4 days . My legs ballooned. My range of motion is so restricted by the swelling that walking is difficult.  Pain is minimal considering the condition. In hospita nodules were found on my adrenal glands in Feb. (8th). But nobody informer me of yhis intil Msy 26th.. Thr diaretics are too strong for my body.  My water intake was limited to 1500 mls. -and my legs literally split open and developed a severe bacterial infection in open wounds. I am wearing jobst ferrell devices on calved. Ballooning just above devices. I saw many ddoctors and not one came up with a answer as to cause, or a plan of treatment.  I am doing therapyThe home health therapist did wound care and emphadema wraps. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[sassytexan]

While in the hospital on low salt diet, I went from 260# to 230# in 4 days . My legs ballooned. My range of motion is so restricted by the swelling that walking is difficult.  Pain is minimal considering the condition. In hospita nodules were found on my adrenal glands in Feb. (8th). But nobody informer me of yhis intil Msy 26th.. Thr diaretics are too strong for my body.  My water intake was limited to 1500 mls. -and my legs literally split open and developed a severe bacterial infection in open wounds. I am wearing jobst ferrell devices on calved. Ballooning just above devices. I saw many ddoctors and not one came up with a answer as to cause, or a plan of treatment.  I am doing therapyThe home health therapist did wound care and emphadema wraps. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[30poundsMore]

Also, there is Iodine in Salt...just a thought  (potassium too)

[30poundsMore]

hi, the only thing that came back high was the insulin, YES it does sound like Cushings !!!!  they tested my Cortisol, but the doc said that since it cycles they could NOT put a definite label on it, hence the AF, i had a Brain MRI long ago, and there is no tumor on Pituitary
My TSH was border line high and the t4 was borderline low my symptoms were brought on by Peri menopause. i though t i was dying, had no idea a person could have a panic attack EVERY hour and wake every hour, yes the cortisol was HIGH high in my book, but now it i s low...arrrg   NO weight change yet, but funny thing it, when i take Cranberry, i pee and pee........Cran has IODINE...hmmmmm

[rumpled]

I personally don't follow or ... Find the AF school credible.

You could have cyclical Cushing's where you cycle high to normal or high low and normal. Or if you are low, you may have a renin and aldosterone issue and that is why you crave salt.

You need a better doctor and it can take a while to find a decent one. Do you have any test results?