What constitutes common adrenal fatigue symptoms is highly in dispute because most traditional doctors do not recognize the disease as a legitimate medical condition. It is a condition typically recognized by alternative medical practitioners, who describe it as a weakening of adrenal gland function often brought on by stressful living circumstances. The body's failure to produce enough specific hormones — which is typically not detectable by blood test — is said to bring on a constellation of symptoms that make people feel exhausted, weak, and in general, sick. The actual symptoms may vary as to the individual.
Some of the adrenal fatigue symptoms that are most commonly identified include feelings of tiredness or exhaustion. This may be paired with digestive complaints, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). In addition to these adrenal fatigue symptoms, many people experience chronic low-level pain, like generalized muscle or joint aches which aren’t explainable by high levels of physical activity.
Another related group of adrenal fatigue symptoms are those that affect mood. Some people may experience high levels of nervousness, and especially an overdeveloped sense of flight/fight response in inappropriate situations. This could lead to panic attacks or just a sense of strong stress at all times. Other people develop persistent depression, and with this poor sleep may be especially common, even though people are tired.
For most in the traditional medical profession, the hesitation with viewing adrenal fatigue symptoms as related is that they may not be treated as individual conditions. The presence of depression, for example, requires real and specific treatment with antidepressants and therapy. If a person is being only treated for adrenal fatigue, he or she may not get this necessary treatment.
On the other hand, if the disease is a syndrome, treating one symptom doesn’t address the problem. This is why many people with adrenal fatigue symptoms turn to nontraditional medical sources or even to self-help medical books to try to treat the illness. The disadvantage in this choice is that people may ignore legitimate and treatable medical conditions that are suggested by adrenal fatigue symptoms. Certainly, it makes sense to first see a doctor if these symptoms are arising because there may be treatment or they can be suggestive of other illnesses.
Poor sleep alone is now recognized as a principal indicator that major depression may follow and it can create the feeling of persistent exhaustion. There is certainly treatment for insomnia, treatment for minor pain, help for IBS and ways to address panic attacks or depression. Additionally, learning stress reduction techniques in therapeutic settings may help people, and if adrenal fatigue is principally caused by chronic stress on the adrenal glands, reducing stress might eliminate the problem.
