This is Dr. Lam founder of Drlam.com and today we are going to talk about the difference
between Adrenal fatigue Syndrome and Addison's disease or adrenal gland insufficiency or
just simply called adrenal insufficiency.
First let us be clear that the terminology is without any doubt.
Addisons disease is the same, in other words it’s identical as saying Adrenal insufficiency,
this is a medical condition that is well established the effects are about four in one hundred
thousand people and that is when your adrenal glands are pathologically deficient in making
cortisol and the diagnosis is usually by what we call an ACTH challenge test and upon confirmation,
then the patient is usually put on steroids for life.
Perhaps one of the most common and most famous patients of Addisons disease if actually president
John F Kennedy.
Now, adrenal fatigue is a different entity and while it reflects the adrenal glands involvement
in the fatigue generation, it is really a nonpathological state.
In other words, it's a subclinical state.
The body may be fatigue and may have some of the symptoms of Addison's disease, but
is not the same thing.
In Adrenal fatigue you really have what we call a Neuro Endo metabolic imbalance.
Now, the HPA axis that is responsible for dealing with stress in the body runs from
the hypothalamus to the pituitary to the Adrenal glands.
In a case of Adrenal fatigue, this hormonal axis is under a lot of stress from over emotional
and chronic and physical intolerance so when this happens the cortisol output from the
adrenal glands can become compromised.
It may not be to the degree as of what we have experienced in Addisons disease, but
there is some compromised.
although this compromised is not detected by current lab test in any way.
So if you see your doctor for a fatigue and adrenal insufficiency is expected or what
we call suspected, then the laboratory test of ACTH is done and this usually comes back
normal.
In a case of adrenal fatigue, next thyroid may be suspected as well and thyroid can be
normal or borderline.
the differentiation between adrenal fatigue and Addison's is very important to be made,
unfortunately, the most conventional approaches do not recognize adrenal fatigue and for a
good reasons because when you look at the pathology of the adrenal glands, you cut it
open there is really a normal structure, so by assumption , is that the adrenal glands
functioning normally.
It's like it used to be we think of diabetes and we think of non-diabetes but we don't
think of a state of what we have of subclinical diabetes or borderline diabetes.
In a way adrenal fatigue is the similar thing it has some of the similar symptoms as borderline
Addisons, but if you really study it usually is accompanied by other components that is
well beyond the adrenal glands involving the cardiovascular system the metabolic system,
the inflammation system, the detoxification system.
So, this is different but yet it has some similarities, the distinction is important
because the way you approach recovery for each one is a very very different.
Now, you don't want to jump to conclusion, it is Adrenal fatigue without checking and
making sure that it is not Addisons and fortunately most doctors are versed on how to detect Addison's
disease and if your work up is totally normal and your conventional doctor tells you that
you are fine, then you should think outside the box and consider adrenal fatigue.
Find somebody who really understands adrenal fatigue and is literate in what the symptoms
may be and how to help you to understand the process more.
We know that the symptoms are real.
Fatigue, hypoglycemia, heart palpitations, insomnia, anxiety, these are all common in
adrenal fatigue as well as sometimes in Addison's disease.
Being a goal to differentiate and know which one is which will give you the right plan
going forward.
to get your body back into shape and recover from this problem.