Why does nobody believe in adrenal fatigue?
Today we're going to talk about why conventional medicine doesn't have it as a diagnosis.
I'm Dr. Carrie Lam and this is Dr. Michael Lam, an authority on adrenal fatigue.
So, why why is adrenal fatigue not part of conventional medicine or a diagnosis.
Well, adrenal fatigue is a relatively new discovery
and it is not at the point that it reaches the criteria
to be able to consider a medical diagnosis for good reasons.
You know, we look at adrenal fatigue
which is a terminology that we kind of assign to people who have
maybe cortisol imbalances from the clinical aspect,
but the symptoms are quite convoluted and the pathology
is such that if you really pick up the adrenal glands from the body pathologically it doesn't show up
in terms of any abnormalities.
So, rightfully so it should not be considered a medical diagnosis at this particular point in time.
So, how what are some ways that we can be able to
see if someone has an adrenal fatigue?
Well, as just a health condition,
you know, the best way is to go by the signs and the symptoms, okay.
Now, remember that not every condition is a medical condition.
You can be tired and not have a diagnosis of a chronic fatigue.
You can have sleeplessness and not necessarily be told that you have insomnia.
So, medical or health has a range of a continuum
and in the very mild and moderate stage where it's not yet considered a medical problem,
you know this is what we are dealing with at this particular point in time in terms of adrenal issues.
So, what are some of the things that in conventional medicine
kind of make it sound like it could be adrenal fatigue?
I know you mentioned chronic fatigue.
How about like real adrenal issues like Addison's disease?
Well, Addison's disease is a recognized medical diagnosis
and condition that affect about 4 out of 100,000 people.
The most famous patient of Addison's disease is President John F. Kennedy.
And it is a very, very specific diagnosis that requires generally speaking
steroids replacement for life.
Adrenal fatigue is a terminology that was assigned to a group of people who were similar
but much scaled down symptoms that are often times not medically driven
in terms of nomenclature but has some subtle signs and symptoms that is very mild,
but it presents in the way it is almost like
some form of mild Addison's because of the presentation.
So, you're saying it might not just only be the adrenals
but really there are other systems involved?
Well, our research has shown over the years that the adrenal system yes,
is responsible for many hormones that regulate the body for well function.
But, the body's response to stress
is actually much more comprehensive than just the adrenal system
because stress is so pervasive and survival of our body depends on a well maintain system.
The body has redundant systems
and the systems involved in stress response include the adrenals
but it also includes a multiple circuits.
We call them circuits because you know there are six circuits.
The neuroaffect circuit, the hormonal circuit, the detoxification circuit,
the...
Immune circuit. - Yeah, immune circuits.
So, there are cardionomic circuits.
So, there are multiple circuits and multiple system and each circuit has three systems.
They are designed to be activated in unison
like a symphony that works together when stress arrive in our doorsteps.
So, it depends on to the level of stress that the body senses
the body will activate various components of the what we call the neuroendometabolic circuits
and the or the neuroendometabolic stress response the NEM response.
So, it depends on the degree of stress,
the intensity and the body's response to it.
The body usually self-regulate to get rid of the stress once it arrives on our doorstep.
Is much more than just the adrenal system although many of the symptoms we tend now
to service seems to be more correlated but if you really study harder,
it is really a system wide problem that's why it's so convoluted.
And because there are so many systems
there's so many convolution it's kind of hard to just
pin-point um something for a diagnosis, right?
Or for a disease. You usually need to for a syndrome
you need like five things that go into the syndrome.
But people with adrenal fatigue they present with so many different types of symptoms.
The symptoms are so wide, overlapping, convoluted,
it almost defies medical logic if we use a compartmentalized approach
which is what modern medicine do.
And in the case of adrenal fatigue, we really have to understand the body from the holistic perspective.
That the body is very smart,
the body will not allow a compartmentalization approach
in terms of dealing with it because this is not like a broken family.
You know this is a systemic problem so therefore it requires a systemic approach.
Now, I had a hard time understanding this concept myself when I went through this
because for the longest time nobody can understand me,
no doctors can really help me
because everyone including myself was trained in the compartmentalization perspective.
So, when you are kind of a pigeon hole yourself into that perspective,
you are kind of be blinded to look at all the other problems as part of this unified whole.
So, the people that go to doctors they get individualized diagnosis of conditions
but really not the whole person outlook of what might be going on which is the chronic stress
and the chronic fatigue that might be wearing their body down
and manifesting in different symptoms.
Yeah. The approach to see the doctor is correct
and everyone should do that to make sure there's nothing that mimics this type of condition,
but if everything is normal so to say,
then and if you want to look outside the box then the question is what is really going on?
Now, if you have a body that is telling you something
and you believe that your body is telling you the truth,
then you have a responsibility to follow your gut and track it
and see what is really going on.
And so that is ultimately what I think can lead to further discovery
on your own to really understand.
But that's what happened to me you see because it's very easy
because I know all about the conventional side
but I just don't have the answers
but I know the answer is there.
So, I cannot lie to myself or tell myself that it does not exist.
It's just maybe I don't understand so that starts me on my own journey.
So, for people out there who feel like no one believes in them what should they do?
Well, that is actually quite normal
and so there's nothing really you can do
other than to first is to educate yourself.
Other people cannot solve your problem.
You have to solve your problem and you start your own solution by educating yourself.
Knowledge is power and when you learn
and you understand and you have the common sense
to guide you logically through every step.
Now, the body does behave logically
and so you can bring your discovery to your doctors and try to educate them
or you can find someone
who really understands who speaks the language that you speak
in order to help your body.
No one's going to be able to help you if they don't even understand what you're going through,
and this is an important part to consider.
Yeah. So, today we learned about why nobody believes in adrenal fatigue
but know that there are people who do that you can find.
In order to empower yourself, go on your journey,
gain the knowledge and believe in yourself.
And so if you have any questions
go online and find out a little more
and find people who are like minded like you, right?
Right. And that's the key
because you know no one's going to take care of your body better than you.
You know that I know that.
You know, we're here to help you, we're here to provide the education
so that you are empowered to take control of your health.
Yeah, so hopefully you have a good day and um go on your journey.