Low Energy and Adrenal Fatigue
Adrenal fatigue is a term used to describe the state in which our body has reached (or is reaching) exhaustion. This can be due to prolonged physical, mental and/or emotional stressors.
What Are The Symptoms of Adrenal Fatigue?
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Fatigue
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Cravings for salty food
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Cravings for sugary food
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Mood disturbances
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Digestive issues
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Low blood pressure
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Body aches and muscle cramps
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Brain fog
The adrenal glands secrete our stress hormones adrenaline, noradrenaline and cortisol. Our autonomic nervous system has two main branches: the sympathetic and parasympathetic. The sympathetic nervous system is responsible for our fight or flight response, whereas the parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for slowing down the heart rate and initiating rest and digestion. When we remain in survival mode (fight or flight) for too long, our body systems and processes that rely on the parasympathetic branch to function well, including the digestive, immune and endocrine systems can suffer.
How Do We Know If We Are Simply Tired Or Experiencing Adrenal Dysfunction?
Your initial appointment will consist of a one-hour case history where you will be asked in-depth questions about your presenting symptoms and health history. Your practitioner will generally be able to tell by now if this is adrenal fatigue or simple exhaustion.
Further tests can be sent away to test adrenal function at the patient’s expense.
The following tests to test for adrenal fatigue as follows:
The Adrenocortex hormone profile is a non-invasive saliva test that serves as a reliable marker of stress response and a critical tool for revealing adrenal imbalances. There is also another, more extensive test available which is called Adrenocortex Stress Profile & Female Hormone Profile Basic- Saliva (for women) and Adrenocortex Stress & Male Hormone Profile Basic (for men).
Salivary cortisol testing is an effective, non-invasive test that evaluates bioactive levels of the body’s important stress hormones, cortisol and DHEA. This hormone test (stress test) serves as a critical tool for uncovering biochemical imbalances underlying anxiety, depression, chronic fatigue syndrome, obesity and a host of other clinical conditions that may affect our day to day lives. This hormone test examines 4 saliva samples over 12 hours for levels of cortisol and DHEA.
How Can Naturopathy Help With Low Energy and Adrenal Fatigue?
Diet and lifestyle measures can be taken to better assist with maintaining energy throughout the day and regulating blood sugar to manage cravings. Practitioner only vitamins and mineral therapy can be prescribed to assist with healthy nervous system function and herbal treatment with adaptogenic herbs may be given to manage stress and normalise cortisol response.
If you seek adrenal fatigue recovery, please get in touch.
I would love to work alongside you using my expertise. I am available in Melbourne CBD for a 1:1 appointment or via Telehealth.
