I've Self-Diagnosed and Confirmed that I'm Suffering from Adrenal Fatigue

My migraine yesterday lasted 8-9 hours.  I had it all through the funeral I attended and it spiked twice, the second time was my cue to leave.  I felt dreadful, although the headache I would class as painful but never really reaching the point of being 'agony', the adrenal fatigue however was the most horrible part.  

I was very concerned about how I was coming across and in those circumstances, this makes me more anxious in a way, because you can end up being 'too friendly' in order to appear more normal? 

I spoke to my the widow as if we had not lost touch, which came naturally and I know would have pleased the deceased husband, had he lived.  She mentioned the will and how nothing was decided or written down.  I knew she would be anxious about that part because when I was in touch with her last, she was having difficulties with other members of the family in that regard. 

I noticed that I happened to be the only one of her 'friends' there.  I found this touching but also a positive indication as to how difficult it is to get on with this woman.  Anyway, without wishing to sound effusive, it was the saddest funeral I've ever been to, in that most of the room was full of men and they were actually sobbing all around me!  Unforgettable, because after all this was England!!!

Adrenal Fatigue is Up there with Pernicious Anaemia and I'm not sure which is worse?

The thing with anaemia is that you find it so hard to concentrate on anything, you hold your head in your hand and pant for breath.  But with this Adrenal Fatigue business, the bottom half of your body especially, is rendered practically paralysed.  I've known for a long time that I've been producing too much Cortisol but I'm only now realising how BAD that is.  

I think subconsciously I knew I was getting worse because of all the pills I kept buying.  I know I have to get better, while on-the-go, but I just don't know how long this is going to take?? My DH suggested we go on holiday.  I freaked, I said 'you have to be kidding, I couldn't pack a bag or stand around in airport lounges in this condition'??

My legs are so incredibly heavy and without energy, its like there's lead in my veins and muscles instead of blood??  I have a lot of trouble changing from doing a fast activity to doing a slow one.  I get constant 'head-rushes' and 'feeling faint'.   When I stand up I feel my legs are going to give way beneath me, but usually they just tremble.  I've also noticed my legs are very thin now??  

I think I'm more worried about my health with this complaint than with anaemia, because at least with anaemia you know its going to end.  With this, I just cannot sense from any part of my body how long this will take to improve??  

I've had a lot of stress for the past 24 months, but particularly the last 15 months.  I had a long chat with my DH last night because he saw me almost collapse twice yesterday and I could tell he was getting worried.  

We went over what's happened in our lives that's driven me to this point?   We concluded that every new problem that came along was resolved, Thankfully, but there has been an unending stream of 'unforeseen circumstances', which has given me a lot of stress.  

I'd warned everyone I was getting worse, but no one really believed me, and because I look so much better with all the supplements I've been taking.

I had to remind my DH that my migraines have been occurring twice twice a month for about 6 months and I've been very anaemic and stressed, before, during and after.  

Obviously for the two weeks a month where I'm not in pain, I've been pushing myself too hard.  On top of that the dog had been very ill, culminating in a grand mal seizure and on top of that there have been property refurbishments and exams.  The whole thing has driven me to the point of near- complete depletion.  

No wonder I've been so sad about rubbish dump donkeys, its because I have (a relatively small) insight into how exhausted they must feel!     

There are three important tests that you can do to find out if you have Adrenal Fatigue.  I've failed two and the third I've half failed, in that one of my pupils dilates much more slowly.   

Here's a link to the best article I've found on this evaluation:

Recovering from Adrenal Fatigue: How your body can overcome chronic stress and feel energised again.

and this one, which gives me a diet to follow which is basically, low in *potassium (hence I stopped the supplements), high in protein (too many skipped meals) high in Vit C supplements (but not fruit).  

Adrenal Fatigue Diet

Its really interesting to note that in these circumstances I should increase my salt intake, as I had worked out by a process of elimination that salt made me feel better.  In fact I've noticed that for about 4 months.  If I think about it, that's how long I've been really low.  

Now here's a weird thing.  I think I should have felt the adverse effects of Adrenal Fatigue a lot sooner, were it not for the fact that I was taking 5-HTP.  Because remember, my mood is fine now but my energy levels are low.  Before I took 5-HPT, if my energy levels were low, my mood would plummet, and that was invariably my cue to rest-up.  Reluctantly I have to admit that supplements may in fact turn out to be a self-perpetuating scenario??

Plus there are several really good YouTube videos that are extremely informative and comforting to watch:

I've chosen these two videos because I've just started to take DHEA - today is day 3.  

In the first video he describes the feeling of going 'further and further down in your energy levels'. 

I know exactly what he means, and I'm at the point where I have next-to-no strength left. 

I'm extremely worried about my health at this time due to my overwhelming physical weakness.   

* With Adrenal depletion, your body will not cope well with high potassium levels and for this reason I've stopped taking Potassium supplements - for the time being.

Taking Rhodiola Rosea to help maintain Serotonin Levels

I've been taking this ancient plant root for over a week now but haven't really mentioned it because I didn't notice any significant changes until 4 days afterwards.

Basically, I decided to give it a try after reading an article about boosting your Serotonin levels called: '10 Quick Tips to Boost Your Serotonin' written by Mark Sisson, an athlete, that believes in keeping as healthy as you possibly can.  

Quoting from his article:

"HTP is a popular supplement, but I personally prefer rhodiola, which actually slows the process of serotonin breakdown (it also has better scientific backing)."

by Mark Sisson, that you can visit here.

If you recall, I was reading about Serotonin levels dropping steeply in response to a decrease in Oestrogen, according to our cycles, and how chaotic that invariably is for moods and PMT.  

I've always had awful PMT and now, part of that cyclical downturn, is these debilitating migraine attacks.

So there I was, taking Rhodiola Rosea for about 4 days and 

noticing nothing in particular.  

Then at around day 5, it registered, by my reaction to a stressful situation, that I was feeling different, somehow?

It was initially hard to define, but according to my packet of pills, I should be lurching into arguments and feeling totally exhausted by now?

Instead, I felt calm, my thoughts were logical, (instead of extremely emotional) and I was definitely less tired.

Considering where I am in the cycle, this is VERY unusual for me.

There is a downside though, in my personal case, because it reduces appetite.  I'm not a person with a huge appetite at the best of times and Rhodiola certainly reduces mine even more.

This figures really, as its prescribed for among other things, stress-related over-eating!  I can totally see how that would work, because quite honestly, even by 3pm I'm still not actually hungry !!

It turns out that Rhodiola Rosea is an ADAPTOGEN and that means it works out what your body is  imbalanced in e.g. you could be producing, say, too much stress hormone: cortisol.  Then it will 'adapt itself' to suppress / boost your levels, whatever the needs be.

Here's a quotation I found from a really good article about recent testing on Rhodiola:

"A Swedish trial from 2009 examined the effects of a patented Rhodiola extract (SHR-5) on 60 patients with “stress related fatigue“. The dosage used was 4 tablets of the herbal extract, providing 576 milligrams, or an equal quantity of an inactive placebo. The authors of the trial concluded that, “repeated administration of R. rosea extract SHR-5 exerts an anti-fatigue effect that increases mental performance, particularly the ability to concentrate, and decreases cortisol response”. Previous experiments, dating back up to 9 years, tend to support these findings. (4,5,6)"

Written by J P Fanton of Healthy Fellow, that you can read here. 

I'm currently taking two capsules a day (of maximum strength), during mid-morning.  I was taking it later on in the day, but I noticed it was keeping me awake.  This is not unusual and you are warned about that.  

I plan to only take it for half the month, from a few days before I start taking Progesterone.

There are countless articles about Rhodiola on the internet, and it seems its a common ingredient that's added to a lot of 'wonder drugs' for combating fatigue.  

I'll need to watch my appetite while taking this, in that I don't want to end up too weak because I eat lunch too late.  Once I start eating though, I feel fine about food again, but before that, I've noticed I'm not thinking about food, if you know what I mean?

It's going to be very interesting to see how my next migraine will turn out.  Because my aim in taking this medication was to maintain serotonin levels, but now I can clearly detect that my real problem was quite possibly the over-production of Cortisol?

Happy holidays everyone!