Re: Have Adrenal Fatigue? No You Don't.

The final turning point that made me agree with conventional medicine that Adrenal Fatigue doesn't exist is that as with most people here who have been diagnosed with AF by an alternative practitioner, including myself, tests showed that most of us have higher than normal cortisol levels.

How could our adrenals be producing higher than normal levels of hormones if "adrenal fatigue" means your adrenals can't keep up with our stress levels? But this is exactly what our adrenal glands are SUPPOSED TO DO in times of stress:


Chronic stress can wreak havoc on your mind and body.

When you encounter a perceived threat — a large dog barks at you during your morning walk, for instance — your hypothalamus, a tiny region at the base of your brain, sets off an alarm system in your body. Through a combination of nerve and hormonal signals, this system prompts your adrenal glands, located atop your kidneys, to release a surge of hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol.

Cortisol also curbs functions that would be nonessential or detrimental in a fight-or-flight situation. It alters immune system responses and suppresses the digestive system, the reproductive system and growth processes. This complex natural alarm system also communicates with regions of your brain that control mood, motivation and fear.

The body's stress-response system is usually self-limiting. Once a perceived threat has passed, hormone levels return to normal. As adrenaline and cortisol levels drop, your heart rate and blood pressure return to baseline levels, and other systems resume their regular activities.

But when stressors are always present and you constantly feel under attack, that fight-or-flight reaction stays turned on.

The long-term activation of the stress-response system — and the subsequent overexposure to cortisol and other stress hormones — can disrupt almost all your body's processes. This puts you at increased risk of numerous health problems, including: Anxiety, Depression, Digestive problems, Heart disease, Sleep problems, Weight gain, Memory and concentration impairment
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stress/SR00001


(Some alternative practitioners will call this process Pregnenolone Steal.)

If you are under great stress and your cortisol levels have elevated, your adrenals are functioning exactly how they are supposed to. Tweet