Re: Severe Adrenal Fatigue TWICE

Hi Aerose,

I'm so sorry you're suffering in the ways you are. Your story mirrors my own so much you've reminded me that although it's been just 4 months since AF completely crushed my life - i've made progress in many ways.
I haven't been heavy into the supplements, i've been sleeping soooo much, resting soooo much, eating better and more food, drinking more water, breathing properly - being more mindful, as another poster said...it's all helped. Those simple things. Mainly the change i was FORCED to implement was to SLOW DOWN.

I got clues from my body i needed to slow down before i crashed. Many many times the little voice inside said 'focus on your health - stop this crazy busy stressful life'..but i ignored that instinctual voice , because i had SO many responsibilities. Just before crashing i truly believed i was dying...for real. My body down-regulated, nervous system completely shot, extreme weight loss, loss of bladder/sweating/mind control - the seven hells you spoke of - i too know how terrifying it is to be there. I wanted to end the misery too.
It took ALL my will power NOT to end my life. As someone said - it's important to remind yourself that everything you're feeling is due to many bodily imbalances involving important hormones and chemicals which are not balanced.

It IS possible to balance them...and get your life back. You need to accept you have to be patient with healing. It's not a bad case of flu and a silver bullet cure type of scenario with extreme adrenal exhaustion.
The worst part for me was accepting i HAD TO change my life completely and essentially 'pull out' from life to begin to heal.
I believed i was superwoman and could live on barely any calories, run around 16hrs a day, 7 days a week looking after people and animals, while building my own house, running an organic farm, dealing with deaths, other people's illnesses, negative equity, loss of a business...it became immense. My lifetime identity has always been the 'do-er'...people ended up relying heavily on me due to this too, increasing the responsibility stress.

If you identify with this - as it sounds like you've been living a hugely full life too - NOW is the time to change trains and become the person who looks only after number 1 - try as much as you can to prioritise yourself. Learning to let go of even your life's dreams, as i had to, in order to heal - is a hard step to take but the rewards are waiting on the other side :-)

It's wonderful you are working with Dr Lam. I am digesting his book at the moment having gobbled up his website on AF - and he states that using stimulants with adrenal exhaustion cases, such a hormone replacements, benzo's etc only falsely stimulate already very tired adrenals - always resulting in another crash. They cannot handle the harsh stimulation that these drugs offer, altho' you may feel better initially. It's hard to resist 'stimulation' when feeling so empty of energy but it's important not to whip your already weak adrenals.

I've been so tempted to try cortisone etc but even herbal stimulants make me feel jittery and anxious again.
When i was in the full pit of the crash i remember feeling that i would take anything - any pharma drug to stop feeling the way i did. I went to my doctor asking for adrenal tests and he frowned at me, offering me benzo's. If he had been more pleasant and less condescending i might have taken up his offer as i was so desperate, but luckily my integrity not to deal with ignorant doctors not willing to even do diagnostics, saved me from benzo-hell.

You should be extremely proud you have been off benzo's for a good while now. Some people take years. You've made excellent progress for freeing yourself from them alone.

Having always been super-impatient - i now say seriously, embrace patience. You'll make progress with just a mind-set of accepting it'll be a journey of recovery. It's more easier to accept if you see it as a journey of self-pampering! I sense you want to get this over and done with so you can get life back to how it was - understandably, but if you are patient - your recovery will be easier. It's so much harder to heal when we resist and don't accept what's happened to us.

Normally the very things we REALLY don't want to do are the VERY things we need to be doing to progress. A 'busy active lifer' type of person (as most with AF are) generally never wants to slow down. I loved being so hugely busy! To stop, do nothing but rest, eat well, engaging in practices of relaxation, research on getting well...was as terrifying to me as the crash experience, yet by doing that - has been a life-saver. I've got a long way to go still, but am feeling much stronger in spirit to handle and accept the journey.

PM if you need to...vent as much as you like! :-)
PP