Are my symptoms adrenal related?

[Lauriso]

Hi all!

I’m wondering if my issues are adrenal related.
Last year I experienced 6 months of persistent panic, which has eventually helped by Ativan (clonazepam), later I dropped it without any side effects. Right now my life isn’t stressful at all. I’m a 33 year old male.

However, I’ve been feeling lethargic and tired since then. Here are my symptoms that match with what I’ve heard about adrenal fatigue:

*Feeling tired even after a long and restful sleep. Can’t really function without coffee. Energy returns later in the evening, around 10-11pm.
*Trouble going to sleep without sleep aids.
*Sudden belly weight gain for the first time in my life. Can’t wear a shirt I wore 6 months ago. Also, fat under the chin.
*I used to have slight restless leg syndrome before, but now it’s much more pronounced, I have to massage and shake my feet every single night to be able to sleep.
*In the past month – frequent urination. I used to pee at night once or not at all, now it’s like 3-4 times.

Other symptoms mentioned that I DON’T seem to have – weak immune system (no change), skin problems, dizziness, back pain.

Is this related to adrenal gland problems? If so, what tests could I do to determine the problem, and what treatment to follow then?

[Annabel]

Hi! Those definitely could be related to the adrenals and HPA axis. It sounds like your cortisol cycle is messed up, and you are dependent on coffee and sleep aids.

First of all, stay away from the Ativan. Prolonged use can mess up your memory in the long run.

You need to try to get off this cycle of drinking coffee during the day and using sleep aids at night. Try switching to green tea or matcha instead – it gives a much milder buzz and will help you to reduce your caffeine. Try something like Passion flower extract at night instead of sleep aids – it will help calm you down without creating dependency.

And of course, combine that with light exercise and a really healthy diet!

[Lauriso]

Thanks for your reply!

To clarify, I’m off Ativan for a year already.

Thanks for the recommendations, I’ll look into them.

Is there a point to doing a blood or saliva test (cortisol or other chemicals/hormones)?

[Lauriso]

I’m planning to do a 24 hour urine cortisol test.

[Annabel]

A 24 hour saliva test is usually considered best for cortisol. There should be 4 separate test points, i.e. you get a value for 4 different times of day instead of just a daily average.

[Lauriso]

Thanks for the recommendation.

24h cortisol seems to be within the norm: 40.8 (norm being 4.3-176, seems petty wide though).

I’ll inure about the saliva test.

[Lauriso]

Can you tell me what hours should I take the saliva test? I can’t get in touch with my doc until Monday and want to do the test over the weekend.

[Annabel]

[quote quote=13969]Can you tell me what hours should I take the saliva test? I can’t get in touch with my doc until Monday and want to do the test over the weekend.[/quote]

Usually the test instructions would tell you the times. But typically the times are 8am, 12noon, 4pm and 8pm. Or something like that!

[Lauriso]

Alright, I got my results from SALIVA test. I’m seeing the doc tomorrow, but will post here just in case.

Time of day – cortisol levels in nmol/L.

09.30 – 9
14.00 – 6
17.00 – <1.57
23.00 – <1.57

[Lauriso]

Same results in ng/ml:

09.30 – 2.83
14.00 – 1.88
17.00 – <0.49
23.00 – <0.49

[Author]

Posts