I’ve recently recovered from a prolonged bout of severe adrenal fatigue and I’m not gonna lie, it was pretty miserable. It affected all aspects of my life and in many ways made me feel like I had undone much of the progress I had made over the past few years in healing my AI conditions.
Oddly enough, even my most trusted doctor did not detect this, as adrenal fatigue resembled (or, is it the other way around?) many of the symptoms caused by my “everyday” autoimmune conditions. It ultimately took me doing an F-ton of research on my own and then seeking out a specialist in adrenal fatigue (another functional MD), who finally put all the pieces together and get me on a treatment program, for me to start feeling better (for more info on what I did to heal, please scroll down to the “Adrenal Fatigue” section in this post). And as I healed, so many of my symptoms that I just thought were “normal” due to my autoimmune conditions, completely vanished.
So, here I am today to encourage you to look for some of the common signs and symptoms of adrenal fatigue, as it’s possible that some (or a lot) of your symptoms are actually being caused by underlying adrenal burnout and you’re not even aware of it.
Here’s 10 signs it might be adrenal fatigue or burnout:
1. You’re wide awake in the middle of the night, or have more energy at night when you’re supposed to be tired
2. You wake up feeling like you’ve been hit by a bus
3. Stimulants like sugar and/or caffeine are your best friends
4. You feel as if you’re having epic blood sugar issues, even if your blood sugar levels come back “normal”
5. You’re more agitated or irritable than usual
6. Even the slightest disturbance in the Force stresses you out
7. You’re experiencing brain fog Level 1000
8. You’re about ready to fall into a dead sleep between 3 – 5pm
9. You’re craving copious amounts of salty foods
10. Exercise makes your fatigue worse and/or your exercise tolerance levels are even lower than usual
If any of that sounds like you and you’d like a better idea of whether or not it may be adrenal fatigue, check out this quiz.
Happy healing!
How long did it take for you to heal?
Hi Jana – I did a fairly intense healing protocol (supplements + diet + lifestyle), so it took me about 3-4 months to finally feel like I was “healed” from adrenal fatigue. That said, I started feeling better after about 2-3 weeks once I was on the protocol, so it was nice to see that improvement fairly quickly. Everyone will be different though; that’s just my experience. 🙂
What kind of doctor or specialist tells you, you have adrenal fatigue and if so is it true they are diffrent kinds ? Also how long for one to recover? And lastly how long did it take you to recover??
Hi Susana – please see my response to Jana for more details, but I’d say 3-4 months for me to feel fully better. I saw a functional MD and she ran a saliva test to measure my adrenal levels throughout an entire day. Thanks for reading!
Hi Mitch! Can you tell us what helped you heal your adrenals? I’m suffering from adrenal fatigue and despite limiting stress, eating AIP, taking lots of rest, and taking adrenal support supplements I’m still not feeling 100%. Thanks!
Hi Eliza – thanks for your question and for reading! I am planning to do a follow-up post to this one that really goes into detail about how I healed my adrenals, but for now you can check out my recent blog post (scroll down to the “Adrenal Fatigue” section) where I start to explain how I healed my adrenals. I hope you start feeling better soon – how long have you been taking supplements and such?
Hi Mitch! How did you find your functional MD? I’m in the KC area so know there probably is some good ones but no clue how to go about figuring out who’s good and who maybe avoid. How did you go about this?
Hi Rosa – great question. The first functional doc I saw was one I sort of stumbled upon by chance. The one who helped me with the adrenal healing was one that I found through my insurance provider’s website (although it turns out she no longer files through insurance – she just hadn’t been removed from the listings). If you’re not sure where to start, you could check out the doc finder at https://www.functionalmedicine.org/practitioner_search.aspx?id=117. I also love this article by Phoenix Helix, which really breaks down some things to look for in a functional medicine doctor: http://www.phoenixhelix.com/2016/04/30/how-to-find-a-good-functional-medicine-practitioner/. In that article, the only “red flag” that I sort of disagree with is the “spending thousands of dollars at your first visit.” The reason I disagree w/ this is only because MOST functional MDs do require you to start some sort of ongoing program with them (which is usually all-inclusive of all tests + supplements + appointments), so I wouldn’t let that turn you off TOO much if you find a program/doctor that you really like. Also – I’d love to invite you to join my Kansas City autoimmune support group if you’re interested! We meet monthly and it’s a great group of like-minded people. You can find us as https://www.facebook.com/groups/885618094826487/. Best of luck! 🙂