Adrenal Fatigue Symptoms and Testing

As promised we are bringing you part 2 of our Adrenal Fatigue and Stress series. Today we are talking symptoms and testing!

10 common signs that tell you that you’re experiencing adrenal fatigue are:

1-You’re having trouble falling asleep even when you’re tired (“tired and wired”) and even when you do sleep, you’re not rested when you wake.

2-You get irritable or angry really quickly or more often than you want to.

3-You’re craving sugar/carbs, fat, salt – or all of the above!

4-You get tired around 3-4 most afternoons, and that’s when you really want something sweet or some extra caffeine.

5-You’ve been gaining weight, perhaps noticing a spare tire growing around your middle.

6-You feel anxious or blue.

7-You’re getting sick more often than you used to.

8-Your hormones are all over the place, you’re having fertility problems, and perhaps your libido is nowhere to be found.

9-You’re memory and focus are not what you think they should be.

10-Your digestive system is a mess.

Testing

There are a few different ways that you can be tested for adrenal fatigue. You can do traditional blood work, urine testing or your health care provider can order a “24 Hour Adrenal Saliva Kit.” You want to do a 24 Hour Adrenal Saliva Kit, even though most health care providers will recommend a blood test.

To understand why we recommend the saliva test, it helps to understand a bit more about adrenal fatigue and its relationship to cortisol. If your cortisol levels are swinging wildly or flat, you have an adrenal problem. So it helps to be able to measure variations in cortisol throughout the day, which is what a saliva test does.

Saliva testing will measure your cellular levels at four key times in a 24 hour period — revealing whether you have high cortisol (which can have similar symptoms to low cortisol), or a mix of highs and lows or a majority of lows, which is more concerning.

Unfortunately, a one-time blood test or a 24-hour urine test, are inadequate measures to discern sluggish adrenals. Blood testing measures both your bound and unbound cortisol, which is not helpful because it does not tell you what goes on at different times during the day.

This is an example of a saliva kit by Genova Diagnostics and  are the kits used in our office. The process is easy and the results are quick. If you or someone you know are interested in being tested for adrenal fatigue, call the office at 574-330-0464 to schedule an initial consult.

Part 3, Adrenal Fatigue Treatment coming soon!