Adrenal fatigue- a naturopathic clinical perspective
As you will read in our January newsletter adrenal fatigue is more than a catchy phrase to blame all of your symptoms on. Adrenal fatigue plays out in many of my patients’ lives and is intertwined in their chief complaints and presenting symptoms.
As a naturopathic physician I practice individualism, one of our many guiding principles. Each patient is an individual and a cook-book approach to their health does not address their individual underlying health issue. What I mean to convey is that I don’t blame adrenal fatigue for all of my patients’ symptoms however it is a common theme in many of our lives especially for high-achieving, busy, or responsibility-ridden individuals. Take the following case of mine as an example;
Case #1-
Patient information:
Jane is a 45 year old female with hypothyroidism (low thyroid function), she has been on the same thyroid medication for the past 10 years. In the past year, she has complained of worsening PMS symptoms such as irritability, breast tenderness, cramping and weight gain as well as bouts of depression and fatigue. She is a busy professional, mother and wife.
Labs:
I checked her adrenal hormones via salivary testing which showed high cortisol levels and low progesterone levels.
Her thyroid labs were also out of range.
Treatment:
Comprehensive adrenal vitamin and herbal formula- 2 capsules 2x daily
Exercise program- yoga 2x weekly, walking up hills x 45 minutes 3x weekly.
Diet advice- eliminate gluten from diet and increase protein intake.
Continue with the same thyroid medication dose
Return to my office in 6 weeks.
Follow-up:
At the 6 week follow-up we retested her thyroid function which resumed to normal and she reported 90% amelioration in all of her PMS symptoms, increased energy, no depression, and an 10 pound weight loss.
Why did Jane get better?
Cortisol and estrogen can compete for thyroid hormone receptor spots, therefore if cortisol and estrogen levels are high like in Jane’s case than thyroid hormone effectiveness is lessened leading to low thyroid symptoms such as fatigue, weight gain, and PMS. Decreasing cortisol levels to normal can help thyroid hormones act more effectively, avoid adrenal fatigue, and decrease the amount of circulating estrogen levels therefore normalizing progesterone levels.
The cortisol levels were decreased with the adrenal formula and the increased exercise and breathing program. Gluten avoidance aided cortisol balancing which leads to weight loss and lower estrogen levels because much of estrogen can be stored in fat cells.
Stay tuned for next weeks adrenal fatigue case.
Yours in health,
Dr. Britta Zimmer
Chief Naturopathic Physician & Founder
Tags: adrenal fatigue syndrome, adrenal fatigue treatment, anxiety vitamins, vitamin for stress
