Adrenal Fatigue - supplements

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Michelle Brezinski on October 4, 2010 at 10:07pm

Hi Jill look into this product, the feedback is fantastic, Lorna Vanderhaeghe's plant based
"Adrenasense"...it has adoptogens, liver tonics and ayurvedic antistress herbs. When I was dealing with adrenal fatique I got rid of all sugar, processed flour and caffeine as well as high glycemic foods (to reduce my sugar levels from rising and falling too quickly)....it was hard and was a slow process but it really worked.

Breathing was a big help....the stress response was causing me to breath shallow....resulting in weakness and fatique. I learned a breathing technique called 7-11...you breathe in slowly for 7 seconds and slowly release that breath for 11 seconds......if you've been a shallow breather it will feel very hard but start with a 5-8 and work your way to a 7-11. Try and remove anything that causes a stress response..even letting your blood sugar drop by skipping a meal will cause an adrenaline response to fix it.

Be patient with your healing and try not to be disappointed if things don't change fast...it could be one of the reasons you are experiencing this condition....perhaps your like me and feel you need it figured out and done now. Be in the "Now" it's the true living!

Hope this helps....

Permalink Reply by Michelle Brezinski on October 4, 2010 at 11:51pm

So sorry my spelling can't always catch up to my thoughts....it's "adaptogens" not "adoptogens"
That's a type "A" for ya!

Permalink Reply by joanna on October 5, 2010 at 5:10am

HI Jill-
i have had adrenal exhaustion, not just fatigue, about 11 years ago and i can say that supplements alone will not take care of your condition. i do not know about the IsoCort as that is not what i have used, nor is it a line i use with my cllients (i am now a nutritionist after recovering from my Adrenal Exhaustion).
i use and recommend a product called Adreset which is all herbs. it is by www.metagenics.com and i can send some to you as it is only available thru practioners. i now only have to use it a couple months of the year when my business is so busy and my training increases (triathlete) but it works wonders :)
i would also recommend you work with a nutritionist, one who understands the condition. Nutrition has a huge role in recovery and alleviating recurrance, too. but it also requires understanding stress and how your body deals with it. there are so many levels to it that i cannot explain all here.
nutritoin is a huge part of recovery. if your doc has not recommended how to change your diet - what you eat, when you eat, etc. - then he/she is not giving you everything you need to recover. you will relapse and wonder why it is happening.
good luck!
PS. and i agree with michelle (just noticed her post), sugar and caffeine and white flour make the condition worse!

Permalink Reply by Ann Richter on October 5, 2010 at 7:48am

Hi, Jill. Thanks for adding a discussion. And thanks to everyone who has (or will) participate(d) too.

I have never taken Isocort, but I did take Natural Factors Raw Adrenal for a time, and it is also animal derived, which, like you, bothered me. I liked that it was from New Zealand and the animals were totally organic, but eww. Anyway, here's the thing, speaking as someone who’s tried it, I've found that other things helped me more than did the “freeze-dried adrenal cortex” that is in Isocort and similar products.

As they said, neither the Adrenasense that Michelle mentioned nor the Adreset that Joanna mentioned have the “adrenal cortex” stuff in them. I looked at the ingredients for each and they both look good, though I have to say I havenot tried either one and I am unfamiliar with the suma powder in Adrenasense. Both of these supplements contain rhodiola rosea and each contains a type of ginseng, both of which are adaptogens. I have found both those ingredients very helpful to me personally and I take both of them everyday. As you no doubt know, each adaptogen helps with stress and each works in a slightly different way. Maca is a fabulous adaptogen that is particularly good for the endocrine system and the regulating sex hormones. Rhodiola is an adaptogen that is touted for helping one deal with stress. Here’s an article on it if you’re interested. http://www.vitacost.com/Healthnotes/Concern/Stress.aspx

Ginseng is an adaptogen that is also a cardiac tonic and helps with regulating blood sugar. Personally, I prefer the panax ginseng to the American or eleuthero ginseng, but currently I take a blend of different ginsengs and I’m liking that a lot. Some thing I like about ginseng are that it doesn’t give me a crash later or the shakes and I know it is helping my body rather than just letting me steal tomorrow’s energy for today the way caffeine would. Oh, and here’s a special thing that will be of interest to you on the panax gingseng, In his book, The Way of Herbs, Michael Tierra, C.A., N.D. says that the panax ginseng also helps to regulate blood pressure. He also says that the eleuthero ginseng is used to lower blood pressure (and help with insomnia), just something to keep in mind if you’re trying to decide between the Adrenasense and the Adreset. Here’s a little article on panax ginseng too, if you’d like to read more: http://www.vitacost.com/Healthnotes/Herb/Ginseng-Asian.aspx

I totally agree with Joanna and Michelle on cutting out the sugar, white flour, caffeine, and high glycemic foods as I too have found (and read) that they worsen the condition. And speaking of sugar, Vitamin C really does help with adrenal issues, but any type of sugar (as well as foods that the body quickly converts to glucose) competes with Vitamin C for uptake by the cells. For more on that you can see this article "ASCORBIC ACID COMPETES WITH SUGAR IN THE IMMUNE SYSTEM" by Jim Howenstein M.D.--BTW, the whole article is interesting, but for purposes of seeing how sugar competes with Vitamin C and how the body needs more Vitamin C under stress, you really only need to read the first two paragraphs. Here it is: http://www.newswithviews.com/Howenstine/james52.htm

You didn't say you have any sugar cravings, but just in case you or anyone else has them, I have found that taking chromium twice a day has helped me tremendously with both sugar cravings and leveling out my blood glucose. I just took a Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT) two weeks ago and my numbers were fab. Hooray! I know they hadn't been in the past, hence the test. And one more thing that helps me tremendously with carb cravings is GABA (I talked about that in another discussion in this group on sleep).

Jill, do keep in mind what Joanna said about there being only so much you can do on your own or through supplements. I think Joanna’s idea of finding a professional (nutritionist or naturopath) who is familiar (very familiar) with the condition is excellent.

Here’s to your feeling better and better!

Permalink Reply by joanna on October 5, 2010 at 8:09am

there are so many aspects to adrenal fatigue - sleep, stress and how you deal with it, nutrition, etc. one place you may want to look as well for more information on the condition - how you get it, how you get over it, etc - is from ralph golan. i think he has a website www.ralhpgolan.com? but i have uploaded his chapter 11 from his book Optimal Wellness on adrenal exhaustion on my website. it is a great read although it is long - 32 pages? but it will definitely help!
www.nutrition-in-motion.net/articles.html is my website where you can find that chapter 11. i found it to be the best thing to help me understand how i got there. then the next step besides nutrition and sleep, is to figure out what your stresses are. list them out. all of them - emotional, physical, mental, environmental, tozins from foods, allergies, etc. these are all stresses and the body does not differentiate between the stresses - they just tax the adrenals. so if you cannot eliminate the stress, find a way to deal with it differently so it is no longer a stress.
kind of like getting pissed off about traffic - the traffic will not go away just because you are mad, so why not use that time to do somethign different: books on tape, call a freind to catch up, listen to some great music, etc. hope that makes sense!
joanna

Permalink Reply by Michelle Brezinski on October 5, 2010 at 9:00am

Hi Jill Lots of great Advise. I used the GABA as well....it is a precursor to the neurotransmitter responsible for the relaxation response in the body. It can be alittle difficult to get here in Canada. Chromium works great for keeping blood sugars stable....the best type according to studies is chromium picolinate...now legal in Canada...take it in the morning on an empty stomach. My experience with Ginseng is that the Panax is alittle more stimulating than the Siberian white...look into that. The Suma in the Adrenasense is a type of Brazilian Ginseng as the ashwaganda is a type of ayurvedic type ginseng.

I really believe in taking sometime and having a private emotional purge....I like to use Sarah Mclaughlin or the instrumental music from the sound track "Titanic" and I lie comfortably on my carpet floor and use verbal cues like..."why did you leave me"...."I can't do it all"....."why did you let me down"... to invite a hidden emotion to surface so that I can freely express it's energy with tears or even anger sometimes......I use a pillow to get it out....not everyone's cup of tea but it helped me take back my power by telling myself I had the right to feel that way and letting my child personality know I was stronger than what was hurting me and that my adult personality was taking care of it. If this seems scary try a few sessions with a professional... it's a really freeing experience. According to physcologists...adrenal fatique, anxiety, chronic fatique syndrome, depression..etc.. can be caused, in part, by unexpressed emotions and the problem is that they would be rather tiny if we expressed them regularly but for those who ignore them they grow into giants and either harm our body or become one of those "where did that anger come from". I'll try and find some websites for you on this subject.


Lots of love coming your way....

You'll know what you need, your inner self is trying to let you know...be brave and listen.

Michelle Brezinski

Permalink Reply by Ann Richter on October 5, 2010 at 10:07am

Oh, this discussion is AWESOME! Thanks for the info on the suma, Michelle, and thanks for the update on supplements for all our Canadian members!

I agree with Michelle on the chromium picolinate and the panax ginseng. Yes, the panax ginseng is definitely more stimulating than the Siberian or other ginsengs. Michael Tierra (mentioned previously) especially recommends the eleuthero for when panax is too stimulating. I think this is one of the reasons I'm finding the blend to be so nice right now. It's the "Mama Bear" ginseng, not too hot, not too cold, but "just right." Yes, I did just make a Goldilocks reference. :)

So the suma is a type of Brazilian ginseng and the ashwaganda is a type of ayurvedic ginseng? Cool. I'm familiar with ashwaganda, but I hadn't heard it called that before. I'll definitely take a look at both of those again. Did you know that many people call Maca "Peruvian ginseng"?

Oh, Michelle, I love your suggestion for having a "private emotional purge" and your suggestions for music to help induce it. So cool. Sitting down and having a good cry and/or taking things out on a pillow is a lot less scary for the neighbors than practicing "primal scream therapy." LOL. In the past I had been known to go totally taekwondo (TKD) on my wavemaster to get out some frustrations. But seriously, in our society we are taught it's not nice to express anger or be angry; and women especially get this drilled into them. But getting in touch with our emotions, such as the examples you gave of feeling "I can't do it all" or "Why did you let me down?", gives us a good clue as to when/where/how we aren't doing a good job of setting/maintaining healthy limits and boundaries with others or where others are breaking or trying to get us to break the healthy limits and boundaries we have in place. We do absolutely have a right to feel upset about that, and it's key to handle those situations from our "healthy adult" mode rather than from our "angry parent" or "angry child" modes.

Bless you, Michelle, for bring up the important topic of how our emotions impact our physical health and how we can learn to exchange our maladaptive coping strategies for ones that actually work by working with a good therapist.

Michelle, I know you're working on getting some websites for us. In the meantime, I'd like to share the therapy that has worked wonders for me. It is called Schema Therapy and it incorporates some of the best components of several therapies to get a therapy where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. It was developed by Jeffrey E. Young, Ph.D. His book "Reinventing Your Life: the Breakthrough Program to End Negative Behavior...and Feel Great Again" is a good place to start. In it he talks about "lifetraps" such as abandonment, mistrust and abuse, emotional deprivation, social exclusion, dependence, vulnerability, unrelenting standards, subjugation, punitiveness, and others. If you're interested, you can find more info on this book on Amazon.com or you could visit his website http://www.schematherapy.com/

Many blessings.

Permalink Reply by Jill on October 5, 2010 at 12:02pm

Wow, a BIG thank you to all of you for the information!
Michelle & Joanna, I am going to look into the Adrenasense & Adreset. They sound like a great alternative to Isocort.

Yes, I'm definitely seeing a naturopath... and will get her input on all of this! I am also curious to know what symptoms others with adrenal fatigue have experienced... please keep sharing :)

Permalink Reply by Vega Alana on October 5, 2010 at 2:17pm

Hi Jill,
I am going through the same thing, I found that Maca has been a huge help for me and it is completely vegan.
http://macasure.com/about-maca/adaptogen.html

Hope this helps,
Alana

Permalink Reply by Michelle Brezinski on October 5, 2010 at 3:01pm

Wow some real smart cookies in this discussion! Ann I do I believe it's the media that seems to "dub" any aptaptogen..."ginseng"...a more familiar term I quess. Excellent idea Alana, the Maca is suppose to be fantastic for balancing hormones and should work well for adrenal fatigue...you can buy it in a powdered form, Vege capsulated form, even a chocolate bar form, but be aware that there will be research suggesting non gelatinized is better, gelatinized is more pure...investigate for certainty. The VEGA Complete Whole Food Optimizer has the gelatinized form in it.

When my adrenals have had enough my symptoms tend to be salt/sugar gravings, lack of interest in sex, inability to balance my blood sugar ..so I would need to have something every
1 1/2 hours even though I didn't feel hungry. I would just go down like a dead battery and I'd fear what would happen if I did not force myself to eat something to fix this low blood sugar state. Anxiety... most likely because the body is responding to the low blood sugar and trying to fix it to prevent me from passing out. Negative thoughts.....insomnia....nocturnal anxiety..(sudden fearful wake).....lack of interest in social events, hobbies and thoughts of death (not suicide but dwelling on the fact that we will all die instead of being here and now with the living). Lack of appetite was a big one, perhaps the digestive system was weakened by the chronic stress response.

Gosh it sounds like I was going through a "War" but it was just life catching up to me.....though it was subtle it finally did it's damage. We don't always see cleary our "enemies" even when they are our own selves.

Here's food for thought now that you've taken back your power by starting this discussion

Start to recognize "subtly abusive social interaction". It's subtle but oh so very harmful. It's the ones who hold back the validation you deserve, it's the small cutting remarks, it's the harmful "I was only joking" words. They are poison and we let them slowly harm us because we want to be nice and liked by everyone. It always happens to good people. Try hard to remove as much of this from your life or see clearly what is happening and change your perspective so that it's their problem not yours.

Of course Jill this is how my "ADRENAL FATIGUE" manifested itself and how I needed to deal with it. Somethings will feel right and others not....sift through the knowledge to find your truth.

Permalink Reply by Ken Wilkens on October 5, 2010 at 4:33pm

WOW! Ann had emailed me and said there was a lively discussion over here, so glad I stopped in.

I have been fighting my own "mini war" with my Adrenal Fatigue, but this round caused by a HUGE HUGE project at work, so not much one can do but try to lower 'other stresses' in life while this wave passes.

I also see that Joanna weighed in... I can attest to Joanna's expertise with Adrenal Fatigue, as she was a huge part in my initial recovery, and a complete expert in the field. We worked together on a plan of nutrition and how to address all of the other stresses. For me that was good old fashioned "stress" (like everyone has) plus my training stress... I need to sit down and do this again, but it helped me to list all of my stresses (physical, chemical, mental, etc) on a sheet of paper and rank them. Really look at the ones I have control over and the ones I don't, and then get to work.

Training wise, I am a HUGE fan of Dr. Phil Maffetone, who just realeased a new edition of his book "In Fitness and In Health," as well as "The Big Book of Endurance Training and Racing." He advocates minimizing 'stress' on all levels -- this includes training, nutrition, etc. The body does not know the difference. Stress is stress. Anyway, good stuff to check into.

Regarding your initial post, Jill -- supplements are just one piece of the puzzle. Adrenal Fatigue is a delicate dance of balancing your life and not 'crossing the line' -- and I have found out that once you have it, your adrenals are way more susceptible to frying due to an imbalance. I still work with Joanna with the Adreset, and have found that to be beneficial. I also work with a Chiropractor who practices B.E.S.T. (Bio Energetic Synchronization Technique) and will sometimes provide supplements such as Alkadrenergy.

Breathing is huge as well, thanks for that one Michelle. Yoga has helped me, and really listening to my body -- when it's fried and I am supposed to work out, I either walk, rest or breathe. If I push too hard, BAM! Back into painful fatigue.

I am rambling, but very excited to see some great activity on the group.

Hoping to start a blog about my Adrenal Fatigue journey soon, but work comes first!!!!

Thanks everyone for your participation!

Ken

Permalink Reply by Ann Richter on October 5, 2010 at 8:41pm

Thanks for bringing up the Maca, Alana. Yes, that is a big boost. If you haven't checked out the discussion in this group forum called something like "what is going on in your body when you have adrenal fatigue," checking it out (a very short video) will help you understand why the maca is so helpful. And, yes, adrenal fatigue can have a huge impact on your sex drive as the body is using your pregnenolone to take care of the adrenals and the sex glands suffer.

Michele, a lot of my symptoms matched yours. I would have the same cravings and giving in to them was just a temporary fix that also caused me the inability to balance my blood sugar. With the blood sugar swings came moodiness and irritability and negative self-talk, none of which felt like 'me.' I think that's one of the worst things about adrenal fatigue is just not feeling like yourself. When I switched to trying to eat something small every few hours that helped a LOT, especially if it was a half serving of WFHO or something else that was low in sugar, but chock full of alkalizing goodies for the body. I could totally relate to your "dead battery" analogy as there would be times when that was it; I was toast had to sleep RIGHT THEN. And it took me forever to get going in the mornings (sad for a morning person).

Michele, you rock! You bring up a SUPERB point about people who subtly and not-so-subtly invalidate you and how that steals your power. It truly does help us to take our power back when we become aware of what is going on. I found an awesome little book a couple of years ago that I can't recommend highly enough. It's called Nasty People: How to STOP BEING HURT by them without stooping to THEIR level, Revised Edition, by Jay Carter, Psy.D. It's a short little 100-page book that's worth it's weight in gold. It addresses invalidation (which Carter says could very well be the major cause of poor self-esteem, mental anguish, and overall unhappiness), the mechanism of invalidation, the victim, the cycle, the invalidator himself/herself, and what to do about it. And one of the things I liked the most about it is that it helped put invalidators in proper perspective (conscious versus unconscious invalidators) and talked about what to do if you yourself are an invalidator. You can find this on Amazon.com or in most book stores.

Ken, it's awesome to have you join in here. I'll be sending you positive energy and knowing that you can handle all that is yours to do with grace and ease.

I love how this discussion has got us looking at mind and body connections. Thank you again, Jill, for starting this thread.

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