By Julia Gumm
Adrenal Fatigue is one of those shadowy -?is it real or isn’t it, kind of dis-eases that sort of hangs around the periphery of medicine. Sure, it’s often an accessory to the crimes of high blood pressure, back pain, arthritis, fibromyalgia and allergies- but for some reason, doctors are loathe to pin the patsy on these inconspicuous perps. Nope, they’re off the hook. Sweet deal the adrenals have, unless they’re all in on the crime, they get away scot free. Blame the pancreas, blame the heart, blame the immune system! Don’t blame us! Nothin? to see here but us chickens! Or uh, glands!
So that’s how come you can show up at your doctor’s office with a laundry list of symptoms- weak ankles and knees, muscle aches, twitches, brain fog, thinning hair and skin, fatigue, panic attacks, trouble sleeping, irritable bowels, increased allergies- and walk outta there with no diagnosis. Even if your doctor is the investigative type and decides to test your adrenal function, and even if the tests show lower than normal adrenal output, you’re most likely going to leave your appointment with a clean bill of health. A clean bill of health and weak ankles and knees, muscle aches, twitches, brain fog, thinning hair and skin, fatigue, panic attacks, trouble sleeping, irritable bowels and increased allergies. Oh happy day.
The reason for this is that the adrenal gland has to have lost 90% of it’s function in order to be considered a problem by doctors. That means having full blown Addison’s 
disease, a condition whereby the adrenals are so totally shot that the patient has little choice but to remain on steroids for the rest of their lives. That physicians see no grey area between optimal function and Addison’s disease is ridiculous. It would be like blowing out a spark plug in a car and continuing to drive the thing. Sure, it runs…but it doesn’t have nearly as much power as it should. Saying that someone with reduced adrenal output is ?perfectly healthy? is like saying that car is running fine until it finally sputters and stalls in the middle of the freeway. But that’s the way with medical doctors, huh? I mean no disrespect, for many conditions, doctors are aces. But with this hormone stuff, it seems like the prevailing attitude is unless you’ve literally keeled over from lack of adrenal or thyroid output on the exam table, you’re 4.0.
So listen. Don’t try to get your doctor to help you out on this one. Don’t get hung up over whether or not the condition ‘truly exists,” and don’t get carried away with seeking out a label for your pain. If you’re experiencing any of the aforementioned symptoms, and you’ve ruled out other possible causes, chances are your doctor isn’t too off the money when she tells you ?it’s only stress. Trouble is, stress is not an ?only. It’s not something to be brushed off and forgotten about. If you do that, it will catch up to you and you’ll eventually develop something your doctor is more comfortable with treating, i.e autoimmune disease, psoriasis or worse.
See, once upon a miserable time, I had all the symptoms I described above. All those and more! After a tearful, protracted search for what the hell was wrong with me I finally discovered a doctor who was willing to test my adrenal glands. Sure enough, catecholamine (adrenal hormone) output was next to nil. I was scanned to make sure a tumor somewhere in my endocrine system wasn’t responsible for such a funky hormone cascade, but nay, nothing presented. My doctor scratched his head in confusion, almost apologetic for not being able to discover ‘the problem. Well, to me it was pretty clear. I had stressed myself out like crazy and the systems were fried. I knew I had low functioning adrenals, and I bid my doctor adieu. There wasn’t anything he could do for me now. It was time to take a long look at my lifestyle and see what was going on that was taxing me so much.
The first thing to look at is diet. I hear a lot of alternative practitioners give advice on strengthening the adrenals, and most of them have quite a bit to say about herbs, especially adaptogens like ginseng, licorice, cordyceps and holy basil. Ok, cool. Feel free to incorporate herbs into your diet, they could surely help. But the important thing to look at is the meat and potatoes of the issue. Which is actually meat and potatoes. With salt. Taxed adrenals have a tough time holding onto sodium, so enough salt is crucial. Look, I sent myself into adrenal hell in part by my ‘super healthy? habits of skipping breakfast, guzzling water when I was hungry rather than let a dread calorie pass through my lips and years of various dietary restrictions- all propped up with enough caffeine to kill a small child. That is insane.
And the most insane part of this particular insanity is how commonplace it is! How often do you see health gurus on T.V peddling that bit about drinking water to ?fill you up?? How counter-intuitive is that? ?Hmm, my body says it wants things like calories, minerals and electrolytes- but I’m gonna flush the whole thing out with water, instead! Check out my waistline! So you know who all this is hard on, don’t you? Your adrenal glands. Not only is it their job to compensate for the scant amounts of fuel you’re putting into the machinery, but it’s also their job to regulate fluid balance. Way to go.
I know it’s been said before, by Matt Stone and well meaning grandparents everywhere, but it bears repeating. We ought to eat three square meals a day. Not a protein shake as you run out the door in the morning, not drinking coffee instead of having lunch, not bingeing when you get home from work. Three substantial, balanced meals with all the food groups represented. When you don’t have enough fuel, your body thinks there is a problem so it goes into stress mode, plain and simple. There was a good reason for my grandmother’s look of horror when I’d inform her at 4pm that I hadn’t eaten all day. Sure, I rolled my eyes at her old fashioned sensibilities, but which one of us exhausted our adrenals by their mid 20’s? Not her, boy howdy.
The next thing you need to look at is sleep. You’re gonna need a lot of it to recover, and that can be hard to do when you’ve got adrenals on the fritz. Panic attacks in the middle of the night, hourly trips to the potty, all super relaxing stuff, huh? Improving diet so that you are nourished enough to make it through the night without activating your body’s ?uh oh, am I starving?? mode? is key, and I found that a mineral supplement (especially calcium and magnesium), melatonin and collagen had a positive impact on my sleep as well. Collagen is also helpful because it’s good for connective tissue. Stress is bad for connective tissue, which is why so many folks with adrenal issues also present with weak knees, ankles and sagging skin. A great way to get collagen in the diet is through slow cooked cuts of meat which are rich in connective tissue like oxtail. Bone broth works too, as does Jell-O. Mmm, Jell-O. But as for sleep, you’re shooting for ten hours a night, or however much you physically can. Hold your calls, this is important.
Besides physical stress, we humans have a unique capacity to not only perceive imaginary stress, but to hold onto stressors long since dispensed of. Through the magic of brooding, we can relive any tense or painful moment of our past we so choose- and our body reacts like it’s happening all over again. Of course, that means activation of the adrenal glands. Lots of advice for folks with adrenal fatigue reads ?eliminate all stressors,? which makes me laugh. In my particular case, I was stressed out by situations I had no control over, such as the responsibilities of caring for an aging family member, a nasty court case and the death of a favorite pet. I couldn’t eliminate them if I tried, besides maybe dropping my aging grandma like a hot potato…but that in and of itself would be stressful, unless I was a heartless baboon. I wasn’t. Life was just gonna be rocky. The real difficulty though, was learning to process that stress rather than dwell on it, and that is a skill worth learning.
Life is stressful, life has always been stressful, life will always be stressful. No doubt, some shit we need not put ourselves through. Learn how to say no and mean it, that’s useful. Don’t take on everyone else’s problems when you’ve got your own, that’s important, too. Don’t work at a job you hate if you can help it, these are all good pieces of advice. But for those of us whose stress is caused by things we’re not game to cut and run from, things like massage, walking, therapy, acupuncture, meditation, prayer, even picking up a hobby like wood crafting or gardening, all of these things can be so helpful. Anything you can do to get your mind off your worries and let your stress response take a breather is crucial for real healing.
Think of Adrenal Fatigue as your body’s warning flag to let you know that the ship has sprung a leak, but it’s not hopeless yet. You can fix it. If you don’t, systemic problems will arise down the line and your ship is sunk. To break it down, how you fix this leak is by identifying what you’re doing that is initiating a stress response in the body, and knocking it off. Cut out the stimulants, make time to eat and chill the fuck out like your life depends on it. People might look at you sideways. They’ll call you lazy. They’ll tell you it’s all in your head. To that, you will laugh. ?Ha ha ha! You will laugh as you cut into your stack of blueberry buttermilk pancakes, relishing this time, this sweet moment in your life where you decided to cut the crap and treat yourself as well as you deserve. You will hang the do not disturb sign on the door, take a nap and maybe later enjoy a leisurely stroll in the sun for some fresh air. You will not put yourself through ridiculous exercise routines because you are stressed out and they are bad for you. You will not skip meals because you think something else is more important: nothing else is more important. Eat! You will calmly explore stress management strategies, you will learn that it is worse for you than it is for your boss to walk around all day wishing you could rip her head off. You will take control of your health and your life in a more deliberate way than you ever have before, seeing health as not something that just happens but something you create. Through the process of healing you will realize and cultivate strengths you never knew you possessed. You’ll be patient with yourself, this is a condition that requires time to heal. And when you come out the other end of it, you’ll be better than ever. And you’ll always have the pancakes.
Here I come..
Second!
Been battling severe adrenal fatigue for a year now, only recently sleep has started to improve somewhat. Never had any sleep issues before I crashed with adrenal fatigue a year ago. The culprit was long term stress, substance abuse followed by “healthy” over-exercise and low carb-diet. Of course I got the clean bill of health from the doctors since it’s not Addisons, which makes my family and friends (what I have left of them) think that it’s “all in my head”.
The depression, brainfog, anxiety attacks and insomnia I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy (well okay maybe my worst enemy). I found a high carb/sugar/fat and fairly low protein diet helps. I have been drinking buckets of fruit juice and goat milk, and only recently have I looked into decreasing my fluid intake to see if this helps with symptoms.
What kind of calcium and magnesium supplements do you take? I have been relying on goat milk and “oat milk” (yuk) for calcium but as I said I will try to cut down on liquids now.
Also I find that if I overdo the salt I get problems to, but it helps if I balance it with potassium.
Did you manage to get better from adrenal fatigue? How long did it take?
Hey Kerrigan,
Yeah, sure, I got better. Whenever life gets particularly rough, I tend to suffer a bit of a “relapse,” though. For a solid year I never felt good, ever. I’m definitely beyond that. Today is probably one of the worst days I’ve had since I got better overall, which was a year and a half ago. Last week was really stressful and I was def running on adrenaline the whole time, which felt great while it was happening, but now this week I’ve just been so tired and last night I was up late and so today, I’m like, totally done. I can’t even write a decent sentence, that’s how done I am. The computer screen is looking fuzzy, I swear to god. But I’m eating a big meal from the local diner, carrots, mashed potatoes, roast beef, crab cakes, salad, pumpkin pie. Sleep a good long time tonight, I’ll be back on the path.
I currently take Country Life Cal-Mag-ZInc. I don’t know if they’re the best, I just try and avoid calcium carbonate and oyster shell. It also has the right ratio of calcium to magnesium and it’s a generally trusted brand with decent prices. Yeah, at my adrenal fatigue-iest, I developed gross calcium deposits on my skin, which are actually signs of being low in the mineral. I started supplementing and they went away in a week.
You’re right about the potassium, it is a balancing act. A few weeks ago I decided I was “cured” of all adrenal issues and went with this weird thing for bananas I had going on. I ate four at once, drank a coffee and then went on a hike. Needless to say I was wrecked for two days. Man! I miss being 16! I coulda done that plus two bags of heroin and been solid;)
It took me a year of pain and five months of targeted recovery to get to a place where I’d say I was “better.” The funniest thing is, something really stressful happened that sort of released a lot of tension that was built up in my personal life, and even though it was a bitch to go through, I think it was maybe the most important part of my recovery. I’d almost say that tension is worse than actual stressful events. Events have beginnings and ends, tasks to focus on, etc- tension just digs in and hangs on.
Very good article. I’ll just add to cordyceps that he shou wu and reishi both have adrenal / kidney supporting properties.
Personally, I miss my 20s…they came and went so fast, and that amazing resiliency of youth disappeared somewhere in my early 30s.
I’m gonna go take a nap now…
Cameron, I’m all about Chinese medicine. I think that the herbs they employ and acupressure/puncture are some of the most helpful alternative modalities going. But the best medicine is sleep and eats!
I’m a licensed acupuncturist and herbalist, and proper food and rest is absolutely the most important thing. Many people will prop themselves up with acupuncture and herbs – they can get away with more – but that’s going about it the wrong way. The ancients always recognized diet and lifestyle first because those are usually the origin of most of our health problems: improper diet and lifestyle over a period of time. If you finally get to eating properly, resting properly, etc, then acupuncture and herbs can take you to another level, but the basics need to be in place first….
Hi, Sean!
nice to see a like minded colleague up here (I’m a Lic.Ac., Herbalist, also). I try to impress upon my clients that the homework I give them (“listen to Uncle Mattie”) is what makes their acu-bucks turbocharged.
My afternoon nap concurs: Sleep and eats for sure.
Yeah my stress intolerance is still through the roof. And I’m only 28 booh. Anyway only good thing with this ordeal is I have learnt a lot about health and nutrition and I don’t take things for granted anymore. My priorities in life have completly changed.
I guess I will try to eat my daily cheese for calcium for now, and maybe a little bit of goat milk still since it tastes so good =) Micromanaging all these micronutrients sure is a pain but what can you do.
One day I wish I can go back to regular exercise, no extreme cardio ever again but it would be nice to be able to play some basketball without getting floored for a week afterwards.
Back when my adrenals were still working properly I could go months with little sleep and working and partying all the time and still feel kinda good. Oh well, you live and learn.
I’m 28 too! Hey, do you have an aversion to taking supplements? I think that it a case like this, it’s not a bad idea.
Ha! Yeah, I could do all that crap, too! Not sleep, barely eat, work all hours waitressing in bars and restaurants…but it’ll catch up to you. All things need nourishment and rest, you can only run the systems so long without it.
Hey that’s cool =) Well I’ve been occasionally been doing Vit D3 since I live in Sweden where it’s cold 8 months/year. I also heard calcium carbonate had poor bioavailability, but I wonder how the old hunter-gatherers used to get their calcium fix if they didn’t have dairy.
well since my restriction days I thought I couldn’t do any dairy but turns out goat, sheep, buffalo etc dairy isn’t a problem for me so that’s good news. dairy also has magnesium and potassium among other things. I don’t think getting enough sodium is much of a challenge since basically all processed foods and bread and stuff have lots of it. I recently bought this kind of mineral salt where it’s only 50% sodium chloride, the rest is potassium and magnesium salt, so now I cook with that instead =)
Also I was thinking about supplementing with cod liver oil for omega 3 and vitamin D, but for now I eat gravlax a few times a week instead.
The one supplement I’m thinking about buying now is the B-vitamin-complex since they seem to be pretty hard to get sufficiently on a lazy carb-based-diet without organ meats and all that.
Why are you avoiding Calcium Carbonate?
Also, potassium helps with putting glucose into cells so having something sugary at the same time can be important. I used to take potassium supplements and they always made me feel crap(hypoglycemic response). I would also mention that whenever I felt crap on too much potassium food it usually means I am low on salt. I had been eating a lot of fruit lately and feet were cold. Took a pinch of salt with every glass of liquid yesterday and soon my feet were like furnaces(and had an awesome sleep).
I, too, am curious. Why no calcium carbonate?
Because I heard tell that it ain’t too absorbable. And you can do a little test on your own to check the break down of your calcium supplements- throw one in a glass of vinegar and see how quickly/well it dissolves. That’s what’s happening in your stomach. But for people with sub-optimal levels of stomach acid (aging folks, sufferers of acid reflux), calcium carbonate is pretty much known for being sub-par.
HI Julia,
I don’t know if you’ll see this, but I’m a little confused. You said:
“I currently take Country Life Cal-Mag-ZInc. I don’t know if they’re the best, I just try and avoid calcium carbonate and oyster shell. It also has the right ratio of calcium to magnesium…”
I looked up the product, and the calcium they use comes from oyster shell and calcium carbonate. Is this the product you are taking?
http://www.allstarhealth.com/f/country_life-calcium_magnesium_zinc_l_glutamic_acid.htm
Kerrigan,
A few things in your comment concern me. Sugar is NOT good for adrenal fatigue!!!!Neither is fruit juice, it’s all sugar. Sugar is the enemy and will cause crashes and stress your adrenals. And low protein is no good either. You should be eating mostly protein, vegetables, fiber, and high quality carbs. Protein at every meal and throughout the day.
Sugar is not the enemy. Anything that raises insulin takes pressure off of the adrenals, allowing them to rest and recover. Protein stresses the adrenals in excess because it stimulates glucagon – a stress hormone. Sugar can be particularly therapeutic because it loads up the liver with glycogen to help better regulate blood sugar. So the relative ratios of carbs:protein should be high to minimize the burden carried by the adrenals, similar, perhaps, to breast milk.
My doctor says too much sugar leads to metabolic syndrome/insulin resistance. And since following the 180degree plan, I’m sleeping better, but my triglycerides are high and I’ve developed that muffin-top thing around my mid-section which they say is a sign of metabolic syndrome.
Any suggestions?
Hi just reading your post. And wondering if you conquered adrenal fatigue?
I’m going through it now and what would be your wisest words for me please?
Tia
Great article! lets not forget the part pharmaceuticals play in damaging ones HPA. I am still recovering from a benzo dependence and wean (and from only (1) 0.50 klonapin tablet per day) and it has done a real # on my health. Have had many adrenal salivas, blood tests, you name it to check everything under the sun, but, they have come back “normal” Very low normal to be exact but because all lab ranges allow for so much discrepency, one can almost never get diagnosed correctly. Thankfully because there is a God in Heaven, there is help that can’t usually be found by doctors in the traditional sense (though they can still be supportive once you’ve partnered with the right MD) Food and rest are of utmost importance in healing!
Here’s a fellow former benzo and painkillers junkie. Those pills sure did a number on my adrenals and overall health, probably shouldn’t have mixed them with alcohol as I did lol. It’s funny because now a days I won’t even drink coffee, alcohol or take an over the counter painkiller or antihistamine. I was prescribed an antidepressant but it litteraly made me high, jittery, and I couldn’t sleep at all. I guess I’ve become sensitized now to pharmaceuticals
Accident, 8 surgeries, antibiotics, 2 years in a wheelchair with no control over my food… And I started out, I am guessing, with a pretty advanced case of AF. Same experience with my doc, who offered antidepressants as well. Went back to two different schools, FDN and Nutritional Therapy Association training, and now have my own practice. Still fighting it in year three, but baby steps are still moving forward.
This is one of the best articles I have seen on the subject. Well done and thanks for getting the message out!
Elaine in Austin
Elaine, you sound like a tough lady! Way to fight the good fight, I’m sure you’ll get there. Baby steps, indeed. So glad someone with your perspective liked my piece, thanks for reading.
You have described my journey here as well! :) May I add in kinesiology to the list, as this modality has what has truly assisted me to wellness (not quite there yet), especially in dealing with the stress. xxxxx
Oooh, kinesiology, that sounds neat. Can you tell a bit about your experience with it?
Yes, pls tell us more.
I’ve been experimenting with reflexology. Which like most alternative health techniques, sounds completely bogus at first. Dig a little deeper and it begins to make a little sense. Dig even deeper, into the actual literature, and you learn there’s actually some published experimental data that supports it.
Hey Matt, I think the adrenals are treated the same way as the liver is, unless it is 90% non functional, you’re fine. I’m not even sure they have a drug for the liver, maybe that’s why it’s ok till failure. With the adrenals the drugs of choice cause so many problems maybe that’s why it’s ok to be failing. Not sure. Anyway just some thoughts. Still regularly read your non minutiating thoughts.
Yo Elliot. If I might pipe up, I think you’re right. There are no real drugs that are safe to take for the adrenals unless there’s a big problem. But that doesn’t mean that they are “fine.” It just means medicines won’t help. I sure don’t think docs should start prescribing prednisone all willy nilly, but it’d be useful if they could level with their patients about the role the adrenals play in stress and how people can help themselves without drugs.
Hi Julie,
Funny to read this post having just woken up on Easter morning feeling like extra crap because I just can’t seem to get my AF under control. Spent 18 months on hydrocortisone and all I have to show for it is 10 extra kilos and feet I can’t walk on first thing in the morning. My hypoglycemia is killing me. I think if I could get that under control I’d be fine. So much different advice- high protein, balanced carb/protein/fat at each meal.
If anyone has some suggestions I would be happy to listen.
Thanks for your post,
Cathy in Oz
Hey Cathy,
For me, a good balance of all macronutrients was what worked. I had gone high protein, low-carb for a few months prior to my adrenal test, thinking I had Lyme disease instead, and was advised to “starve the bacteria” by avoiding sugar. I can tell you, that only made things a million times worse. Never in my life have I been that tired. Really, I felt like I was going to pass out multiple times a day. You could say I felt hypoglycemic. The first carby food I reintroduced was vanilla ice cream, believe it or not. Nothing extreme, just one scoop on a sugar cone with rainbow sprinkles for the happy factor, per day. It was so satisfying and exactly what I needed.I kept my protein intake high, but I just added carbs back in. Instead of a huge steak and three vegetables for dinner, I would eat a regular size steak, one or two vegetables, a starch and maybe some chocolate milk to round things out. Honestly, I so believe that the right ratios are straight out of a sitcom. Don’t worry about it too much and just think, what would grandma eat? I don’t know about your grandma, but mine would eat something like pot roast with potatoes and veggies and a glass of OJ or corn chowder with potatoes and bacon and a salad on the side. Just think wholesome, balanced and substantial!
I like that, ‘what would grandma eat?’ When I got sick with this about ten years ago, some of the first tips I came across was low-carb, and although I considered it and truly believed it was *the* cure, I never was able to pull it off. I think my body knew better. What helped was quitting school and start eating normally. Although it took me many months to realize the benefits of three square meals a day. Or years, to be exact.
I find what works for me is
60% carb (starch and sugar), 30% fat (mainly saturated and monounsaturated) and 10% protein, of daily caloric intake
Since adrenals help in balancing blood sugar among other things low carb is definitely the worst thing you can do for adrenals. Also anyone who was been on low carb for extended time periods can probably vouch that you eventually get some pretty wicked mental symptoms (depression,fatigue,anxiety,brainfog, all good stuff)
So interesting Julia, about the ice cream. Last Tuesday, I decided to give a supplement a try that a friend was promoting. I even told her I had AF problems, so needed to really watch it closely. So, ONE dose ONE day…has wiped me out for a week. I was cold, anxious, tearful, flu-like aching, exhausted, tachycardic, can hardly work, the works (still, one week later, have that aching). I can’t believe one little dose of that stuff (it’s ACE) would do that. I still can’t; it just seems silly. And all I have wanted all week was to go to Baskin Robbins. I just want ice cream. That’s all I want. Guess I need to get there :)
Coming from someone with pretty severe adrenal future, I was pretty much flatline below ranges all day. .. I tried a lot of natural fixes before succumbing to hydrocortisone. I have to say I adore the stuff. Would I like to get off it? Sure if love to be healthy with no meds. But my life before hc was so difficult. I would sleep all day and not feel rested, so exhausted and everyone little task was so hard to do. I describe it as walking around with a 50lb weight on your back. Can you do things? Yeah but it’s super difficult. I am hoping that with time I can wean. But we shall see. I will take me today on the hc over me before it. Any day.
Wow Rhiannon! That’s rough. I guess my question for you is, are you experiencing many adverse side effects from the steroids? And do you have any idea how dysfunctional your adrenals were before you got on meds?
What dose do you take? I am almost 100% off now.
I absolutely love this article…thank you so much!
I’m “eating the food” and doing so much better than I was doing. But I still have a very hard time with stress. I can’t handle very much of it and when a lot is going on, I tend to want to POP.
I’ve been living through some stressful situations that I don’t have much of a choice to skip out on. Our current stresser is my husband working and going to school ALL the time. He is working to get into med school this year or next, so there will be more schooling for him and more single parenting for me. I have a lot of responsibilities at home and not a lot of time to myself. When I do have free time, much of it is spent on getting our house fixed up to sell…sigh.
I have cut out as many responsibilities as possible and that has helped quite a bit. And thankfully, some of the HUGE stressers we had earlier in our marriage have gone away (it’s been almost 10 years of constant, chronic stress).
But, one of the hardest things for me is getting a good amount of sleep at night. I really think it would help with my stress and would help balance some of my hormones that are out if whack. I eat calming snacks before bed and try not to do anything that would stimulate my brain or cause any anxiety. That helps somewhat. I’m also very careful about drinking too much.
Since sleep is very hard for me to come by, I really want to start taking big doses of melatonin (1-2mg…it doesn’t take much of it to put me to sleep) for a few weeks so it will put me to sleep against my will. I struggle with anxiety when I go to sleep also and bedtime is when I tend to worry about everything. Does anyone else here take melatonin to help you sleep? Is there anything else that helps?
I totally do melatonin, and with great success. Just 1 mg, sometimes I split the pill in half. I’m a night time worrier too, and I find that tincture of valerian root is useful as well. Progressive relaxation, self-hypnosis and qi-gong are all worth looking into, too. Good luck! Stress sucks!
Stress really sucks!
Thank you so much, I’ll look into the valerian root and other stress reduction methods you mentioned too. :)
Another tip is to reduce exposure to blue light at night. Two good programs for the computer is F.lux which turns blue light into warm light, and Pangobright which controls the brightness of the screen.
Since Iphone does have a brightness setting but no warm light option I sometimes use yellow-tinted sunglasses in bed if use the phone. Weird I know. but it works kinda good =)
Thank you so much! I already use F.lux and I love it. I keep trying to convince my husband to download it, but he won’t…yet. ;)
I haven’t heard of Pangobright though, and am going to check it out.
That’s an awesome idea to use yellow tinted sunglasses with an Iphone before bed too. You’ve gotta do what works. Bright lights and blue light screens are the worst before bed.
LOVE F.Lux. Every insomnia client who has applied it has seen dramatic results.
Thanks for this website – I had never heard of F.lux and have just downloaded. GREAT!
Beth, honestly, the meditation geeks are right..
I was out of very hard relationship, anything you can think of..
The level of stress i was living since 3 years was the highest believable, 24 hours a day. When te presure dissapeared down i went. Very down. A year and a half ago i gave a try to trancedental meditation. To be honest i have instant disliking of any kind of spiritaal teachings mentioning quantum Physics, but the tool itself, the meditation is fabulous. There is easiness and pleasure to it that hels you keep on doing it.
The nuke in my belly was gone in a week and hasnt come back.
I teach it to all my friends and some use it on daily bases, the TM organisation asks
a serious amunt of money fr knowledge that isnt even theirs and is transferable in 5 mn.. Check it out.
I learned TM in college years ago.
After I learned TM, I found an $8.00 book on meditation which described the same technique. TM is just mantra mediation.
No one needs to pay lots of money to learn mediation. My TM instructor claimed that the mantra is chosen especially for the individual and should never be revealed or it will stop working. What nonsense.
Any pleasant word or phrase can be used as a mantra. I am sure if people google mantra mediation they can learn helpful mediation techniques. Or get a book from the library or amazon. Meditation is helpful but it is not miraculous; use it in conjunction with other lifestyle changes.
I like this meditation video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38vYfQWa_ek
Lifestyle changments are not always possible.
Children cry, man suck and a job we love can be
painful , all of it sometimes.
Hate to insist as I hate zealots, but the things I know
are things I know.. TM meditation is fucking pleasant , i love the Bad Seeds new album
and Karl Marx was right..
Oh, and Ann, I didn’t simply learn Tm medit,
I am doing it since almost two years. It is like getting laid on daily
bases with the same great lover..
Miracles for your state of mind.
Uh, Elina, do you have any useful insights on how to make the meditation that good? Does anyone else have as much trouble with meditating as I do? Sometimes it works, but other times, the concept of being still and letting go of my thoughts makes me even antsier…
I meditate, or maybe more to the point just lie still and be quiet on the inside.
I just let my mind run of and do its thing, and try and find the point of inner stillness.
Sometimes when there is lots of agitation or emotional upset, or even excitement,
that stillness is harder to find. For me I just have to take longer to let things settle.
And sometimes there is painful or difficult emotional/mental stuff surfacing, and at these points, I find myself wanting to leap up and go and do the dishes or something.
But I have learnt over time, that it is at these points that I need to continue to lie there and sit through the uncomfortableness and allow it to arise, and pass over.
Usually with allowing and acceptance, comes release and insight.
Or just a feeling of peace that the uncomfortable energy has passed over;
sometimes the insight or understanding comes later,
over the dishes..lol
For beginners, it helps to sit with others that you trust, and who know what they’re doing. You go to little stages of panic and nonstop thoughts, then they go away. Being still mind and body really helps conserve energy. You start noticing benefits soon, especially in your reaction to things. Oprah just finished a 21 day challenge w Deepak. The mantras were excellent, very similar to what you profess. Day 15 was the best.
I have been amazed at the increase in energy and well being that I have experienced by taking a day to completely rest by doing nothing except watch and listen to a stream flowing or beach waves either for real or in a video. The next day I felt like a new person. My guess is that worried, fearful negative hurried thoughts are the worst stressors and that 80 percent of problems arise because of it. Just not entertaining those kinds of thoughts but instead fostering their opposites will bring about a lot of healing.
While mindful or Tibetan meditation demand an effort, concentration and practice, it isnt so with TM.
you sit in quite place, relax fo a minute , then you start saying the mantra( a word) in your mind. No control over the way you prononce it. You swing between thoughts, sometimes flashes of understanding and places i cannot describe.
The physical signs are very slowed down breathing,Hands get really warm for one and there is a strange feeling in the legs as well.
Sometimes you simply dissapear, it usually happen to me when I do it at the end of the day, tiredness serving as relaxing conductor to deeper state. Longer I do it , deeper I go.
It doesn’t work if I try after meal or coffee. One of its exceptional proprieties is the fatigue solving. I am one these person for whom sleeping in a plane is nonexistent story. Which badly suck considering that I am photographer and sometimes plane/boat/car travel
can go over 24 hours. Since I started every time I fly I do a meditation and I sleep. Another one is that I can sleep for two hours, meditate, then sleep for another hour and be full with wild energy. At nearly 40 that is fun.
I have to repeat though that the TM people aren’t my cup of tea.
But the meditation is a life thing for me. Give it a two weeks try.
Twice a day. The advised time is 20 mn, lately I do more,
but is personal choice.
Regards
@Elina,
I am glad TM works so well for you that you don’t need anything else to feel great. But don’t give other people the impression that TM is all that they will need to feel better.
My comments are for people who cannot afford to pay the money to learn TM. They should not be deprived of the benefits of meditation just because they cannot afford a few thousand dollars to learn a simple meditation technique.
I have been PRACTICING TM since I was a teenager, so much longer than the 2 years that you have been doing it. I have also practiced other types of meditation, in addition to yoga, and I know from personal experience that TM is no better than any other mantra meditation.
TM advertises extravagantly (at least they did on my college campus) but it is not a miracle worker. When I was in college, one of my friends tried to use TM to cure her depression and she ended up attempting suicide. TM was not enough, she also needed counseling and other help but she thought TM would work miracles.
Meditation is best used in conjunction with other changes. If, for example, a person is running on adrenalin and cortisol, getting by on four hours of sleep per night and not eating enough sugar etc, TM by itself is not going to undo the damage from all of that. Some people WILL have to make lifestyle changes in order to get maximum benefit. For others, TM or other type of meditation may be the only thing that is missing.
I would rather get laid by a young, sexy guy. I use meditation for
inner peace.
Ann, read me well, accusation of selling the TM stuff is ridiculous
If you have read my first message
” To be honest i have instant disliking of any kind of spiritaal teachings mentioning quantum Physics, but the tool itself, the meditation is fabulous. There is easiness and pleasure to it that hels you keep on doing it.
I teach it to all my friends and some use it on daily bases, the TM organisation asks
a serious amunt of money fr knowledge that isnt even theirs and is transferable in 5 mn.. ”
I said TM is great for stress , I do not say it is cure for depression.
I would rather get laid by older sexy guy, then younger, but
on this as TM we diff?re.
Regards
Ann, something seriously important is that the meditation we are discussing is the simplest available, it also work on way that doesn’t leaves a doubt in your mind.
I have tried other meditation techniques, they do work, but they demand an effort and at some point I give up. Yoga is great, but is an effort too..and here comes the fact that so called TM does not demand an effort, nothing. You sit, close your eyes, start repeating the word and bang.. It works.
That is why I keep on doing it. It is pleasant, it is helpful
and I never say.. Fuck , I have to do it, rather is
Cool, some 20 mn of pleasure. Which makes it sustainable.
Chanting mantras and stretching your self are probably a great thing, but not everyday tool against the stress.
I do enjoy meditation, if I compare it to an sexual act is for the capacity one have of repetition minus boredom. “Everyday” is hard test to love, attraction, most things fall. It hasn’t failed me
yet..
I like meditation a lot…I just don’t do well at quieting my mind and thoughts. I’m often too wired to do it.
Yoga has helped me a lot in the past. I’ve usually been in classes that have a bit of meditation at the end in corpse pose. It was soooo helpful! My body is too out of shape to do some yoga now, and I have some edema/water retention that makes some of the poses impossible, but I’d like to do that again. Often the instructor would guide our thoughts somewhat and it was helpful.
Another things I use occasionally (and should do more often) is listening to my binaural beats CD. The binaural beats are supposed to help induce a more relaxing brain wave state and are layered behind the sound of crashing waves (on my CD). I try to focus on doing belly breathing when I listen, and although I can’t keep my thoughts from wandering to stressful things. However, despite this, my binaural CD helps out quite a bit.
Unfortunately, there are some lifestyle changes I can’t make right now. But I am trying to change some things and get rid of as much crappy lifestyle stuff as possible. Just doing that helps significantly and it takes quite a load off me. I often want to run away from home though, LOL!
Beth: “I like meditation a lotI just don’t do well at quieting my mind and thoughts. I’m often too wired to do it.”
Do it anyway, if only for 10 minutes. The harder it is, the more you need it.
Don’t judge the experience; you are not being graded. Don’t expect or try to achieve a certain mental state, because if you have expectations, then you are not meditating, you are forcing yourself.
If you use a mantra, just allow it to float in your mind. Don’t try to control it and don’t get upset because thoughts intrude. You are still getting physiological benefits from meditation even when you have judged the experience to be unproductive.
Keep in mind that there are people who spend years practicing meditation for many hours a day before they perfect it. So don’t be hard on yourself. It is not easy to train the mind.
That’s good to know! Thank you! :)
Am I the only one who doesn’t really like yoga and gets even more anxious/restless by meditatingI know lots of people do it before going to bed/sleeping or in bed.(For years,I’ve always just read a book/magazine in bed before going to sleep as I find that relaxing and actually never have been able to read during the day or in the evening sitting on the couch and sometimes I feel like going to sleep immediately)…though seems to be less when I don’t do it on my own,but cant afford groupslessons.
On another note,today I accidentally ingested a small amount of wheat in a product and I immediately felt like going to lay in bed and do nothing anymore, thats how I knew there was wheat/wheatproduct hidden in there.Thats the response I seem to get from wheat the last couple of months. Also my lower legs are really itchy rigth now and showing these red rashes. So wheat’s definitely not my friend.
Do you all eat around 3000/3500 Cals a day consistenly?(I ask bc Billy Craig,which I booked online consultation with, told me he prefers/usually trains clients on a 3500Cal. (kinda Peatish inspired) Diet. I really got shellshocked reading this,as I’m already scared shitless the way I’ve been fucking around with eating/foods/mealfrequency,mostly 2 ‘meals’ if you can call it that, the last 2weeks and though I never counted Cals but seemed to somewhat hit upon 2000/2200Cals daily with seemingly, varying Macro’s daily and ‘feeling too good/strength some days/exercise progression’)
I don’t know if this would help you, but I personally do not respond to melatonin at all. It has no effect on me, however, guided meditations really do help put me to sleep. I get free ones off of iTunes for sleep. I just pop in a pair of ear buds on real low, turn out the lights, get comfy in bed, and listen. Pretty soon I fall asleep. It has been much more effective on my flash backs and ‘Monkey Mind’ than anything else, there are no adverse side effects, and they are super cheap. I really hope that helps.
I don’t know if this would help you, but I personally do not respond to melatonin at all. It has no effect on me, however, guided meditations really do help put me to sleep. I get free ones off of iTunes for sleep. I just pop in a pair of ear buds on real low, turn out the lights, get comfy in bed, and listen. Pretty soon I fall asleep. It has been much more effective on my flash backs and ‘Monkey Mind’ than anything else, there are no adverse side effects, and they are super cheap. I really hope that helps.
Melatonin – I used it for years in small then larger doses and mostly it was ineffective/very erratic so I stopped it, also after reading here (or hereabouts) that it was not good for you, I forget why, maybe oestrogenic?? I’m desperate for something that works, still sleep so badly, still nocturia. Oh, and about low carb and AF – that happened to me too, sadly it sort of worked for me for 7 whole destructive years that I am still paying for, nearly 2 years later, still lots of symptoms :(
Yeah, I’ve read that melatonin is estrogenic, but when your cortisol levels are elevated, you don’t produce as much melatonin as you should. So I figure supplying enough to make me feel sleepy is probably fine. There’s a cost benefit analysis to be done for everything, and not sleeping enough is worse for me than taking 1mg of melatonin, which also has powerful antioxidant effects on the body. Or so I’ve concluded!
Absolutely agree – you are lucky it works for you. As for me – nothing does and I’ve tried it all, or everything I can, minus the drugs. I keep thinking there must be one little thing that would throw the switch. As all the basics are now in place or much better than they were at least eg blood sugar stability, no more daytime polyuria (yay!!) but still nocturia. Perhaps I should have a bash at some herbal cortisol lowering – any ideas? I see elsewhere you mentioned liquorice – I used it for years as a tea, liked it, but got black teeth :) – maybe capsules! Somewhere I read about phosphorylated serine for cortisol lowering but can’t find it. Thanks for replying by the way.
I keep hearing a lot about Earthing mats and better sleep Sue. For a $59 investment and no chance of it doing any harm, it’s another tool to consider.
Thanks Matt
Will look into it.
Licorice actually mimics cortisol, so no go on that. And I tried phosphorylated serine and I got the absolute worst headache of my life, it was awful. Honest to god, if you gave me your mailing address (if you live in the states) I’d send it to you:) Or you can get it on Vitacost.com.
I am prone to shocking headaches too – for instance if I ever do a ‘detox’ it’s a guaranteed 2 day migraine complete with nausea, vomiting and vertigo. I trained my brain to produce migraines at regular intervals via low carb some years back, never having had a headache problem in my life before. Boy am I proud of that!! Talk about progress … So I’ll pass and say thanks for the warning! I’m tracking down a local supplier of the earthing mats right now, hoping that might help. And thanks for the info about liquorice.
Thanks again Matt…guess I should be sleeping rather than reading this at 1am…. oops.
It is interesting that those symptoms are almost identical to those of the genetic connective tissue disorder I have (EDS- hypermobility type). My theory is that the problems caused by the weak connective tissue (microtrauma to ligaments, overworked painful muscles, poor digestion, poor respiratory function, autonomic dysfunction, poor sleep due to pain, poor circulation due to venous laxity etc) put extra strain on the body which can lead to adrenal fatigue hence the increasing fatigue and so on. People with EDS often find they need 10-12 or even more hours of sleep per day.
In my case, I had long term stress from around age 17 when my sister was diagnosed with a brain tumour. Add in exams, degree, marriage, 4 pregnancies followed by years of disturbed sleep and a total of 8 years of nursing, money worries, relationship problems, me getting sicker, my sister getting sicker, my dad suddenly dying etc etc etc, well you get the idea. I was winning at getting back on track after my youngest was born, until Feb 2010 when I found out my husband had been up to some mischief with a work colleague. I crashed hard and since then have been getting steadily sicker. The silver lining is that getting sicker meant I finally got my diagnosis of EDS which has been a revelation, explaining so many things, so I guess that’s something!
I’m adding a link to some basic info on the condition, because it is very under-diagnosed, just in case it turns out to be helpful to someone reading this article http://www.dwp.gov.uk/publications/specialist-guides/medical-conditions/a-z-of-medical-conditions/joint-hypermobility-syndrome/
This has been a topic on some ME/CFS forums also.
I have stretchy skin, very flexible joints, can touch my nose with my tongue, etc. I’m gonna talk it over with the doc, though I’m not sure what difference a diagnosis will make.
Thanks for the post. I had not heard of EDS myself. I am having some success with tart cherry juice for my inflammation. When I was in my teens I suffered from interstitial cystitis (bleeding in the lining of the bladder) and I was able to cure it (not just treat) with billberry. I suffered from a lack of sleep due to pain and the result was a very tired me. I’m not surprised that the EDS led to AF.
I’m glad this was posted, as I was starting to wonder Matt’s stance on adrenal fatigue. I think all of us here actually have it to some varying degree. If you are having trouble with mineral balance, cold hands and feet, etc….it’s because the root is insufficient adrenal action. I like to follow a lot of blogs including various bodybuilders, like Tom Venuto, Vince Delmonte, and Jaime Eason. All these people consume A LOT of protein, water, and very small amounts of fat in comparison to “our” camp. But you know what, these people appear to be very healthy and thriving. Clear skin, and eyes, thick hair, robust energy, drive, and motivation. Of course their lifestyle is very stressful, as is the diet, but I think the main difference between these people and us is adrenal integrity. People with strong adrenals usually don’t give a flying fudge about what we talk about here. Why? Because they don’t have to.
Yeah I’m thinking that’s one of the reasons some people can eat really crappy diets (eg. loads of deepfried foods in omega6 oils) and still show no signs of inflammation such as acne. Or that they can withstand intense punishment and extended lowcarb-dieting without succumbing to adrenal fatigue. There’s probably a genetic factor too, and lots of other factors involved, such as sunlight exposure/vitamin D I’m guessing
Many years b4 I was born my mom, in her twenties, was widowed very soon after the honeymoon. Her new husband was killed trying to drive home from CO to NM and crashed his vehicle and died. My uncle took my mom to the accident site where she collapsed. She was hospitalized with adrenal failure for weeks. As a kid I heard her tell the story numerous times bc the fascinating thing about her recovery in the hospital was 100% due to sugar. Out of the hospital she supplemented with an adrenal cortex product for a time but never, ever gave up her sugar. She recently died at 87, but was slim, beautiful and went on from her adrenal failure to continue to raise a rowdy teenage boy, and even marry a third time in her late 30’s and have 2 more kids at 39 and 40. Her adrenals were obviously healed to be able to conceive later in life and 2 more times. She rocked the sugar and butter! It was always comical to see how thick the butter was on her bread and even funnier on an allready buttery pastry! And how she would pull apart pastries to eat the sugary parts. I was embarrassed many times, even tho she was polite, about how she ate so much butter and doughnuts, etc! She ate her biggest meal in the morning, and right away too. She would eat immediately upon waking and taper off thru the day to just a light supper. She only ate at mealtimes bc she always wanted an appetite at mealtimes, but I suspect that was how she was raised. On a farm in west Texas there is no snacktime, only breakfast, dinner and supper. She did enjoy coffee, but always with cream and sugar, and never on it’s own, or past breakfast. Her message to anyone who would listen was that the body needs sugar. I hope this inspires someone :)
People like your mother were lucky to be born before we became obsessed with diet in this country and sugar and saturated fat started to get the blame for everything. I don’t care what new research reveals, I am NEVER going back to vegetable oils, tasteless vegetables, skim milk and artificial sweeteners. I actually eat less and am more satisfied when my food has saturated fat and sugar. When I eat plain bread I have digestive problems, but when I eat bread spread with
coconut oil and honey (or butter and honey) I feel just fine. Coffee with skim milk makes me feel sick but coffee with whole milk, cream, and sugar makes me feel good. And I am so happy that I can eat goat, liver, eggs and oxtail again instead of the dry chicken breasts which I never liked but forced myself to eat.
It sure does, it’s good to know I’m probably on the right path, I eat massive amounts of sugar and butter =)
Don’t you suffer from obstructed bile flow? I sometimes have this yellowish/orange skin and from what I found on the net it’s bc of decreased bile flow/liver detoxification bc of too much sugar and/or sat.fats.
That is interesting. Ray Peat says that sugar and saturated fat help to protect the liver and enhances it’s detoxification abilities. Peat says that gallbladder problems are caused by high estrogen and low thyroid.
I do think that some people have to be careful with too much fat because they may have liver/gallbladder problems that existed before they started eating a lot of saturated fat.
I think i was somewhat doing ok for a while,eating kinda peatish(and seemed that some intolerances started to disappear). but got kinda scared by all the sugar,carbs&sat fats i was eating and it starting to increase but i now with easter and everything being closed,including the gym i got scared again to eat whatever/whenever especia/ly bc i feel ‘too strong’ that i dont need any more food.
so,im probably throwing my metabolism&digestion off constantly myself bc im at times still feeling too anxious/scared of getting too fat….though id like some to only go to my boobs
Yeah the vast majority of my carb intake is starch. Sugar is probably 10-15%. I also get problems if I eat too much fat, I try to stick to about 30% of caloric intake. Much more than that and my digestion suffers and I get fatigued
@Kerrigan……In hindsigth I dont know if it was the amount of sat.fat from butter. They’ve started to tag the cake with ingredients in order as of today(before it was a secret recipe of the baker)……and the first ingredients were speltflour,butter,raw cane sugar and then cornstarch followed by guargumstarch(dunno what it is exectly called in English) and at the last eggpowder,so no actua eggs such as in normal cake,wafels&cookies. So,I think eating it a couple days in a row I suspect the guargum was too much of a ‘good bad thing’. I actually was craving the Spelt vanilla wafels,but he sadly doesn’t make them anymore as that was a onetime mistake and wafels are actually the only thing made of wheat:'(
This kinda Peat/Eat4Heat sugar,salt,starch,sat fats especially from coconut&(goat)dairy thing seems somewhat to work as long as I really stick to the prescribed fats(mostly sat.fats) and carbs/sugars (apart from virtually all fruit/high fructose fruit&veggies). It seems like the body mainly wants…salt,sugar/starch,sat fats(sometimes high/sometimes low) and moderate/low?proteine…..this givs me that energy-rush and kinda nervous-anxiety in the background and also kinda scared sometimes as to how much carbs&fats I’m ingesting….still balancing with lots of stuff,fluids/sodium&potassium’sugar&salt/starch?fiber?digestion?vitamins/minerals&Vit.C?acid-alkaline? etc….
I seem to have a rice-pudding kick lately….I can easily eat an entire jar…and then some(but with lots of salt&cinnamon added too)
Thats a fascinating story- thanks anonymous7..
What an amazing story about your mother. I’m so glad that she didn’t give up sugar and that her body was able to heal. :)
Thanks Beth, me too. I’m so amazed at her life bc now I have adrenal exhaustion and I guess bc of the mother daughter relationship, I barely paid any attn to anything she had to say. And when I turned vegan, n a food combiner and a sugar shunner in my 20’s n 30’s she kept on with her sugar n 3 square meals. She never went vogue. I had a wealth of info at my fingertips but bc of my youth and our age difference I ignored what she could offer :(
You’re at the right place though, and it sounds like you learned some good things from your mother. You’ll heal.
@Anon7- I’ve been house-bound from adrenal fatigue for 4 years now. Not much to do but do research. I came across a paper written by the 2 of the bigger adrenal gurus, Dr. Lam and Dr. Wilson and they said something that opened up a whole new world for me as far as understanding what all this fatigue and nervousness had been about all my life. They said if a woman is suffering from low adrenal output when she is pregnant, that her body will rob adrenal hormones from the fetus, which invariably ends up pre-destining the unborn child to adrenal insufficiency themselves.
Talk about a light bulb going off!! Even though Mom didn’t have a clue she was suffering adrenal problems in 1965 (or really most of her life) I believe with all my heart that this would explain why I have always suffered anxiety and why loud unexpected noises scare the shit out of me….for hours. Then I throw in a lifetime of the birth control pill, a doctor who was too happy with thyroid medication and it is no wonder why I am a hormonal fucking mess who can’t function now. As I look back over my life I see many times where I suffered with my health with nary a clue as to why. It all makes sense now.
The sad thing is is that I now see signs of adrenal stress in my 17YO daughter. I feel certain I destined her to a lifetime of the same BS. I have educated her as best I can and will continue to do so. The biggest thing will be to avoid b/c pills. I know 17 years of those assisted in my current breakdown and I won’t do the same thing to her. Just today she was feeleing a little frazzled from a school project and as she stuffed her face she told me she was “only doing what Matt would want her to do”!!!
So you are probably dead on as to why you suffer adrenal problems now yourself. Its all mom’s fault!!! Isn’t it always???!!! :)
@ Susan
I’m glad your 17 yo listens to u. I’ve heard adrenal problems can be a nutritional Achilles heal and run in families. My mom def healed herself, she wasn’t nervous, or easily frightened, like i was even as a teenager. My mom would walk into a room, and I’d jump outta my skin, and she’d laugh and say I live here! She didn’t recognize my adrenal problems I guess, compared to hers 15 or so yrs prior. Maybe bc her condition, at that time, was so grave. I was her last child, and my brother was born just 16 mos b4 me, so I’m thinking he was better protected by her hormones and a subsequent pregnancy w me, and her stores had become somewhat depleted. Both of my brothers have never had any adrenal issues, just lucky #3.. Me!
It inspires me! Thank you. :)
I am on my way. This morning I drank a glass of milk, and am about to eat mac and cheese for breakfast, with extra cheese and butter. W00. XD
This has definitely inspired me. I have reached a point where I can barely drag my rear end out the door…and have been a victim of Mr. Stone’s former “lifestyle”…death-style?!…of eating nothing before 4pm for nearly two years. The brain, and the adrenals do suffer…and a perpetual IF is not sustainable..at least for me at 52…When one fears passing out at the wheel…with cherished passengers aboard…I finally realize that continuing this no-carb/no fruit/no sugar protocol is a recipe for disaster.
What is my body/soul/brain craving?…I too desperately desire an ice cream and a bowl of corn flakes doused in, yes, white sugar (gasp!)..but the “healthy foodie/orthorexic part of me thinks…Do not go to the dark side…use low GI coconut palm sugar….no corn or any grain…and certainly no sugar-laden dairy…Gaah!
Good on you and your wise mother to fully enjoy real food at real times of day and not “denying” her body’s appeal to it’s real needs. I second her philosophy of breakfasting like a king (formerly my very favorite meal), lunching like a prince, and “supping” like a pauper…And coffee…. I have not had a “white” coffee in over ten years…I miss it so.
I’ve been following Matt for years but feel like I never have much to offer the conversation. I appreciate so much of what everyone here has to say and the perspective that although we’re a little battle-torn, we can heal. Julia, at least in my humble opinion, this a very balanced discussion of AF. Thank-you for putting this together.
I spent the last 5 years worrying over my sick mother and trying to get a handle on my own hormonal issues and husband’s ulcerative colitis. Speed up to last summer and my own country song unfolded when I lost my mom, had a miscarriage, and then a few months later, in some sort of a Peter Pan like haze, my husband packed up his guitar and video games and ran away. Suddenly my stressful teaching job is keeping my sanity!
I am getting some help, back in yoga, and am trying to do some exercise that won’t kill me. I’d like some suggestions on food. I’ve gone from being someone who soaked flour and baked bread to someone who keeps frozen French bread pizzas on hand as a staple…I’m not beating myself up over food and am trying to eat whatever sounds good. I’m just not motivated to cook, and I’m thinking I’m not eating enough.
Any ideas for some really, really easy meals that will keep my calories up? I know I’m not getting enough real food. I will say that without Matt, and many of you who have offered some great thinking and who have made me laugh, I’d be in a much darker place. I smiled at the nurse who told me I was “running a bit of a fever” the other day at my 99 degree temp, so I know I’m at least hanging in there!
I hope everyone has a peaceful and restful Sunday.
Eating loads of refined starch, sugar and butter is a good start !
Bless your heart. I’m so glad you are surviving the stresses you’ve had.
I was at the store, looking at cookbooks last night and came across The Pioneer Woman Cooks book. I was very impressed by the meals in that book! They seem to embrace salt + sugar + starch + sat fat and most of them looked pretty easy to make.
I first looked at the Pioneer Woman cookbook and then flipped through a Cooking Light cookbook. The Cooking Light cookbook has very scant calorie offerings in their recipes compared to the Pioneer Woman one.
I didn’t get the Pioneer Woman cookbook, but am browsing her website for recipes right now. The cookbooks was about $20 at Target though. And she calls for vegetable oil in her recipes…I’d just swap it out for butter or coconut oil.
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking
Also, Matt has a cookbook here too! I don’t own it, but I bet it has some hearty recipes in it.
An easy way I’ve gotten my calories up is by doctoring these “Simply Organic” cake and bread mixes. They have a carrot cake mix (gluten free, in case that’s something you are concerned with) and I make it in a bread pan and instead of carrots I’ll throw in apple sauce and pumpkin and slivered almonds or something. Takes no time to make, and then I just slice ’em up and slice butter or cheese on ’em. There’s nothing funky in the mixes and they’re really versatile. You can add in whatever spices you like, too. They have a banana bread mix you can use the same way. Baked goods + startchy fruits + nuts + butter is the formula. Great way to pack in the calories and not feel totally gross about all the crappola your’e eating. That’s just been one thing that’s worked for me.
We made carrot cake for Easter yesterday. No mixes though. That’s ghetto. Made it from scratch. 1 1/3 cups of coconut oil. I thought my feet were going to light the carpet on fire.
Ghetto, yes. But easy! The girl is asking for ease!
Ha! I have seen those “ghetto” mixes at the grocery store and will give them a try:) I just need to get into the kitchen. It seems to be the place that is most likely to suck me into the past, and that’s the real problem. Here in the present moment though, I need to eat, and I can’t just microwave everything for the rest of my life!
This comment cracked me up! Matt, my carrot cake recipe has a load of coconut oil too. My crazy little vultures sure don’t mind getting their coconut oil in that way. Darn tasty.
I am really enjoying all of these comments. Great insights! Like I mentioned before, I’m pretty wiped out presently, but on the advice of some of you commenters, I’ve just eaten 4 pieces of cinnamon sugar toast with a ton of butter, checked out that meditation video on YouTube, and I’m feeling better already. It’s really wonderful to hear from other people on this topic, in my own life I’ve felt so isolated by it and on my own trying to understand it and worse, explain it to others. I’m sure many of you can relate.
Julia your comment reminded me of the joke that went around a while back: Dr. Phil says I will feel better if finish what I started. So I took his advice and finished the rest of the Oreos, the rest of the chips and crackers, the rest of the half eaten cartons of ice cream, last night’s leftover pizza, the chinese take out from Thursday’s lunch, an opened bottle of wine, the rest of the Jack Daniels …. He was right, I feel freaking amazing !!! Thanks dr. Phil !!!
Cinnamon/sugar/butter toast is soooo yummy! I love it! Sometimes I make faux french toast too – toast with plenty of butter, cinnamon and maple syrup on top.
I feel isolated too, and struggle with wanting to stay indoors a lot, plus some depression. Feeding myself well helps, as well as driving around with the window down. And going to the gym to lift.
I really, really appreciate this article. It is well done and exactly what I needed to read. Thank you!
Thats interesting,dont you crave sunligth?i crave sunny days bc my vit.d supplements do shit for me and i also find it lifts my mood and. probably better calcium and glucose/sugar regulating? I really need to find myself a cheap vit.d lamp
I do like sunlight and I feel much better when I’m out in it. It’s just hard to get motivated to get outside. And it stinks, because I really do like the outdoors…hiking, walking, rock climbing, skiing, etc. It’s stressful to even go on a walk with my kids, let alone trying to drag them out on a hike. Next year, my daughter will be in school all day and I’ll be able to get out more by myself.
We also have an overabundance of HOT sun here in Arizona and I have allergies to a lot of stuff that grows here (like the two olive trees we have in our backyard).
If I lived in Colo or somewhere like that, I think it might be easier for me to get out more. Environment matters a lot to me, although my husband tells me constantly that it shouldn’t and won’t.
A vitamin D lamp is a great idea though…maybe I should look into it also.
I feel you, Beth. I’ll hang around inside all day like a loser and debate going outside for hours. Then once I do I feel like, 30,000 times better. Within minutes. I always feel like such a schmuck for not just going out immediately. Environment can be a factor, the desert maybe isn’t the most optimal place to hang around outside, but I guess we have to make the best of what we’ve got, huh? I’ve spent time in Arizona in the summer though, and I can see where you’re coming from.
Yes! I always feel soooo much better after I get out of the house too! Our weather is very nice right now, and I’m trying really hard to take advantage of it.
You can make faux cheesecake by spreading cream cheese on top of graham crackers, topped with jam. You could probably sprinkle a bit of salt on top too.
Some good ideas, thank-you. Cream cheese can make anything taste good! French toast is another really easy one I forget about.
Whip the cream cheese with the jelly and spread on the buttered toast. Yum.
I sometimes make the simplest pancake batter – chuck in flour, eggs, milk, I just guess quantities, and this is the main thing – make a lot, keep the rest in the fridge a day or two, it’s very quick to cook pancakes in the morning if you have the batter already and it makes a nice change. Good luck, sounds like you’re doing great!
Big 10-4, I don’t even know how many times I’ve heard by now that I just need to exercise more and get a therapist, and that trying to heal with food and rest is nonsense
Eating and resting lots has worked wonders for helping with my adrenal fatigue symptoms. Yay for pancakes!
Great post!
I can relate so well. I agree with Val above. Unless you have been down this
road you can’t relate. This site wouldn’t excite a healthy person.
I have recently learned of some meditation CD’s called Holosync. They
have a web site, http://www.centerpointe.com. They advertise the CD’s
risk free for 365 days. They claim due to the nature of the Holosync brain
wave patterns, you can get the state of a meditative Zen Master.
Of course, they tout all the great health benefits too. They claim it lowers
cortisol, increases DHEA, and, melatonin.
I haven’t tried them. I was wondering if anyone here has heard of them
or use them?
Hi Betty,
I have tried the Holosync meditation CD’s. I think they are pretty good. Kind of sounds like rain or white nose. They definitely can help your relax and put you to sleep. I am glad you said something about them, I have mine downloaded to my iPod, I am going to give them another try.
Yeah, what has most helped me recover from “adrenal fatigue” is eating and resting. In my mid-20s I went through extreme life stress of moving 14 times, working at 5 different jobs, starting a home business, and engaging in extreme over-exercising (sometimes 8 hours a day)… I ended up with hypothyroidism, chronic fatigue, adrenal fatigue, fibromyalgia, etc. (and let’s not forget candida, babesia, and Lyme disease, haha.) So began a couple of years of full-time internet research and compulsive blood lab evaluation, taking 17 supplements and adapotgens, etc.– all the while getting minimal nutrition and minimal sleep. Luckily I never went on Armour or HC, as I can only imagine the havoc these additional stimulants would have caused!
Now that I have a steady career, eat significantly more (including some candy), drink less water, and exercise much less (although still more than the average person– it’s just so hard to slow down entirely), I’m doing MUCH better. The most enjoyable part is not having to make health investigations a second full-time job. I no longer get blood labs every month, I don’t take my temperature every hour (seriously), I don’t track food intake with a stupid online program, and I don’t spend hours a day scouring PubMed for some strange incurable disease.
I’ve noticed that a day of stress still does leave me exhausted for a few days afterward. I started moving again yesterday– this WILL be the last move!– and today the aches have returned and I’ve not really felt able to get up from the couch. But I will honor the tiredness and will be okay not forcing myself into a mode of whirlwind productivity today,
I just wish we could reach the hundreds of hopeless, despairing people at STTM, NTH-Adrenals, etc. When I was sick I don’t think I would have believed that food and rest was the cure– surely I had something “much worse” that would require a complex treatment– but maybe as more of us recover and share our stories others will feel encouraged to Eat and Sleep.
Be well~
Exactly. I think we need to listen to our bodies more – move when they want to move and rest when they want to rest.
I can relate to a lot of what you wrote. And yes, I think people over at STTM and like groups would do much better if they would eat more and rest more. There is soooooo much stuff I read about cleansing and dieting over in groups and Facebook groups like that…one person who is a moderator at a FB group talks about cleansing constantly. I bet she’d feel better eating pancakes with butter and maple syrup instead of a water with lemon for breakfast.
If I have a big amount of stress or overdo it, I can usually expect to feel like crap later or get sick. I have to remember to take it easier.
“one person who is a moderator at a FB group talks about cleansing constantly. ”
I used to be big on cleanses, flushes, and colon irrigation. I did not understand that many of my problems were caused by the electrolyte imbalances from the cleanses and liquids. And since I thought salt was evil, I never had enough sodium and was always cold and tired. I am so glad those days are behind me.
How can we really be healthy when we think of our bodies as so unclean and toxic that we constantly have to cleanse it? I really feel sorry for the people who are taking a million crazy supplements and eating no sugar or starch in order to treat candida. They are fighting a losing battle.
The mainstream views of salt, sugar, fat and starch won’t change for a while. But we can make a difference on an individual level with the people we know. When people see the improvements in us, they will be more open to making those changes and going against the current destructive ideas about health. One of my friends has stopped guzzling water, started eating sugar and meat again and has given up raw salads because of the positive changes she saw in me.
I’m glad that you have had such a positive influence on your friend. Yes, I think we can influence the people we know as they see our health improving with “unorthodox” methods (like eating more starch/sugar/salt/saturated fat). It’s important to set an example. Some people may need to individualize their diets, but eating more calories and more carbs is the main key, I think.
People freak out about less water guzzling and eating more food though. A lady on a FB page flipped her lid when I suggested drinking less water could be helpful. She said, “I drink at least a gallon of water a day and at least two gallons of water during the summer…” There’s a lot of diet dogma out there and people cling tightly to it.
I did TONS of cleanses and candida diets. I always ended up with huge migraines and a starved body – very unpleasant stuff. :( Then I’d end up binging because my body wanted carbs. I did this to lose weight also, thinking, “Oooh, I can work on killing my candida AND lose weight while I’m doing it.”
I don’t really think I had candida after all, but I think I HAVE managed to hurt my thyroid, my adrenals, and many of my other hormones. I never lost weight (I never needed to lose weight in the first place!) and became obese. At least I’m an obese woman who is not starving herself now. :)
Really great article. So much dangerous nonsense about this on the web. Been on the adrenal fatigue merry-go-round since my early teens, thanks to psychiatric intervention in my childhood.
Is there a good source of sugar that isn’t acidic? Starch kills my skin and fruit acids are screwing my teeth. I’m majorly dairy intolerant also.
Although of a serious nature and true, just gotta say I loved this post :) . I was definitely chuckling throughout! Very cute and funny :).
Thanks Nicole:)
Thanks very much for this info. I am 59, have several of these symptoms. I am working with strategies described in Eat for Heat and Diet Recovery 2. I believe I will slowly heal. At my age it will likely take longer than for you youngsters, but I am hopeful and I have your encouragement to eat great food.
Right! Eat great food! And if I could amend this post at all, I’d add in the tremendous benefit of purpose. Anything that gives you focus and forward momentum that is enjoyable and driven by real passion is helpful, too. When I find myself sort of aimlessly wandering through my life, tension sky rockets. Just wanted to toss that in there!
Great article.
One thing I’d like to bring up however; although there are extreme cases where people tax their adrenals to the point that they start to malfunction, the term “Adrenal Fatigue” for the most part is a bit of a misnomer. For the majority of people who have the symptoms listed above, it’s not that their adrenals are “fatigued” per say, but rather, that their adrenergic receptor have become resistant to catecholamines, much in the same way someone’s cells become resistant to insulin when they have type-2 diabetes. Their adrenals are functioning correctly, but due to the highly unnatural, constant activation of their para-sympathetic nervous system, their body starts down-regulating these receptors in an attempt to try and mitigate the subsequent damage caused by constantly-elevated stress hormones. This is why it’s so common to see people with every adrenal fatigue symptom under the sun showing no signs of adrenal malfunction when they are tested, the test results doing nothing more than furthering the dominant paradigm in western medicine that adrenal fatigue is more or less a load of bullshit.
Perhaps “Adrenal Diabetes” or “Catecholamine Resistance” are more appropriate terms?
(Found a mistake in my previous post.)
Great article.
One thing I’d like to bring up however; although there are extreme cases where people tax their adrenals to the point that they start to malfunction, the term ?Adrenal Fatigue? for the most part is a bit of a misnomer. For the majority of people who have the symptoms listed above, it’s not that their adrenals are ?fatigued? per say, but rather, that their adrenergic receptors have become resistant to catecholamines, much in the same way someone’s cells become resistant to insulin when they have type-2 diabetes. Their adrenals are functioning correctly, but due to the highly unnatural, constant activation of their para-sympathetic nervous system, their body starts down-regulating these receptors in an attempt to try and mitigate the subsequent damage caused by constantly-elevated stress hormones. This is why it’s so common to see people with every adrenal fatigue symptom under the sun showing no signs of adrenal malfunction when they are tested, the results doing nothing more than furthering the dominant paradigm in western medicine that adrenal fatigue is more or less a load of bullshit.
Perhaps ?Adrenal Diabetes? or ?Catecholamine Resistance? are more appropriate terms?
Interesting, Oshare! Yeah, I guess when your adrenals are actually not able to function, they physically shrink. I had no shrinkage. Just no output. Very interesting. This adrenal shit is a puzzle I’ve been trying to piece together for a long time, and there is so much bogus info and so many stupid cures out there, it’s hard to really get a handle on it. Thanks for you insight, and I like your name ideas:)
Julia, this is such a great article. Great comments here, too. I think the benefits of sleep, food and just plain happiness can be amazing. Social connections are so important, too. And this may not appeal to everyone, but I believe prayer is an amazing thing, too. It’s helped turn my life around many a time.
@Rob, I’m trying to see if I can make the NYC meet-up this weekend. How many people are signed on?
I’m about an hour outside of NYC, and I’d love to actually meet some of you virtual peeps but I’m broke as a joke and bus tickets just went up again. And I hate driving into the city:( You guys should come out for a country retreat in the Poconos. I could put ya up:)
I love this site, but one thing I don’t like is the difficulty of communicating with other people PRIVATELY. I know some of you probably like that “feature” given that there are people like me on here :)
That said, I can’t imagine a New York City 180 Degree Health event without Julia Gumm. It just wouldn’t be the same. So Julia, hit me up and I will send you enough money. My email address: entheogens@yahoo.com
No, I won’t be at the event and if you have a Paypal account or some other means for me to send it so that you maintain your anonymity, let me know.
I am not meaning to be creepy (after all I will be here in San Francisco, a safe 2500 miles away). I am quite sincere about this.
Thomas- you are one cool dude. Julia- hope you can make it.
Real Amy- we have a couple confirmed, three more who are interested and sought out more details, me, hopefully Julia and you so far. I’m guessing we’ll have a group in the half dozen or so range. Be one of the cool kids and show up, eh?
PS- Thomas, if you want me to pull your email address after y’all make contact to sidestep spambots, I can do that. Just let me know.
No thanks Rob. I prefer that you leave my email in place. I am not afraid of Spambots. BRING ON THE NIGERIAN SCAMMERS, the VIAGRA PIMPS and PORN HUCKSTERS!!!!! I fear none of them :)
I like to write the scammers back and try and head fuck them. It’s fun!
That’s awesome!
Thomas! Either you are the nicest thing on your side of the Mississippi, or this is a helluva April Fool.
It’s not an April Fools joke. I am serious.
Hi everyone, first time on the comment board although I’ve been following 180 for some time now. I was wondering if anyone had some suggestions for my issue, since it is adrenal related I think. I’ve been rrarf-ing for a few months now, and while I have seen huge improvements across the board, I still struggle with my temperatures. Morning temps are erratic but ok (compared to where I was) 97.8-98.3, but fall throughout the day. The highest I get usually is 98.3 by late morning to early afternoon, but plummet after dinner time and by 9pm I’m usually in the mid 96’s to 97’s regardless of what I do or eat. Before rrarf-ing and Eat for Heat I was constantly freezing and I have always had this same falling temp pattern. I have hashimotos and have had adrenal issues and hypoglycemia for most of my life. I’ve read that temps falling during the day are adrenal related. I’ve also gained close to 30 lbs from rrarf and was kind of hoping things would normalize by now, but still seem to be gaining. This is the biggest I’ve been and this is including 2 pregnancies. I am so happy with my recovery so far, but I still want to see a consistent 98.6 like others have experienced, any suggestions?
Totes off topic here..
I had Easter dinner with my 87 and 88 year old grandparents (I’m 40). They both smoked for years (my grandpa still smokes a pipe, and works at a golf course in the summer) and drank for years (grandpa gave it up, but my grandpa could probably still out drink me). They filled their plates with everything on the table, and then each had two servings of dessert (and my grandma drank 4 Heinekens). They never really “worked out” ever in their lives, but they were always just active people, but just for fun, never for health. (They would just laugh at that!) They gardened, golfed, rode their bikes — but they mostly just drank box wine and enjoyed cheese and potato chips every day. They still drink about a pot of coffee each a day, with sugar/honey and powdered creamer.
They’ve always been broke as a joke, and even now they just rely on social security. But it’s almost as if they couldn’t care less. They have always been able to just let things slide or not care. They fight with each other constantly, but they always seem to be laughing about something too.
Here I am recovering from a complete body breakdown and feeling like such a failure, and here they are still very much thriving by basically living a lifelong case of the f*ck its. Neither one takes any medications, and neither have ever had any major health problems. It’s cray…
Just an observation…
That’s a good observation. I think “a lifelong case of the f**k its” could be the healthiest thing that many people could do. I would definitely fare much better if I did this.
I think there is more merit to not giving a shit than we can fathom. Then again, there are cases of total neurotics who TRY and drink and smoke themselves to death, have a life fraught with tragedy and misery, but just keep on trucking. Kurt Vonnegut comes to mind. But what Kurt Vonnegut had was a constant drive to exercise his creativity. Maybe that’s part of it, too. Having purpose, motivation, passion that is true to yourself, I think might very well be the ticket. Actually, no, I don’t know. Bess Truman (first lady wife of Harry) was a miserable old wench, from what I understand. Didn’t really care for her husband, he finally wore her down to marry him after years of asking, in their 30’s. She hated being first lady, spent all her time at their home in the mid-west and is almost always pictured looking sour and puckered. Bitch lives to almost 100. Who fucking knows! I don’t!
Would it be possible to specify what kind of foods are preferred in order to heal your adrenal glands (except stress)? Like carbs, fats (which one), proteins?
Thanks, G.
Honest to god Gabriele, balanced foods, all macronutrients represented, enough of everything, really, I think is what’s key.
It wasn’t too long ago that my stress level reached the breaking point of a psychotic episode. I think it was two years ago. It might’ve been three. Anyway, for well over 10 years I’ve struggled with suicidal depression, severe mood swings and lots of time in psychiatric facilities including a couple forced hospitalizations and plenty of medication including Zyprexa, Lexapro, Buspar, and even beta blockers.
Long history of self-mutilation, eating disorders, OCD, all kinds of emotional issues, etc. Over the past 3 years I was hospitalized and put on suicide watch and had a whole bunch of other stuff happen, and I don’t even remember most of it or what year it happened in.
But a couple years ago I found this blog, and since Matt published Eat for Heat recently I’ve really started focusing a lot more intensely on all this stuff. The major reason for that is reading The Peat Whisperer, a lot of Ray Peat’s articles, a bit about Hans Selye and getting a basic functioning understanding of physiology that’s given me the confidence to take care of myself, whereas for a long time everything was feeling like guess work and I kept getting mixed results.
I can think back to all my ‘manic’ and ‘depressive’ episodes, the rapidity that they’d switch with, the constant anxiety, being suicidal — and it all fits in perfectly with the concept of stress hormone dominance. I still slip right back into my old mental health if I skip meals or work too hard or don’t sleep enough.
I’ve gotten a lot better at coping with all these problems too by identifying the root cause — stress hormone dominance. I’ve had a huge amount of success by eating plenty of calories from fruit/fruit juices, dairy and meat, using liberal amounts of salt, supplementing with collagen hydrolysate, supplementing with the fat soluble vitamins A, D3, E and K2, and taking warm baths with a teaspoon of pure vitamin C powder and a couple cups each of baking soda and epsom salts.
I borrowed a light box from someone for the winter and that helped immensely to get me going in the morning and kept me feeling good for the rest of the day.
I’m using Uvex amber tinted safety glasses that more or less block all blue light at night. I like going on the computer at night and those glasses are immensely helpful for blocking the blue light, which is most associated with suppressing the release of melatonin.
I’ve also noticed improvements from improving my oral posture and breathing through my nose at all times (see: Dr. John Mew, orthotropics, Buteyko breathing…Ray Peat also wrote an article called “Stress and Water” where he mentions Buteyko and the importance of carbon dioxide).
I also use some medical tape to tape my mouth shut every night before I go to sleep, which might bother some people, but I wake up and my mouth is nice and wet inside instead of dry and gross (see: Shut Your Mouth and Save Your Life by George Caitlin — yes, it’s pretty dated, but the guy was very insightful and way ahead of his time; unfortunately modern society didn’t heed his warning).
I’ve also been squatting to use the bathroom for a couple years now, and I never want to go back. That’s so much easier. I also have been doing joint mobility drills to increase my functional range of motion as much as I can.
I’ve also been washing my hair with nothing but water for years, though I’ll occasionally do the baking soda/vinegar wash and I’ve been using coconut oil as a conditioner lately.
I’ve been using magnesium oil sprayed onto a toothbrush to brush my teeth for several years now and haven’t had a cavity since. I wash my hands regularly, but most of the time I’ll just take a warm bath or shower and wash with nothing but water. And I really don’t smell bad at all. People only get freaked out when I tell them I haven’t taken a shower in a week or two, but you’d never know from looking at me or smelling me. The magnesium oil also works very well as a deodorant when you spray it under your arms.
I injured my knees and I’ve found that going barefoot when possible and when I have to wear shoes, wearing thin-soled moccasins (AKA slippers) has helped a real lot. They also look pretty cool. I laced them with fancy new laces from Wal-Mart and everything.
These might seem like peripheral things, but in my opinion they all reduce stress and improve the functioning of the body. They’re also simple lifestyle changes that’s a lot on paper but quickly becomes second nature in real life. Straining on the toilet is stressful, using harsh chemicals to clean your body is stressful, breathing through your mouth on a regular basis is stressful.
I’ve also been sleeping on a basket chair cushion laid out on the floor for several years like a dog after I read some article on sleeping postures in tribal people. So maybe I really did lose my mind. But I’ll tell you something. I fell out of bed once and cut my head open on the closet and most likely got a concussion and had to get a CT scan —
— and since I’ve been sleeping on the floor, I haven’t fallen out of bed one time since.
Anyway, I think there’s a lot of hope for people. I feel bad because I’m only in my 20’s, I never had a group of friends, never got into dating, and basically have spent the majority of my life alone in a basement with little contact with the outside world — and sometimes I worry that I’ll never be able to have a normal life and enjoy normal things like normal people do.
But I won’t give up if you don’t ;) Nutrition and physiology at some point became my last hope, and I have to say, I haven’t been disappointed in the least.
Also remind yourself that when you’re really, really messed up and sick, having any degree of “normal” functioning can be a miracle. At one point I was so messed up I was choking on my food regularly because I was having problems swallowing. I read about proper oral posture and proper swallowing after a year or so of making really hard efforts to eat more food, and with those combined I overcame the problem.
It’s easy for me to forget those times. But I’m about 5’11” and weigh 161 pounds now, while it wasn’t too long ago that I weighed 118 pounds and felt like I was pretty close to dying. I can easily eat 1,000 calories of ice cream in one sitting now, whereas however long ago it literally took all the willpower I had to push myself through one medium sized bowl of rice without feeling like I was going to throw up.
I also used to get really, REALLY angry, really, REALLY frequently, and that’s gone through a huge overhaul with the changes I’ve made in my diet and lifestyle. Getting tested for the MTHFR gene mutation, testing positive, and supplementing with L-methylfolate and P-5-P has also helped a real lot with that.
I also got into working on guitars and having something to be passionate about and feel proud of and confident in is really a tremendous help. The only problem is I’ll get so into putting a guitar together that I’ll skip meals.
Well, yeah. This is just really exciting stuff, and I could talk about it for probably two weeks, but stress really is at the root of the problem here, and that is just so fascinating. With diet and lifestyle there is a lot of hope for a lot of people — the main problem is the mainstream ignorance of all this information, which is really mostly common sense rooted in very basic physiology.
Hopefully if people like everyone here at 180 keep spreading the word, more people will catch on and learn that there is hope for them. I almost committed suicide a number of times, and if I succeeded I would never have found out that it was possible to feel better – and I never would’ve discovered how interested and passionate I am about nutrition either, which has become a big part of my life.
I know I fired off a bunch of stuff in this post, but it’s just representative of how many options there are out there. A foundation in basic physiology is completely necessary to avoid the ‘overwhelm’ factor that comes with trying variable after variable without having any mainframe to refer to; if it became mainstream that calories, sugar, starch, salt and saturated fat, in the context of adequate nutrition, restrained stress hormones and promoted real, functional health, and that depriving yourself all the time can do a lot of damage and prevent you from feeling better, I think a lot of people would be much better off.
Jib. Your proactive approach to your health is literally awe-some. That you decided to take the fight for your life into your own hands and get really serious about it, while wrestling with demons so many would simply acquiesce to is a testament to your resilience and will to live. And live well! Thanks for sharing, man. Lots of good info in there, too. I fucking mouth breathe, it sucks. I have an itty bitty oral cavity. I blame my mom for her shitty health and feeding me soy formula. Breathe Right nasal strips and some tea tree-lavender-eucalyptus salve on my chest at night is usually enough to coax my nose to do it’s job, have you had any luck with stuff like that?
Thank you.
My sister has narrow dental arches and she said her cheekbones hurt when she used proper resting oral posture: tip of the tongue just behind the front teeth, tongue against the roof of the mouth, lips gently closed and teeth lightly touching or slightly apart.
The ache is probably a good thing since that could be your tongue encouraging your teeth to move into the right direction. I once read, probably in an article on orthotropics, that the tongue is the best orthodontic device. Most people, myself included, have V shaped dental arches, whereas they’re supposed to be U shaped, in accordance with the shape of the tongue.
After getting into Buteyko breathing for a while, I really focused on breathing through my nose. My nose is a little crooked because I got punched in the face really hard when I was 14, but for the most part I breathe through my nose just fine.
I have found that using flexible clear medical tape/transpore surgical tape to tape my mouth closed, which I stick to my pants on and off 8-10 times to take off some of the tackiness, works very well for sleeping at night. I read about Buteyko practicioners doing this and then decided to give it a try.
It wasn’t until I read George Caitlin’s “Shut Your Mouth and Save Your Life” very recently (while reading about orthotropics) that I decided to get back into the mouth taping. I don’t think tape had been invented yet and he just used willpower as well as a pillow under his head and sleeping on his back (as the Native Americans he observed did) to keep his mouth closed while he slept.
I haven’t had the need for the Breathe Right strips or any other remedies since changing my oral posture and making a focused effort to breathe through my nose at all times, though my arches might not be as narrow as yours.
The tape thing can feel uncomfortable at first but I figured if I somehow couldn’t breathe in my sleep I’d just wake up and take it off. I have a mustache and I like having scruff so I just tape my lips horizontally and down to the bald spots below the outsides of my mustache. Though women probably won’t have to deal with that issue xD
Not having a mustache gives you the option of taping vertically so the sides of your mouth can still get some air, but will probably still keep your mouth closed.
I bet taping the mouth shut in combination with using some breathe right strips could be interesting to try.
George Caitlin’s solution could be much better for the long-term — just willing yourself to keep your mouth closed. Have proper oral posture all day long, and whenever you catch your tongue dropping from the roof of your mouth when it’s closed, put it back up there, if you catch yourself mouth breathing, close your mouth, and when you go to sleep, put some breathe right strips on and focus on breathing through your nose and only through your nose as much as you can, and will yourself to do it right up until the last second before you fall asleep.
The tape thing just struck me as particularly interesting because the Native American mothers, as Caitlin reported, would close their children’s mouths while they slept if they caught them opening. He chalked their beautiful facial structure and abundant health up to that encouraging of proper oral posture and nasal breathing that stayed with them for the rest of their lives.
I don’t think tape had been invented when Caitlin wrote that book. So he had no other choice. But the tape can be like that mother closing your mouth when you sleep, and that’s pretty neat.
People are under the impression that orthotropics is for young children, so they have the chance to change their facial structure before it’s too late. This could be like the neuroplasticity thing, where we discovered that the brain changes throughout our whole lives, while people previously thought it stopped at some point.
Especially with proper nutrition and relaxation as you mentioned, and allowing our bodies to heal, I don’t see any reason why people’s facial structure couldn’t undergo some improvement as a result of changing their oral posture and swallowing technique much later in life.
So long-winded answer…I haven’t had the need for the strips or any salves, although I think those are fantastic options for people that do need them. I also think that with enough time and effort that the need for those things could be reduced with the potential realignment of the dental arches into a more favorable position, with a corresponding opening up of the nasal passages.
There are options like the Biobloc or Homeoblock, and I’ve read about nasal ballooning too, but being the stubborn loner that I am, and also being a little concerned about the idea of someone expanding a balloon in my nose (more concerned than the idea of taping my mouth shut at night), I like believing that simply through willpower and focused effort a lot of obstacles can be overcome with minimal outside intervention.
Hell, Caitlin did it and wrote a book about it because he was so thrilled, so the willpower thing and having the aid of a pillow to tilt his head forward to help keep his mouth closed at night worked for him.
My facial structure changed a lot after I had all of my wisdom teeth removed. I got pretty upset because my eyes are closer together now, my vision is a lot worse, and my chin and jaw look narrower now while they looked more broad before.
I also was upset when I finally learned about circumcision and the foreskin and the frenulum and found out why I always needed lubrication to masturbate, and also why I felt so much tension when I did, because I had to use so much pressure to even feel much of anything, and so on and so forth.
I was really upset for a long time. But the truth is in modern society pretty much all people’s health has been sabotaged from before they were born, and we’ve all gypped ourselves out of the good health and attractiveness and well-being that should be all of our birthrights.
But once I got it out of my system (I don’t know if it ever completely goes away, but I’ve learned to “get over it” [hate that saying] as well as I can), I actually felt optimistic that, as bad as things are, there’s so much potential for them to get better.
And not just for future generations, but for the present ones. I know I’m probably getting way too much into TMI territory here, but in addition to improving my oral posture, in regards to circumcision, doing some skin stretching over a period of time actually yielded a lot of improvements and I got to the point where I had enough mobility that I could masturbate without lubrication and it didn’t feel extremely painful. I still don’t prefer it, but it’s manageable and it’s infinitely better than it was before.
But yeah. I know it’s personal, but I just think of it as a part of my body that’s been afflicted by the same ignorance that generated soy milk baby formula, and the mainstream dieting mentality.
And while I am upset about these things, and we all should be aware of the harm our bodies have gone through as a result of ignorance for the benefit of ourselves and future generations, I’m a big fan of hope. The biggest fear for me is that I actually have a lot of power to change my reality. Ironically I’ve found it to be much easier for me to feel bad about everything that’s happened to me instead of siezing opportunities to make it better.
I think everyone’s courageous in their own way. I hear people asking for hugs sometimes and I think to myself that I could never have the courage to do that.
Sometimes I wish I could just stay on topic and write more concisely, but the less I try to write the longer it takes me xD Thank you again.
Jib – don’t apologise for the long reply, it was so helpful!
I loved reading about your experience with correcting your oral posture. I am actually working on that for myself at the moment, and it is definitely becoming a bit easier.
I don’t know if it is of interest at all, but I have a 3 year old and a 4.5 year old, and both show signs of a badly developing jaw, but I am lucky enough to be seeing a holistic dentist who was the one to get me on to oral posture in the first place. Anyway, it works! My kids jaws/facial structure are changing before my very eyes. They practice correct breathing and wear a trainer to bed at night.
I hope we are onto it early enough for them to escape the narrow face/palate that both their mother and father have, but so far the results are very promising.
Wow,I really admire your strength to do this and not minding the weightgain! Years I’ve battled with depression,mooddisorders etc. too,though not to your extend. I think I’m finding it’s part due to fructose/fructan malabsorption.
I’ve never been the large group of friends type either nor dated bc I found myself ‘too ugly/not attractive&special.’ to be liked/loved by someone. On one side I long for warmth of not being alone,but simultaneously I want to be ‘on my own/free to do what I want’ and find that people/media etc. can easily clog up my mind and not leave anymore.
Anyway,you seem to be a nice guy….with lots of strength too,to battle the things you do/have done already:)….(loved the music on your site too:))
The weight gain hasn’t been too bad at all. At 160 at 5’11” or so I’m pretty thin. Back in high school when I was on Zyprexa and we had to do swimming for gym, I felt very self conscious about the belly fat I had. For the most part I’ve been thin my whole life, usually very skinny until I filled out a bit, but still thin.
So when I gained weight on Zyprexa and my belly got a bit of a bulge to it I really didn’t like it, and that was part of the reason I became anorexic for a while.
I’d like to think that I don’t care what people think of me but if I gained a lot more weight I’d probably be very self conscious. I always try to be nonjudgmental of people for that reason.
The only girl I’ve had any sexual experiences with was very overweight. It bothered me at first, and I even talked about her with it. I just wanted to be honest. I thought I was so shallow and I felt so bad, like I was the scum of the earth. But this is the real stuff. People have said I’m a good looking guy but I remember in 5th grade this girl I had a crush on said she liked me, although she didn’t think I was cute. That really sucked to hear that.
I’d never done anything sexual with a woman before and I will say that when that all happened, it all kind of melted away. People would call bullshit on that, but maybe being so deprived my whole life made me appreciate it more. What really came through was that she’s probably treated me better than anyone else in my life, listened to me more than anyone else, and when all that came together and we were on the bed in the hotel room it just felt really good.
Since then my mind really got opened up. I’ve also been wanting to stay ‘free,’ and I don’t like the idea of being in a relationship. But sometimes I’ll look at different women that I wasn’t attracted to before, and think of them in the context of a relationship. I did learn that when you care about someone, that’s what really matters.
I’m not going lie and say that I never fantasized about having sex with super hot women, but after experiencing some sexual contact for the first time, the feeling of being loved and just not giving a fuck was just one of the best things I ever felt in my life. I gained a ton of self-esteem too, just by being accepted by someone else on such a personal level with no judging at all. It was a lot of fun.
I remember talking to a girl online one time that said she felt ugly and fat. At the time I was stupid and I wasn’t attracted to her so instead of lying to her and telling her I thought she was really attractive, I just didn’t say anything.
She wasn’t interested in me or anything and was dating someone else, and is with someone else now, but I remember the last times I saw her, she looked the same as she did, and my whole perspective completely changed, and I saw a lot of things that were physically attractive in her that I didn’t see before.
And when it comes to sex, like I said, I learned that that feeling of being loved and accepted and just being able to be yourself to be the best. Being completely naked in front of someone and not caring at all. And joking around is AWESOME.
And I was glad that she felt good too. It pissed me off that she would call herself fat and felt so bad about herself. She told me later that she felt really hesitant about taking her shirt off.
I knew some other girl that was really attractive that had small breasts and she said she’d keep her shirt on during sex. And I’m just thinking, what kind of people are you having sex with? It should never be like that. It reminds me of the fat kid in high school who’d keep his shirt on during swimming in gym. He was a fucking awesome guitar player and had a heart of gold and was just such a warmhearted person, and it is so sad to think that he felt like that about himself.
My attitude is to not use euphemisms when you don’t have to. If you’re fat, you’re fat. You are what you are. Why is that a bad thing? It just is what it is. When I was with that girl I really just wanted to share what we were sharing, and all that garbage stops mattering at that point.
And I don’t care what someone looks like. When you’re on a bed and you hear “do you want me to go down on you?” that is really hot. I also never did anything like that before and I thought I hear her wrong until she pulled my pants down, and I was like, okay, this is happening. lol!
I remember at one point when we were laying on the floor together I just started bawling my eyes out because I knew she was going to be leaving on the plane in a few days and I was also pissed off at myself for not knowing how I felt and feeling incapable of being in a relationship. And I never cry in front of people.
So fuck that. Intimacy is one of your birthrights. I think the problem most people, including myself, have, is that we don’t treat our birthrights as birthrights. And that supersedes what anyone looks like or whatever else. If you have the ability to love and the ability to have an orgasm then you should have the right to find someone and share it with them. The fat/thin/ugly/attractive stuff is just competition.
Some people look better to other people than others. And some people are just generally more attractive. I’m no movie star. I’m never going to be that hot, ripped guy that all the girls drool over. But why would I want that anyway? An inferiority complex, most likely? Why wouldn’t it be enough to be loved by the group of people in your life? Know what I mean?
I just hate to hear about people not living the lives they want to live, and depriving themselves of their desires because of a lack of confidence and self-esteem, because it reminds me so much of myself.
If you put yourself out there, something’s bound to come along. I’ve seen it happen to some of the most unlikely people. It’s all about knowing what you want and knowing that you deserve it.
I’m a big talker. I believe this stuff is true because I’m living in the opposite end of the spectrum — I don’t feel like I deserve the stuff I want, so I don’t pursue it, and I’m making my own hell for myself because of it.
Fortunately I’ve seen the light once or twice, enough to tell people that there’s no reason to feel shame or embarrassment and that the freedom from those things is the best thing there is about intimacy. Finding someone that really cares about you and appreciates you as a human being and can really enjoy having sex with you — that’s what matters. That feels awesome and being the most attractive person in the world that everyone admired would never fill the void that that kind of experience fills.
Hopefully I conveyed what I was trying to here. Sometimes I come off as abrasive but I usually try to say the stuff I do for a reason.
So yeah. Not feeling like you’re good enough for someone else is something you can completely turn around. And having been with a woman that I wasn’t attracted to that I really ended up enjoying intimacy with, I will say that attitude makes a huge difference. She wasn’t fake or cocky or anything. She was just really nice and really caring and she was also a little bit forward, which was pretty hot — like when she asked me if I wanted her to go down on me. I was just lying there like “uhhhh uuhhhhhhh” —
— and it’s just a product of someone knowing what they want and going for it. When you don’t try too hard, are honest, and just express what you want with confidence as well as respect for the other person and not being attached to whether they say yes or no…magic can happen. Intimacy is about love and having a good time, not a beauty contest.
We all say we know that but the wounds run so deep that we all have a hard time going out and walking the talk. But anyway, maybe I’m just full of hot air, but I’ll tell you this: don’t talk down to yourself or think of yourself as less than anyone else, or needing someone else’s approval or acceptance for what you are. Know that you deserve to experience the things you want to experience, and repeat that to yourself over and over as much as you can.
You don’t have to push forward really hard. Just dissolve the barriers that are keeping you from what you want. That’s what I’m trying to do, and while I’m not the world’s shining star of an example, I know that it does work. Instead of judging yourself and labeling your body, just think of yourself in terms of your desires and your passions and your dreams. Confidence comes naturally the more you do that and it’s just a matter of realizing what’s been true all along.
But keep your mind and your heart open. Try looking at any guy you pass in the store and smiling at him and saying hello. I work in a warehouse and having my nametag was a good excuse to do that (with girls, not guys!). But I found that after a while, I could do it in other stores without my nametag. It’s non-threatening and when you get smiled back at it’ll make you feel good and realize that people can and will be responsive to you when you put yourself out there.
I’ve been rejected tons of times, and it really sucks, but if you can find even one person who accepts you, it makes up the difference. The memories stick like glue. So remember times you felt good and when people praised you and things like that can help a whole lot.
Sorry to go on and on and on so much. I’m not wearing my blue blocking glasses so I’m all amped up. So please…try to love yourself for who you are and understand that you deserve to experience the things you want to experience. You’ll get rejected, but you’ll also get accepted. The key is to know that either way, it doesn’t change your birthright.
I also think that self-respect and self-love is better than feeling good in a relationship where you’re dependent on the other person for praise and acceptance, for whatever that’s worth. But that’s also what allows you to be free to feel okay by yourself and to not feel threatened when people reject you — and also to feel free to pursue a relationship with someone if that’s what you want too.
As I get off my soap box and go jerk off to memories of the only women I’ve been with! lol. I think it’s important for me to not take myself too seriously.
OKAY! Well that’s enough for now. Thanks for the compliment about my music, too — I appreciate it!
Hat off to you young Jib.
Thank you. Young Jib! Where did Yoda go?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWTI93xI41w
I was wondering if anyone had any advice for my Dad…
He has pretty bad adrenal fatigue, but also kidney stones. Now he has been advised to lay off the salt and to drink lots of water and I’m really starting to get the picture that all this extra water is making his adrenal fatigue worse… but what about his kidney stones?
Any clues?
Thanks for reading.
Hey Liz, from what I understand, things like kidney stones and calcium deposits on your skin are caused by not enough calcium or poor calcium absorption. First thing would be to make sure he’s off of oxalates- substance found in all those deep dark leafy greens that are so good for us…as they block calcium absorption. Your adrenal glands have a big role in calcium regulation and if they’re not doing their job properly, kidney stones could arise for sure. So I would guess the kidney stones are the result of the adrenal fatigue. Salt is tough because it can cause the kidneys to excrete more calcium, so it’s probably advisable for your dad to take a quality calcium-magnesium supplement and to cut back on the salt a bit and to drink some more water, yes. Just veer away from calcium leeching foods. Too much protein in the diet is a calcium killer, too. I’m not a doctor or medical professional of any kind, but that’s what I would do. You know, the things that can make adrenal fatigue better sometimes are not advisable for the more serious conditions it can precipitate. In that sense you just have to find a balance.
He may want to take something herbal, like breakstone, to prevent kidney stones. There’s a lot you can do beyond water/salt to address kidney stones. As Julia pointed out, oxalates can aggravate the problem, too.
I always think salting to appetite is a good idea, no matter what (the body knows), but he probably has to feel it out and listen to his own biofeedback. That’s much more significant and helpful than anything a doctor or one of us on a website can tell him.
Indeed, indeed. And I don’t mean to undermine what you’re saying, Amy, but a word about biofeedback: So my pet hen died last week and I feel really shitty about it because by the time I figured out her problem, it was too late. Bird’s digestive tracts are different than ours, there is a chamber called the crop that food is stored in before it goes through the gizzard for grinding and then into the stomach. Well poor things crop was all full and bloated, actually getting a backwards flow of fluid and air in it from further down the pike in her system. She kept guzzling and guzzling water, trying to get the stuff to pass through, I presume. But it was making things worse. It was backing her up more and more, she was so bloated she couldn’t sit down. But it was all she wanted. Finally I massaged the hell out of her and fed her lactose free kefir only, witheld the water and after a few treatments, her digestion was totally improved. FIrst bowel movement in weeks. Unfortunantly, she was so weakened that a mite infestation took hold of her and did her in though, before i had a chance to medicate her for it. Man, this makes me so sad. Anyway, my point is, biofeedback doesn’t ALWAYS know everything. Instincts do their best, but sometimes they’re wrong.
I’m sorry about your hen, Julia. That’s really sad :-(
Yes, you are absolutely right about the limitations on biofeedback. I guess this is sometimes why moms know exactly what kids need better than the kids do themselves!
Thanks SO much for taking the time to reply Julia and Amy, it means more than you know.
One of the problems (I think so anyway) is that his biofeedback is completely broken from sheer exhaustion.
I have actually about 80% recovered from adrenal fatigue myself. I’m one in a long line so clearly something is going on in our family whether it is a genetic predisposition, or something else who knows. We are all high acheiver/pefectionist types which I’m sure doesn’t help.
What has helped me was a course of Traditional Chinese Medicine, lots of rest, a switch to a WAPFish diet and heaps of kefir. In fact the kefir has been key for me.
My Dad has tried a lot of the same stuff and only seems to get worse. It’s frustrating how similar yet different we are. I long to come up with the magic answer to help him since he doesn’t have the energy to look into it himself. But I feel you are right in that he is going to have to feel his way through it to some extent.
Anyway, sorry for the long winded reply and thanks again. If you think of anything else to suggest I’m all ears!!
God bless, Liz
My pleasure, Liz. I wish I knew more! This must be really tough for you. Did he try the Chinese medicine? I think some of these traditional medicines (like TCM, Ayurveda) have some time-tested methods for treating chronic conditions that modern medicine has not yet caught up with.
Hi Amy,
Yeah, he tried TCM for about 8 months. The same practioner that helped me a lot, but all it did was give him extra ‘adrenal’ symptoms.. anxiety, racing thoughts, loss of apetite, fatigue. Puzzling!
Has he had his catechism levels tested? HA! That’s an autocorrect I love too much to delete. Let’s try it again. Has your dad had his catecholamine levels tested? And his adrenal glands looked at to see their size? If it’s really so bad and getting worse as he ages, I would consider seeking a conventional doctor’s opinion, really. Truly if the man has tried everything and it seems y’all have a predisposition to this stuff, going on steroids might be his only real chance for relief.
But, there are herbs you can try that can improve/replace certain catecholamines. Licorice acts like cortisol in the body and actually helps you to retain sodium, which is great for this condition. Just be sure not to get the dyglyzzirzed (I def spelled that wrong) kind. It’s gotta be the pure stuff, Solaray carries it. Also, Velvet Bean is a great source of L-Dopa, which is the precursor to dopamine (another catacholamine) in the body. Check and make sure neither of them are contraindicated for folks with kidney problems though.
Also, as you probably know, TCM views the adrenals and kidneys as the same system, which makes tons of sense. This one time I was on a first date with this guy who turned out to be the awfulest, creepiest boyfriend ever. S’okay, like I was totally feeling panicked like he was not good news for me, but my friend’s mom had just given me this lecture about how I was too picky about guys and I needed to give someone a chance. So I’m trying to reserve judgement but my body is screaming and I go to the bathroom and I urinate blood. So our date continues at the ER where they discover nothing wrong with my urinary tract whatsoever, and said new boyfriend was really nice about my falling ill so I relaxed. No more blood.
Well turns out I was right about him and he was a freaky substance abuser with really bad taste in everything but me. And he was a good painter. We got into one really hideous fight that left me unbekievably shaken. I urinated so much blood I thought I had gotten my period. Sorry to get lurid, but hey, we’re health junkies. Anyway, back to the ER, he’s really nice again, no problems whatsoever with my urinary tract. No more blood. SO WEIRD. Never happened again. I’ve also never been in as gross of a situation as that relationship, since. Now, I have no idea where the blood came from or what, but I figure it had to do with the intense amount of panic I was feeling, which is of course, fueled by our friends, those lil’ walnut shaped glands right on top the kidneys.
So yeah, Chinese medicine would look to balance out your dad’s kidney meridian, which includes the adrenals.
That is so interesting Julia! Nah, don’t worry about gory details, I don’t even notice haha.
Yes, I was aware that they were on the same meridian. So are teeth apparently, and he has massive teeth issues too… it makes so much sense.
Thanks again Julia. And I hope you are feeling much better now.
You’re welcome!
Hi Julia, catecholamine levels aren’t something I’m familiar with, so I will definitely look into that.
I think licorice is contraindicated with kindney problems, although from what I’ve read it’s rare that it causes problems. I think it is considered an adaptogen (is that the right word?) in Ayurveda.
I shall look into the velvet bean.
Yeah, catacholamine is just a fancy way of saying adrenal hormone, of which there are a few. Your dad could get them tested to see if that really is the problem and if so, how severe.
Yeah, adaptogen is the right word. Basically, a substance that helps your body to adapt to stress.
Hey Liz,
Have you looked into vitamin K2-MK4? It directs calcium deposition toward the hard tissues, such as bones and teeth, and away from soft tissues, such as kidneys, arteries, brain and such.
It could be very helpful.
Also, vitamin D3 plays a significant role in the whole calcium business.
ahhh, interesting! I keep hearing about vitamin K recently.
And he is trying hard to get enough sunlight, plus he has added plentiful amounts of cultured butter to his food so that should help with the vit D I hope! Maybe even the Vit K too?
Thanks msanjap.
Hello Matt/all!!
I just posted on another article, but that was from last year, so I thought that I would try here too for some help!
I am 22 and for the past 5 years have had excessive thirst and dry mouth when I do not drink A LOT of water. I usually drink about 1-2 gallons of pure water per day. (yeah, i know it’s not good.) Soooo, I discovered you Matt a couple of months ago and tried drinking less and was miserable and gave into drinking a lot again. Now I just your talk on the Healthy Life Summit and thought that I would give it a try again. I think I may have diabetes insipidus. But if I just limit my water enough is that something that can eventually regulate itself and my body can fix?? I have been drinking about half my normal water for the past 2 days, and I feel like I am DYING!!! (so that is about 4-5 24oz water bottles/day rather than 12-13 14oz water bottles) Yeah. I know I still have a long way to go. I usually drink well OVER my body weight in oz per day. I am extremely miserable right now though, SO THIRSTY!!!!! Do I just need to push through??
Any encouragement you have would be greatly appreciated!!!
Thank you!
Sallie
*** I meant that I have been drinking 4 or 5 24oz. water bottles for the past two days, rather than 12-13 **24oz** water bottles. ***
Get it checked out for sure… I was drinking a TON ~ 2gallons/day easy and still thirsty. It might be Diabetes Insipidus, but it might be Diabetes Mellitus as well. As soon as I was put on a Multiple Daily Injection Routine (Insulin) I could easily pare my water intake down to ~24oz
Eat more food and eat it well-salted, and maybe have some fruit juice or whole fruit between meals to satisfy your thirst instead of plain water. It does sound kinda wacky though. Something peculiar is going on no doubt.
Thanks so much for the input! I actually have been to an endocrinologist before (several years ago) and they “checked” and said that it was not diabetes mellitus. (I’m not sure how much faith I have in conventional doctors…) But nonetheless, they said my glucose was normal, yet the doctor DID suspect diabetes insipidus. I actually got tested for that too which involved not eating or drinking for quite sometime and getting my blood and urine checked out every hour. Needless to say, that test was extremely excruciating for me to bear. I never go for more than 1 hour without drinking!! Unfortunately, however, the nurse screwed up the results and did the wrong tests. They wanted me to do it again, but I was done with conventional “wisdom.” LOL. —that was about 3 years ago. There was some perscription drug that they were going to put me on to give me the hormone to help quench my thirst. I am just not a fan of going on drugs long term!!
Since then, my water consumption has gone down for sure, but not as much as it needs to. Is diabetes insipidus something that you can give yourself by drinking too much water? Is is like which comes first the chicken or the egg? Can I reverse it by forcing myself not to drink so much?
I would like to think that my body can heal itself and that pushing through with less water would help my body adjust. But I also do not want to be so prideful as to think that I don’t need professional help if I do! I usually do eat quite a bit of salt. But I feel like my urine never is concentrated nomatter how little I drink. I just feel really dehydrated! Like today I drank about 5 24oz water bottles—which is very little for me. And I feel super dehydrated!! ?? My urine is never yellow, only greenish?
I have not always drunk this much. It all started in 2008 when I also got a crazy bazzar autoimmune condition. I was literally drinking 5 gallons or more a day! (The autoimmune condition has since cleared up—but I still have this lingering extreme thirst.)
Maybe I should go back to the doctor. ??
Thanks so much for your feedback!!
Sallie
Sallie, what autoimmune condition? How did you treat it? Did you ever tell a doctor about the green urine?
This sounds like a pretty bad condition, Sallie. If you don’t want to see a conventional doc, maybe a TCM doc or a classical homeopath?? Your body, of course, but if it were me I wouldn’t just let it go. It’s been going on a long time and sounds like a major imbalance is happening.
wooooah @ Bryan! That would literally be a miracle if I could drink only 24oz!!!! I hope that that can be me one day!! Drinking as much as I do right now definitely interferes with my digestion (no duh). It would be absolutely wonderful if I did not have to go pee every couple of hours and drink so much!!! :D
I have known for a while that my water consumption is not good. I have been on so many other rabbit trails with my health, but after discovering Matt very recently, I am willing to admit that this is the root cause!! I really want to change, I just want to make sure that depriving myself of water is going to do more good than damage, because my body is telling me otherwise!! The biofeedback is so hard to ignore!
I really appreciate what you have to say Matt. I have needed to hear this for a long time. After having done everything from gluten-free, casein-free, pale/primal, low carb, WAPF, GAPS, and everything else, I need to put fist things first and deal with this water/pee thing!!!
Thanks so much again!!
Sallie
I’ve gotten my temps up to the toasty high 98’s-low 99’s and it’s pretty stable most of the day. However, every evening I’m still peeing more than I should and it’s clear. I’m also really struggling with anxiety the last week or so, all with a high temperature. I’ve tried eating more in the evenings but that just gives me that hot, uncomfortable, heart pounding feeling which just plays into the anxiety that I already have going on. I’ve been eating more sugar lately and trying not to drink much plain water. I’ve been drinking the 50/50 juice w/ salt and sierra mist if I’m thirsty.
I’m just so confused with these mixed signals! Anxiety and peeing clear is a low temp symptom but I definitely am not experiencing low temps anymore. Not sure what to eat or drink anymore!
Also, is there anything that will stop an anxiety attack in its tracks?
Thought I was the only one experiencing anxiety after meals especially when heating up in general. There are two kinds I experience,one that is anxiety/depression/lethargy and the other one is mostly experiencing this happy rush mentally but with some kind of anxious/restless feeling simmering underneath.
Like for instance today, I ate an organic Spelt flour cake and it made me really warm but also feel more lethargic and pounding heart,which is usually a sign of stress within the body. What was the cause?….getting too much fat and probably protein from eggs,in other words a macro-thing? acid/alkaline imbalances? (as later on I started to get these images in my head of lemon,corn salad,coconutcookies/coconutmeat….these happen all to be ‘alkaline foods’…….but they also all contain a certain amount of vitaminC,which is needed by the body in times of stress)
Really don’t know anymore what to think of it all….
As far as eggs go:
“It should be remembered that amino acids, especially in eggs, stimulate insulin secretion, and that this can cause hypoglycemia, which in turn causes cortisol secretion. Eating fruit (or other carbohydrate), coconut oil, and salt at the same meal will decrease this effect of the protein.”
From: http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/diabetes.shtml
I also imagine that supplementing with collagen hydrolysate would help too by providing glycine to help balance out the inflammatory cysteine and tryptophan.
When I make a cheese omelette for breakfast I usually have some orange juice with 1 or 2 tablespoons of collagen hydrolysate mixed in. Adding a good extra shot of salt to the omelette helps to keep the fluid in the orange juice from making me cold.
I sometimes have a lot of anxiety after meals. I still have a lot of slumps too, often after meals, where I’ll get into a kind of nightmare mode, and all my thoughts are anxiety provoking and lurid and depressing, and I just have to lie down and fall half asleep for an hour or so before I come out of it.
If I was especially stressed out before a meal, either from working too hard physically and not eating enough (which happens a lot with my job), or simply being extremely emotionally stressed out.
I know Matt mentioned his idea of the ‘overcompensation’ effect where you really, really shut down after flooding your body with energy when it’s so used to running on stress hormones.
Hans Selye mentioned the ‘Alarm Stage,’ the ‘Resistance Stage,’ and the ”Exhaustion Stage.’
http://www.essenceofstressrelief.com/general-adaptation-syndrome.html
I think a lot of us here are teetering between the resistance stage and exhaustion stage, and a lot of us have probably been in the exhaustion stage for quite a while in our lives before.
I equate “mixed episodes” as seen in bipolar disorder with what you mentioned about the happy feelings with anxiety simmering underneath, and I think it has primarily to do with not only adaptive stress hormones, but the cumulative effect that chronic exposure to them produces over a period of time. Selye said “Every stress leaves an indelible scar, and the organism pays for its survival after a stressful situation by becoming a little older.
Personally, I’m just thinking of these repeated bouts of anxiety after meals, and just in general, despite changing my diet a lot, as temporary. I also have the frame of reference of feeling much, much, much worse in the past. I get a taste of it every now and then when I get really stressed out, but I used to be like that *constantly.*
That tells me that I’ve recovered quite a bit, even though I’ve got a long way to go. It’s also one reason I got much more seriously interested in Ray Peat and have been experimenting with a modest amount of supplements that I try to take for specific reasons instead of just guessing, epsom salt baths, wearing these blue-blocking glasses, want to invest in a light box ASAP, etc.
In other words, I think it was necessary for me to take a much more focused approach, because while just eating plenty of calories was helping a *real* lot, I was still having a lot of issues that weren’t going away.
Anyway, those are the options I see: try implementing more strategies to see if that clears it up, or stay the course and believe that with enough time, your body will get over these problems.
I’m doing both right now. But I do think that simply eating plenty of calories from mostly nutrient dense foods (fruit/fruit juices, potatoes, meat, eggs, dairy) is a great strategy, and it could just take a while for the body to do all the healing.
Bag breathing and making a habit out of nasal breathing, as well as regular epsom salt baths are a couple simple strategies to implement.
I’ve also found that having something to work on that I really like helps me a whole lot. When I’m working on a guitar project, for example, I seem to be a lot less anxious in general and my energy levels are much higher. Sometimes fantasizing about something I’d like to work on is enough to pull me out of the slumps I mentioned before.
This Peat/Eat4Heat kinda thing,in a somewhat modified diet/manner for me seems to somewhat work,though I’m still in the dark as to if it’s actually good for me and trying to balance lots of stuff……
Odd thing is,that I’m totally crave other foods&things I never actually had and don’t even know whether I like them…..but some kind of ‘intuitive voice’ in my head? seems to steer me towards it…..
You’ve mentioned using the glasses to block screenligth….would a cheap sunglass with yellow glasses also work?
I don’t think so Dutchie. Go to an optometrist or a place that sells glasses and ask them for the type of glasses for people who suffer from macular degeneration. That’s what you’re looking for. Of course, it’s a little expensive.
Thanx for the tip Thomas,but like you already mentioned too expensive…..there’s lots of stuff(practical no luxuries) I already am in need of and cant afford to buy:(….thats why I asked about just yellow glasses bc you can get cheap sunglasses like that for a couple of euros.
I’ve being having pretty severe anxiety attacks (ended up on ER a few times) but they’re pretty much gone now (knock on wood) with rest and diet changes. Sometimes I got it after a heavy meal (overdid fat) and attributed it to gas buildup in abdomen which somehow seemed to mess with vagus nerve and I felt as if my heart was starting to beat irregularly even though it wasn’t. I also got panic attacks from some wicked medications the doctors had me on, lucky I’m of that garbage. You’re diet should be heavy on refined starch (sometimes except gluten) which seems to relieve these symptoms for me, keeps blood sugar stable
I don’t know what’s happening or how to get rid of it anymore….but since kinda tinkering with this Sugar,Salt,starch,Sat.fat/”Peatish” thing,I now suffer from something I have never ever suffered from before.
The last couple of days I have these huge swollen elephant-like legs and feet with major red itching burning rashes,sometimes there’s puss coming out of the rashes,still IBS and other stuff :s
Worst thing is that I feel strong/too strong and want to workout yet can’t bc of this sh*t!
Seems like I’m only getting in a deeper shithole bc I don’t know what it’s about anymore,sugar/salt’sodium/potassium?fiber/non-fiber?fluids?acid-alkaline?…..
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v196/sculmully/swollenamprash.jpg[/IMG]
Great article but I 100% disagree with 3 meals a day. I eat once a day and have for a long time and have no issues. Like most health advice, it’s dependent on the individual.
Yepper. I ate about one meal per day for 10-15 years with “no issues,” as well. Until one day I did. Three meals a day does not come naturally to me, but it is necessary now. But we’re all different, yes.
Julie I found out I have hashimotos thyroid , I was on VLC diet for 2-3 years before which made everything worse . Well I started armour which uncovered my very low cortisol during the day and high night .
I have been taking holy basil for my high nigh which seems to be working sleeping better , but during the day I have very high heart rate because of my low cortisol. Doctor wants me to start HC but I don’t want to .
Do you have any suggestions of raising my very low day cortisol . I am now eating around 100-150 carbs a day now . Need to know if you took anything to raise your cortisol if so what ? Thanks
Licorice acts like cortisol in the body. It won’t actually raise your own cortisol, but it will mimic it’s effects, for better or for worse. You may want to give that a try before resorting to steroids. Just be sure it’s the kind WITH glycyrrhizin. They deglycyrrhize most licorice supplements exactly because of it’s cortisol-like effects in the body. That’s what you want. Make sure not to over do it, and if you feel more comfortable, consult an herbalist or natropath to supervise.
I’m confused as to why this is a great article. It seems like a sales ad rather than an article. If I buy your book, and it doesn’t help me to become functional, would you buy it back from me? Aw, never mind, the shipping would negate any sense of refund. I was born with my disabling fatigue. I couldn’t do anything when I was 16. Can the information in your book help someone like that?
This is very fascinating to me as I have had severe adrenal fatigue (and Hashimotos) for a long time, plus lots of food allergies and other problems. I have heard/read so many places that low carb is the way to go, and that sugar stresses the adrenals. So I always felt bad and like a failure that I can’t seem to give it up. I only eat “healthy” sugars such as dried fruit (especially unsweetened dried mango, yum!), fruit juice or fresh fruit, and dark chocolate. But I have to have those or I start feeling really depressed. As it is I struggle with depression (I have MTHFR, and take L-methyl folate) and am on an antidepressant, which seems to be really helping (I can actually function and live life and leave my house and be around people) and I haven’t noticed any side effects. But I don’t want to be on it for life. I am also on HC and Florinef for my adrenals, and Naturethroid. I also take prescription slow-release potassium and I take at least a teaspoon of Celtic sea salt in water or juice every day, plus salting my food heavily. This article helps me not feel so bad about my carb intake. I do just need to listen to my body.
One big question though… All this talk of eating 3500+ calories per day and avoiding strenuous exercise… How do you not gain a ton of weight doing that? I’ve already gained more than I like on the HC and want to lose weight, not gain more.
I’m afraid you will gain weight. Aye, there’s the rub. But the idea is that once you’re feeling better after eating enough for awhile, you’ll feel more spritely and you’ll want to move around. I definitely gained weight, but I had lost a ton of weight from the hormone problems and from eating no carbs as a healing attempt. But now that I’m heavier, I have no more arthritis in my hands (which I’d had for years) no chronic back pain (also had for years), better skin tone, thicker hair, better nails and about 1,000 times higher sex drive. I also want to exercise more, I’m just kinda bored with my options! Can’t wait for it to warm up enough to swim!
I found all of your comments so interesting! I am 34 years old and hit ‘burnout’ one year ago. Now that I look back, I felt it coming for months prior but suddenly, one day after a work out, I crashed. Took me two days to recover from a 35 minute workout and things just continued to decline from there. I have spent the past year trying to get my life back. I have been working with 2 Naturopaths – both of whom say I have adrenal fatigue – as well as my GP (who didn’t believe in adrenal fatigue until recently). I have changed my diet, added supplements, get more rest, limited stress, earthing, no exercise (other than a bit of rebounding), massage, reiki, some acupunture (although I tend to crash from that as I do from exercise), breathing techniques, psychotherapy, natural calming herbs, no caffeine, no alcohol, limited sugar, etc. I feel I have given it 110%.
I was feeling better for about 3 months while taking an adrenal supplement. I then went off to give my body a break. During that break, I had an acupuncture treatment and it sent my spiralling downward again. I am exhausted, depressed, have no physical activity tolerance, irritable, bouts of anxiety, low body temp (96), shaky and trembly, brain fog, anxiety, etc. My doctor just ran a large blood panel and my catecholamines are all out of whack – some under producing and some over producing. My adrenaline (epinephrine) is over 10 times the normal level (explains the racing heart!). My progesterone is low as well.
I have horrible back pain over my adrenals so I will be going for an ultra sound next week. This is one of my worst symptoms at the moment – very bad adrenal back pain. I am assuming it’s from them being beyond exhausted but we need to rule out any tumors being present (which is often a sign of high epinephrine levels).
What do I do? I feel so frustrated as I have given this my ALL for over 8 months. My body is not healing. I have been referred to an endocrinologist but the wait here is very long (probably 12 months which is just ridiculous).
I feel I need to go back on an adrenal supplement as I did notice a huge improvement those few months I was on. I am wondering though if it’s too late and I may be needing more help then that. For 15 years I have struggled with anxiety and have always done things the ‘natural’ way – never any meds. But for the first time in my life I feel the natural way has let me down and my intense anxiety is what led to the breakdown of my adrenals. I am wondering if I would perhaps benefit from a year of anti-anxiety meds… Not something I want to do but I have done everything else and my body needs to rest and heal.
I am happy I found this site – great info!
Yo Joe. Definitely getting checked for the tumor is the first thing to do, and I’m glad you’re doing it. Once you get that squared away, you’ll be in a better position to decide your course of action. If you don’t have a tumor, I would use anti-anxiety meds, but sparingly, as needed. I’m not a big fan of drugs and I don’t think they should be your first choice, but when you’re as worn out and anxious as you sound, sometimes it’s better to give the body a break every now and then. I keep anti-anxiety meds around for those times when the feeling of panic has escalated to a point where I’m too anxious to take it down on my own. Times like that, I’ve personally decided that it’s better for the systems to just take a benzo, but not regularly. I feel better knowing I have them. Sometimes just knowing they’re there is calming enough on it’s own. Understanding that if things get outta hand, help is accessible. Just watch you don’t use it as a crutch.
When you say adrenal supplement, do you mean a glandular? I’m not too big on them either, because they do the same thing as steroids, essentially. They just replace hormones your body should be making on it’s own, and when you go off them, you will have atrophied the adrenal and it will be harder to make them work efficiently. Something to talk over with a natropath.
Very interesting about how the acupuncture wore you out. What did your acupuncturist say your issue was? Liver/Spleen? Gallbladder? Kidneys? Acupuncture is said to get your “qi” moving, but sometimes doing that is hard on someone whose systems are down, especially if they’re doing a lot of it. Perhaps talk to your acupuncturist and ask if you can do a toned down version of her recommended treatment. Or, try pressing your acupressure points on your own. I’m kinda uncomfortable with the needles, they sort of freak me out. I prefer acupressure.
So what’s the anxiety about? Have you considered cognitive therapy? It’s hard, and I am trying to take my own advice on this, but I think the best thing to do with chronic anxiety is rip yourself wide open, find out where it’s coming from and bring it out into the day light to air out. Overtime we work our problems and fears into the mechanics of our lives and we end up with a less than optimal design. Better to go back and get the kinks out while you can than let them keep you from running smoothly. I basically just ripped that whole metaphor off from “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, by the way;)
Good luck! Happy healing!
Another thing, low progesterone is normal if your adrenals are pumping out stress hormones like crazy.
Thanks so much for your reply and advice Big Kitten! I really appreciate it :). In answer to your questions, yes I meant glandular. Interesting what you said – I was on them for 4 months (just one per day) under the advice of my first Naturopath and actually felt huge improvement and had so much more stamina. Then, due to feeling better, went off of them and about 1 month later was when I crashed hard. So I switched Naturopaths (wanted to be dealing with someone more interested in helping me with the anxiety as I think that is the root of my adrenal issues) and she told me the same thing as you – that glandulars are NOT great as they just are kind of a bandaid. But here is my question – if my adrenals are not healing on their own and I feel like death 95% of the time, then isn’t it worth it? I don’t know…I just don’t know what the answer is. What if I see the Endocrinologist and they say that I need to take steroids…then maybe I am better off taking the natural glandular for an extended period of time then steriods…? Might be easier on the system with fewer side effects??
I don’t know what the cause of my anxiety is to be honest. I had the perfect childhood and have no major issues. I have a VERY long line of anxiety issues in my family (strong genetic thing going on) so whether it is actually genetic or learned behaviour … who knows. But it’s there and it’s a darn strong one to get rid of! ;) I have never been a fan of meds – ever – but I do believe that if I would have taken them in my 20’s when I was a total anxious mess I wouldn’t be here today. I think I really seriously drained my reserve and wore my body down.
Might try lighter acupunture. I am going to see a guy tomorrow just to have him read my pulses and discuss what is going on so I will talk to him about it. See what suggestions he has.
It is sooo nice to be able to talk to someone who actually knows about adrenal stuff! Thanks again so much for your feedback!
Honestly, if you’re adrenal glands aren’t healing at all, then yeah, steroids or glandulars might be your only options. But the problem isn’t usually that the adrenal gland itself cannot function, it’s just that all the chemicals are all screwy and if you unscrewify the chemicals, you can get the adrenals back on line. I think taking the glandulars for so long may have set you back some.
This stuff is tricky because it’s a whole puzzle you’re putting back together. No doubt your thyroid is thrown off (perhaps sub-clinically) and your sex hormones are thrown off, the whole thing is a mess. Very light exercise, energy work, herbal adaptogens, proper diet, rest, enough of everything you need and patience are your best bets. Along with that scan to check for tumors. You should get your pituitary checked for tumors as well, because one up there could cause problems down the line.
Thanks again Big Kitten! I am booked for an ultra sound tomorrow and I imagine once I get in to see the Endo they will do a CT scan (so I’ve been told). You’re right about the whole puzzle…lots to fix ;). I am actually heading to the Mayo Clinic so they will do a scan of my pituitary as well.
I will keep trying to heal! I know it will be a long process. If my scan comes back normal then I have been advised it might be in my best interest to go on anti anxiety meds for a year or so. I have so much adrenaline pumping through my body that it will not begin to heal unless it is calmer. I have tried meditation, calming herbs, acupuncture, etc. and am just not having good luck with it. I can’t believe after 15 years of fighting meds I actually am starting to agree with this. By avoiding them for so long I have done more harm than good :(.
I didn’t see the beginning of your story – did you have severe adrenal fatigue? Are you recovering?
Big Kitten here. That’s the old name I used to sign in as before I started writing for this site, and my computer still logged me in that way! Ha! So yes, I had adrenal fatigue- as written about in this original post. Gotta tell you, I’m jealous of your access to Mayo. Pretty cool. What a great tool to have in your chest. More power to you and heal up. I agree that minimizing catecholamines in the body is of paramount importance, but anti-anxiety meds can be a real bitch to get off of and may not fix fix the problem. Just something to consider, But you gotta do what you gotta do.
Thanks! Back from the Mayo and after only 2 incredibly efficient days there I was told my adrenals are working just fine and I have been diagnosed with a mild autonomic neuropathy. It was very interesting but makes so much sense as I have done everything in the past year to try to heal and have not seen any improvement. This is why. One of the main symptoms of this can be exercise intolerance as well as crazy blood pressure (a couple of my most bothersome symptoms). I will now be referred to a neurologist and go from there. Glad to have things figured out but feeling a bit scared about my diagnosis. Good luck to you and thank you again for all of your help!
Joe,
I would advise you against benzodiazepines or pharmaceuticals of any kind unless it is a life or death situation.You should avoid anything that modulates the GABA neurotransmitter and its receptors as well as nyhting that modulates the NMDA receptors.
If your adrenals are ok per Mayo clininc, the in all likelihood you have HPA dysfunction in the hypothalamus. (NMDA and GABA receptor imbalance)The PVN in the hypothalamus controls the pituitary and the adrenals. Benzos or any other meds, as well as cortisol, steroid hormones in general inhibit the PVN from re establishing normal communication via CRH, and ACTH to the adrenals.
I have been on a glandular too for about 8 months and cannot stop it. A slow taper may work, but it takes time up to a year or more of tiny cuts, maybe 10 % reduction every 3 weeks and only advancing the cuts if stable having energy and stamina wise.
Once the hypothalamus is used to seeing the extra cortisol from the glandular in circulation, it rewires itself accordingly. That takes time to undo.
It’s all in the GABA receptors, NMDA rexcceptors and their balance in the PVN of the hypothalamus that controls your adrenals, given that they are otherwise ok.
john
Here’s the thing (I have Addison’s, that was only diagnosed after a massive crisis that the docs couldn’t deny)–don’t expect them to even test your adrenals. In this modern world, if you have the symptoms above IT IS POINTLESS TO TEST. Chemicals, food, stress–ALL of it will tax your adrenals. THE ONLY TREATMENT doctors can give for it anyway are steroids. Using steroids when your life does not depend on it is BAD beyond belief. The side-effects are horrible when you need them (this isn’t prednisone we’re talking about; but even that: moon-face anyone??) This is why doctors don’t hand them out like candy or antibiotics–the rebound (since adrenal fatigue is not at all life-threatening, and Addison’s very rare) is terrible, the after-effects terrible, can cause hypothyroidism, migraines, etc.
So don’t get mad about docs not dx’ing this. If you really must know, get the test yourself (there’s mail order swabs available) and go from there. Stinging nettle infusion–the selenium nourishes the adrenals. Eat right for your body: for some people this may be paleo, others just gluten free, others still, just cutting out obvious junk food. Reduce stress, and most importantly: REDUCE TOXIC EXPOSURES. I used to get mad at docs when I thought it was just “adrenal fatigue” until it was much more than that–now I understand that this is one time we shouldn’t bother and just modify our lifestyles to eliminate the problem ourselves, and save the co-pay, and stress of arguing, or testing expense altogether.
I’m so confused! I have had major weakness in my left leg, ankel for some time. After countless doc appointments and blood tests I’ve now been told I have UCTD. Also that my adrenals are not working well and I’m to avoid ALL dairy, eggs and bananas for 2 months. So hard to do, but I’m doing it. On top of the leg weakness I just haven’t really felt great in ages. I have low energy, low motivation, no sex drive and rarely feel happy. Although my life is otherwise fine, stable marriage, beautiful young daughter, a job. The usual stresses are in place of course and I don’t eat horribly but not great (although eating better now on this restrictive diet). Are teh low hormone levels and adrenal issue causing my leg to go limp after 15 minutes on my feet?! I still have no answers and am so beyond frustrated. The neurologist disagrees with the rheumotologist and I’m just at my wits end. This no dairy, no eggs and no bananas thing is not making me feel any better yet and I’ve been on it for 2 weeks. I’m also taking cortisol supplements and cinammon pills. The later is not easy to choke down by the way!
“Stress is bad for connective tissue, which is why so many folks with adrenal issues also present with weak knees, ankles and sagging skin.”
I wonder how many of those people have undiagnosed hypermobility syndrome- constant strain on the body, running on adrenalin just to move, autonomic dysfunction….