Adrenal Fatigue Treatments in Southlake

Overview of Adrenal Fatigue

What Is Adrenal Fatigue?

Adrenal fatigue is a condition that occurs when the adrenal glands function below their normal or proper level. The symptoms of adrenal fatigue can wreak havoc on your health and your life.

When diagnosing adrenal fatigue, it is important to determine the underlying cause and not just treat the symptoms. Adrenal fatigue can be caused from chronic stress, and acute or chronic infections, and medical illnesses.

The Stress Hormone

Cortisol is a stress hormone, and it is the most important hormone to keep balanced. It is needed to live, sleep, manage stress, regulate mood, balance blood sugar, regulate blood pressure and modulate the immune system. Adrenal fatigue can become severe and severely affect your day-to-day living.

Causes of Adrenal Fatigue

What Causes Adrenal Fatigue?

Stress, whether it be acute or chronic, can cause adrenal fatigue. Stress activates adrenal glands, releasing more cortisol and adrenaline as a defense mechanism so that you can survive.

Stress of any kind impacts just about every single bodily process, including the health of gut microbiome. When the microbiome is not functioning properly, it also leads to inflammation throughout the body and is the root cause of many serious diseases, including autoimmune disease, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and more.

Common Causes Include:

• Diseases that include severe or recurrent illnesses or infections
• Physical stress on the body, such as poor nutrition, addiction, injury, surgery, and long-term exhaustion
• Chronic sleep deprivation (to read more about sleep disorders and how we treat them, click here.)
• Emotional or psychological stress from work or relationships
• Sudden emotional stress from a tragic event, such as an accident or loss of a loved one
• Environmental stress on the body caused by toxic chemicals or pollutants
• Over-exercising (especially endurance)

Our cortisol levels should change throughout the day. Our levels should be the highest in the morning when awaking and then lower when the sun goes down. Our melatonin levels (sleep hormone) should rise in the evening, preparing our body for sleep.

For millions of people who are chronically sleep deprived, this can cause more stress which can deplete the adrenal glands and compromise the immune system.

Vitamin Deficiencies Contribute to Adrenal Fatigue

Numerous studies indicate that certain vitamin deficiencies influence both cortisol and the immune response.

• Vitamin B complex helps to combat inflammation and improve brain health.
• Magnesium directly affects the communication between the brain and the adrenal glands.
• Vitamin D helps regulate cortisol and other endocrine processes, such as insulin resistance and Type 2 Diabetes.
• Vitamin C helps the regulation of cortisol and also improves the immune response.

Symptoms of Adrenal Fatigue

Common Symptoms of Adrenal Fatigue

• Chronic fatigue
• Nervousness/anxiety/tremors
• Insomnia
• Digestive issues
• Weight gain, especially around the abdominal area
• Inability to lose weight, despite exercising and eating clean
• Depression
• Brain fog
• Low libido
• Compromised or weakened immune system
• Waking up exhausted even after a full night’s sleep
• Increased need for stimulants such as caffeine to get through the day
• Not feeling like you can cope with everyday stress
• Thyroid problems
• Low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)
• Lack of motivation
• Sugar and carbohydrate cravings

Treatment of Adrenal Fatigue

A Comprehensive Approach to Treating Adrenal Fatigue

Adrenal fatigue doesn’t happen overnight—it’s a syndrome with multiple causation factors.

When we onboard you as a new patient, we ask that you complete a detailed adrenal questionnaire along with a sleep questionnaire, both of which provide a broader picture of how you are dealing with stress, along with providing insight into your sleep. Both of these provide the basis for beginning your treatment since both are vital to health and the stress response.

Dr. Berutti and Melanie Martin, PA, use a functional medicine approach, which includes reviewing your medical history and your current symptoms to help identify both internal and external stressors that may be causing you harm. They will

also order comprehensive diagnostic work to identify where any imbalances or dysfunction are occurring and then create an individualized treatment plan for you.

A Comprehensive Approach to Adrenal Fatigue Includes:

• Addressing hormonal imbalances and nutritional deficiencies.
• Eating a well-balanced diet, reducing sugar and carb intake, and the inclusion of an exercise program.
• Gut health and/or food sensitivity testing as needed.
• Addressing chronic sleep issues.