Anyone here recover from Adrenal Fatigue ...and ride again?

[Jiffer]

I'm not going to get into a debate, but I wholeheartedly believe in Dr. Mercola and absolutely don't trust the FDA. I'm also not going to debate adrenal fatigue. It's real. I have it.

[limewave]

All I know is what I have been through myself with a myriad of symptoms. My GP put me on all sorts of prescriptions with all sorts of strange side-effects that didn't fix anything. In fact, I became more screwed up.

Going the supplemental route through a naturapath doctor has completely changed my life. And taking supplements for my adrenal support has eliminated my anxiety attacks.

But that's just me.

[Pip]

I was hesitant to respond to Jiffer's original email for just this reason. I have a huge issue with advocates of 'natural' medicine diagnosing adrenal fatigue without the test results to support that. Andrenal fatigue is a huge money spinner for some questionable 'natural therapists'.

I am not sure why Jeffer was told blood tests are pointless. Blood tests are the gold standard for identifying whether there are adrenal issues. A blood cortisol test (accompanied by an ACTH test), and a renin test, will identify whether the adrenals are working properly. All too often I've seen people with 'adrenal fatigue' given supplements which are little more than useless, or given corticosteroids without a proper diagnosis from a qualified endocrinologist.

And yes, I am admittedly biased. In 2004 I was diagnosed with Addison's Disease, and without Hydrocortisone I would not be alive today. My adrenal glands are not 'fatigued'. They have been demonstrated to not work. However I have also spent way too much time on other related medical forums reading posts from people who are wrongly treated, or who choose to self medicate based on questionable advice.

[Dogmama]

This could get into a hot debate. I've worked with Andrew Weil & seen both sides of the medical field. I know the FDA is highly influenced by drug companies. I know that the internet has spawned some highly questionable - if not downright dangerous - medical advice. The truth is somewhere in between.

[limewave]

Just to make it clear: I was NOT diagnosed over the internet.

My doctor is a Licensed Physician. He also happens to be a certified naturapthic physician and licensed in Functional Medicine. He served as a team physician under Johan Bruyneel for several Tour de France.

I have a friend that is a chemist for a major pharmaceutical company. She is completely baffled by the supplements I take and swears there is no way they could possibly work.

But I've seen them work. I have real, tangible results that I never saw with prescription drugs.

[goldfinch]

Jiffer, I have no hope of persuading you. I am posting because I do not want others who may be on the fence and don't know much about Mercola or Lam to know that they are giving advice that is so far from standard practice that endocrinologists issue a bulletin about it. The FDA is just doing its job when ordering Mercola to quit making claims for products that are unproven. Mercola has the option of proving the effectiveness of his claims. But he doesn't. Instead he sells, sells, and sells. In fact, I think the FDA should be tougher, especially on his bogus cancer screening and treatment claims. They need to shut him down. I think it is a safety issue.

http://www.casewatch.org/fdawarning/.../mercola.shtml

Read everything. Don't put blinders on. Read all the criticism of Mercola and Lam. Read about the placebo effect. Read about how the research on how it is nearly impossible for people to change their mind and that negative information about what they believe may make them even more certain they are right. Read about every supplement you are taking and what are the risks and benefits. And if you won't read it, question yourself as to why.

Good researchers know that they can be fooled and be married to their research. They understand confirmation bias. That is why there is peer review. That is why studies need to be replicated.

It isn't a case of the truth being somewhere in between science based medicine and alternative medicine. There are faults with science based medicine. Confirmation bias. Funding issues. Big pharma is a problem. Placebo responses muddy the waters. But that does not mean in any way whatsoever that alternative medicine is better. Alternative medicine needs to prove itself too. Alternative medicine has its own lobbies. After all "big altmed" manages to lobby to not have its supplements regulated by the FDA provided that they make their claims vague enough. Altmed needs to do the studies and have them reviewed by peers. If results are intriguing then other scientists will try to replicate the work. If effects are shown beyond placebo effects (which can be surprisingly huge especially for things like pain and other amorphous complaints) and the remedies are relatively safe, it becomes medicine.

[Jiffer]

I was really trying not to get into a debate here, but someone has to speak for the side of doctors trying to actually diagnose and treat beyond what the drug companies say they should.

Adrenal Fatigue, under many different names, has been recognized, written about, discussed and treated for over one hundred years. It has been dealt with by thousands of doctors, both personally and clinically. Yet today, it is still not taught in medical schools. Only Addisons and Cushings, much more drastic forms of Adrenal Fatigue, are taught and diagnosed. Low adrenal function is a problem that has become invisible to modern science, due mostly to the pharmaceutical industry and insurance companies, which have completely altered the way doctors diagnose and treat patients in the past fifty years. Because Adrenal Fatigue is best cured with natural supplements, there is no money in it for pharmaceuticals, who came up with synthetic hormones about fifty years ago to replace the natural supplements previously prescribed. The pharmaceutical industry only wants doctors prescribing profitable chemical drugs, and medical training is hugely dependant on pharmaceutical corporations for funding, ergo no training for Adrenal Fatigue.

Because of the ever present threat of malpractice and the conservative influence of peer review boards, MDs have become much less willing and able to try something different to help their patients. To protect themselves, they don’t explore beyond lab tests or routine signs and symptoms. They simply use the traditional range for lab tests to determine what insurance company ICD code to check, and since there’s no drug to prescribe for Adrenal Fatigue, there is no box to check. If there is no box to check for Adrenal Fatigue, it simply doesn’t exist.

It's all about money. Another reason Dr. Mercola is constantly attacked by the FDA. They don't care about actual health. Just money. And those in traditional medicine that do care about actual health are sucked into their way of thinking, as if it's absolute truth and natural medicine is quackery.

[Jiffer]

By the way, I do appreciate that you are truly trying to be helpful in pointing out what you believe to be true. I just truly believe the opposite and am speaking up for myself and others who believe the same. I really just wanted to get some encouragement from those who have been where I am and are now riding strongly again.

[goldfinch]

Well, we each said our piece.

[Pip]

Exactly, thanks Goldfinch. You've said what I would have said had I more time, and quoted the same kinds of sources I would have. I personally would rather listen to my endocrinologist, who has studied adrenal problems for years and is up to date with the latest research, than someone who has been openly discredited. My husband suggested this link:
http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/

I also wonder Jeffers why you are so certain you have adrenal fatigue when by your own admission you haven't had your saliva test results back yet. Nor did you respond to my questions about your symptoms, which referred to real and genuine symptoms of adrenal issues, beyond that of generalised fatigue. I hope you find your answers, but there is no creditable evidence to show that adrenal glands can suffer fatigue as a result of stress, nor is there any real evidence that they can recover after the use of natural supplementation.

As for your initial question, I suffered from autoimmune adrenal failure. I was tested and diagnosed appropriately, hospitalised until I was stable, and prescribed Corticosteroids. Once I began treatment I overnight went from being able to walk 100 metres without needing to sit down to wanting to run around the ward. 8 years later I run marathons and ride 100k on the weekend for fun. Not all Addisons patients are as lucky as me, but it certainly is possible to recover and begin riding again, under proper medical supervision. I hope that you get to the bottom of whatever is causing your health issues, and that you reach that point again yourself.