Are you concerned about your adrenal function and feel as if your symptoms are getting worse? If this is you, then your adrenal glands may not be producing the cortisol that your body needs to function. This is known as acute adrenal fatigue, and should be addressed as soon as possible.
That’s why it’s vital that you do not ignore what your body is telling you. Instead, see your health care professional immediately. Let’s take a look at adrenal fatigue and what happens when it worsens and becomes acute.
Acute adrenal fatigue is a state where your adrenal glands can’t produce enough of the cortisol that your body needs when it needs it and it ends up feeling like a crash. You are normally able to produce cortisol, but something triggers an episode where there isn't enough cortisol produced and the body can feel worse acutely. However, it's different than an Addisonian crisis, where the body isn't able to produce any cortisol.
There is no one cause of this condition, but several factors can make it more likely, such as:
Acute adrenal fatigue is a crisis that occurs when your body lacks the cortisol that it needs. Some of the common symptoms of this condition are:
If you have acute adrenal fatigue, then it’s absolutely essential that you get expert help. Once you visit a health care practitioner, they could perform a variety of tests to rule out adrenal insufficiency or Addisonian crises. If you have an addisonian crisis, then your tests could show some of these results. However, if your tests don't show up positive, then you might have an acute adrenal fatigue crash.
When you visit your health care professional and they only know about addisonian crises, they might offer you corticosteroids to increase cortisol levels in your body, especially if your cortisol levels are low. You might probably also need fluids to help stabilize your blood pressure and ongoing care to resolve any medical problems that are causing adrenal issues. This can include antibiotics for infections. If you are in an acute adrenal fatigue crash, you might also want to reduce the supplement load on your body and reduce the liver congestion so your body can work on metabolizing all the other stressful hormones or toxins it's trying to clear. Always ask an experienced adrenal fatigue expert before changing supplementation or medications around. It's very important to just rest and not exert yourself, focus on breathing and hydration and rest as much as possible.
If you have Addison’s disease, adrenal insufficiency, or any other condition that may put you at greater risk of acute adrenal crises, then it’s essential that you work with your health care practitioner. They will be able to work with you to help you recognize signs of crisis and take steps early before your condition becomes life-threatening. Typically if you are already on corticosteroids, you might need to increase your oral corticosteroids during stressful periods. This will help prevent worsening acute adrenal crisis. If you have adrenal fatigue, then you want to work on supporting your adrenals naturally with nutrients like Vitamin C and Vitamin B5 so the adrenals can work on producing its own hormones. However if you're sensitive to supplements, then you might have to ask your provider how to work on gentle detoxes that are appropriate for your body that won't cause more crashes.
Adrenal Fatigue is the non-Addison’s form of adrenal dysfunction, a condition where the body’s stress response cannot keep up with life’s chronic stressors. It's a long-term condition that consists of many different stages ranging from mild to severe. However, most stages of adrenal fatigue are not immediately life-threatening and instead call for a long-term adrenal support plan. Usually, normal stress is handled by your NeuroEndoMetabolic (NEM) stress response. This stress response makes changes throughout your body that help you cope with the stress by giving you energy and helping to prevent damage, part of the "fight or flight" response.
The main driver of these changes is cortisol, a type of corticosteroid known as a glucocorticoid. It helps to decrease the immune response, maintain blood sugar regulation, and is released when you’re under stress. Cortisol is excreted by your adrenal glands. These are two small glands that sit on top of your kidneys that are responsible for excreting more than 50 essential hormones. The amount of hormone that your adrenal glands produce is controlled by the pituitary glands.
Unfortunately, with prolonged stress, the NEM stress response becomes overused, and the adrenal glands can become fatigued. In the early stages of this condition, you may experience no more than ongoing fatigue that isn’t quite resolved by resting at the end of the day. But as the condition progresses and the adrenal glands become more dysfunctional, it can cause problems and symptoms throughout your entire body.
If the adrenal fatigue isn’t reversed, it may even develop into acute adrenal fatigue, which can be very dangerous if not deadly.
The NEM stress response is composed of six circuits of related organs, each responsible for a range of duties during stressful times and outside of them. One of the most important and vulnerable circuits in acute adrenal fatigue and AFS is the Hormone circuit.
The Hormone circuit consists of the adrenal glands, the thyroid gland, and the testes or ovaries. It’s responsible for most of the hormones that are in your body. Unfortunately, when you have AFS, the adrenal glands decline in health. The three components in this circuit are closely connected, so as the adrenal glands become dysfunctional, the other two components will do the same. This directly impacts the health and functioning of these organs, the Hormone circuit as a whole, and the NEM stress response.
This can be a downward spiral of dysfunction. The declining health of the organs and the circuit will cause additional health problems and stress, which will increase your body’s overall stress levels and cause more pressure on the adrenal function, worsening the underlying AFS. That’s why it’s vitally important that you address any adrenal gland dysfunction as soon as it appears.
Acute adrenal fatigue also causes excessive stress, additional symptoms, and worsens the health of the Hormone circuit and the individual components, all of which will already be in poor health due to AFS. This can become a very serious and life-threatening situation, which needs to be addressed.
If you believe that your health has been impacted by AFS, then it’s vital that you seek out a health professional who’s aware of this condition. Unfortunately, many health care practitioners are unaware of AFS, which can complicate your recovery process.
Obviously, the best way to avoid an acute adrenal crisis is to protect and improve the health of your adrenal glands. There are a number of lifestyle changes you can make that may help with this.
The key to this work is to reduce your stress levels, as they’re the primary cause of adrenal fatigue and dysfunction. Unfortunately, you can’t remove all stress from your life, it just isn’t possible, but you can remove or reduce chronic stressors as much as possible.
To do this, you’ll need to take a look at the causes of stress in your life. This may include:
Once you’ve identified the causes of your stress, you can take steps to reverse or improve them.
Here are some key stressors in the modern world and how to improve or eliminate them:
A poor diet is a key cause of stress as it both introduces toxins to your body such as excess sugar or preservatives and also prevents your body from getting the nutrients it needs to function correctly.
So, try eating a diet that’s based on healthy, whole foods like vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats.
You should always try to get all the nutrients your body needs from your diet first. This will help prevent side effects that can occur when taking supplements. However, if you’re really struggling, then there are certain supplements you can take that may help improve adrenal health and the health of your body overall. Some effective supplements for adrenal support are:
However, before taking any supplement, make sure that you talk to your health professional first, to ensure that it is right for your body and your situation.
Sleep is one of the most important ways to reduce stress as it allows your body to rest and heal. However, poor sleep is becoming all too common in the modern world. Here’s how to sleep better and reduce the impact of this stressor:
In today’s hustle culture, the idea of resting and doing nothing is often seen as just a waste of time. However, it’s an essential part of your body’s rest and repair system. So, try to integrate more relaxing activities into your daily routine such as meditation or yoga. You could also try hobbies such as painting or just spend more time with friends - whatever makes you relax and feel good.
Be careful when you’re adding exercise to your daily routine, particularly if your adrenal glands are weak. In this state, exercising can be dangerous and can even bring on acute adrenal fatigue crashes, so talk to your practitioner and start slowly, monitoring your body along the way. The best thing to do in an acute adrenal fatigue crash is breathing exercises every hour. Breathing is also the most important way of increasing parasympathetic tone, the opposite of the fight or flight system, to focus on the rest and digestion.
Again, it’s absolutely essential that you seek out professional help if you believe that you have acute adrenal fatigue or that your adrenal function is compromised. These kinds of situations can be very dangerous and life-threatening if you have an Addisonian crisis, and you should never try to address them on your own. Some of the symptoms might be similar to acute adrenal fatigue crashes, but you might need extra labs and an experienced provider to be able to help you through this episode.
A health care professional can help ensure that you get the conventional therapies if needed, and then help you choose natural and alternative therapies once the crisis has passed. They can also guide you in the best ways to improve your adrenal health without causing additional stress and dysfunction.
Acute adrenal fatigue can’t be ignored. Getting professional help fast is the best way to overcome this health threat, but even more important is to avoid getting into this situation in the first place by establishing a healthy lifestyle and taking care of your adrenal glands.
If you believe that you may be dealing with an adrenal crisis, then here’s what you need to know about when your adrenal fatigue is in an acute condition:
If you need help developing a comprehensive plan to support your adrenal health long-term, we can help. You can talk to our team at +1 (626) 571-1234 for a free** and confidential initial call, or click here.
Bornstein Stefan R, Alloliu Bruno, Arlt Wiebke, et al. "Diagnosis and treatment of primary adrenal Insufficiency: An Endocrine Society clinical practice guideline." The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, vol. 101, no. 2, 2016, pp. 364-389. https://doi.org/10.1210/jc.2015-1710
Dineen, Rosemary, Thompson, Christopher J, & Sherlock, Mark. "Adrenal Crisis: Prevention and management in adults." Therapeutic Advances in Endocrinology and Metabolism, vol. 10, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1177/2042018819848218
Elshimy, Ghada, Chippa, Venu, & Jeong, Jordan M. "Adrenal Crisis." StatPearls, StatPearls Publishing, 3 Feb 2023. PMID: 29763143.
Acute adrenal fatigue is a fairly uncommon condition that occurs when there isn’t enough cortisol in your body. This hormone is produced by your adrenal glands and is absolutely essential for functions throughout your body, which is why this condition can be so dangerous.
