A Brief Overview of Adrenal Gland Disorders

The adrenal glands are two small organs that sit atop your kidneys. They’re responsible for secreting over 50 different kinds of hormones. Adrenal gland disorders affect the levels of these hormones. And the symptoms vary depending on which ones they affect.

Different areas of the glands secrete different types of hormones. The medulla, or inner part, secretes the hormones norepinephrine and epinephrine (also known as adrenaline). The cortex, or outer layer, secretes hormones that regulate blood pressure, physical appearance, and metabolism. Cortex hormones include:

• DHEA (which is an androgen)
• Aldosterone (which helps balance your fluids and electrolytes)
• Cortisol (which is your body’s main anti-stress hormone)
• Estradiol, Progesterone, Testosterone, and other reproductive hormones

Cortisol regulates your blood pressure and blood sugar levels, maintains your heart and blood vessel function, neutralizes inflammation, and suppresses your immune system once it has completed its job. In a nutshell, cortisol is the hormone that helps your body adapt to stress. It naturally fluctuates throughout the day but within a certain healthy range. If it goes outside of this range, you can experience some imbalances.

Adrenal Fatigue: The Most Common Adrenal Disorder

Although not yet recognized by the mainstream medical community, Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome (AFS) is one of the most common adrenal gland disorders we see. It happens when you experience chronic stress, whether physical or psychological.

When you’re undergoing chronic stress, your adrenals have to secrete more and more cortisol. That marks the beginning stages of AFS and the appearance of mild symptoms. But when your adrenals are exhausted from overworking, their cortisol output drops. This marks the more advanced stages of AFS and more severe symptoms.

AFS and Adrenal Gland Disorders

Symptoms of AFS can include:

• Fatigue
• Weight gain and difficulty losing weight
• Sleep disturbances
• Brain fog
• Anxiety
• Mild depression
• Dry and/or itchy skin
• Hair loss
• Loss of libido
• PMS
• Infertility
• Salt and sugar cravings
• Hypoglycemia
• Lowered immunity
• Food and drug sensitivities
• Heart palpitations

Although different types of adrenal gland disorders will have different symptom pictures, they can also share some common symptoms. The most common are:

• Fatigue
• Weakness
• High blood pressure
• Pain in the abdominal region
• Unexplained weight gain or weight loss

Something to keep in mind is that having any adrenal gland disorder is a form of stress, and that stress can cause or aggravate AFS. On the other hand, if you already have AFS, that can make your adrenal glands more susceptible to other disorders and can make recovering from them more challenging.

Your adrenals are also connected to your NeuroEndoMetabolic (NEM) Stress Response. Your NEM is your body’s global response to stress, and your adrenals are only one component of its Hormone Circuit. Its other five circuits are the Bioenergetics, the Cardionomic, the Neuroaffect, the Inflammation, and the Detoxification circuits.

The Hormone Circuit and Unique Symptoms

When your adrenals dysregulate, they will affect the other two components of the NEM’s Hormone Circuit: the thyroid and reproductive glands (ovaries for women and testes for men). Whichever component is more affected, a different set of symptoms will manifest more strongly.

For example, if it’s your thyroid, your main symptoms will include fatigue, low energy levels, mild depression, weight gain, and PMS. When it’s your adrenals, your main symptoms will include fatigue, anxiety, and irritability. If it’s the ovaries, the main symptoms will be estrogen dominance, PMS, brain fog, and memory loss.

The combination of the affected Hormone Circuit component and your type of adrenal gland disorder will create a unique symptom picture as well. Add to that any other chronic conditions you may have, as well as your medical history, diet, lifestyle, age, sex, and environment, and, once again, your symptom picture will change. This is why it's important to find a doctor well versed in adrenal disorders to avoid misinterpreted symptoms.

Risk Factors for Adrenal Gland Disorders

The most common risk factors for adrenal gland disorders include:

• autoimmunity (like Grave’s disease, HIV, or Lupus)
• adrenal surgeries
• recurring infections
• certain medications
• the presence of other chronic conditions

There are also genetic disorders that increase your risk for developing adrenal tumors, and they include Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia type 2, Paraganglioma syndrome, Li-Fraumeni syndrome, Von Hippel-Lindau disease, Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome, and Neurofibromatosis type 1 (or Recklinghausen’s disease).

Common Types of Adrenal Gland Disorders

Other than adrenal fatigue and NEM dysregulation, the following is a list of some of the most common adrenal gland disorders:

• Adrenal insufficiency/Addison’s disease – This is where your adrenals fail to produce enough cortisol, aldosterone, and other adrenal hormones. It’s usually triggered by another autoimmune condition, such as Lupus or HIV. Although it involves cortisol imbalance, it is not the same thing as adrenal fatigue and requires different treatment. If it is not addressed, it can lead to an adrenal crisis, which is life-threatening. The main symptoms of Addison’s disease are fatigue, muscle weakness, and nausea.
• Cushing’s disease – On the opposite side of the spectrum, Cushing’s disease will make your adrenals overproduce cortisol and other adrenal hormones. Cushing’s disease can be the result of an adrenal cortex tumor. Its main symptoms include high blood pressure, irregular menses, an increase in the growth of body and facial hair, weight gain, and easy bruising.
• Congenital adrenal hyperplasia – This is a genetic condition that makes your adrenals unable to produce enough cortisol or aldosterone and can start at a young age.
• Conn’s Syndrome – This is where your adrenal glands overproduce aldosterone, which is why it’s sometimes also called "hyperaldosteronism." Conn’s syndrome can be caused by aldosteronomas, a specific type of adrenal cortex tumors. When you have excess aldosterone, your main symptoms will be generalized weakness, increased thirst, and increased urination.
• Adrenal gland suppression - This happens when your adrenal glands reduce or even stop making cortisol due to being suppressed by medication. Most commonly, it is caused by the overuse of steroids. Steroids have similar actions to cortisol, so when you take too much, your adrenals get the message that they don’t need to produce cortisol. And even after stopping steroids, it can take quite some time for your adrenals to wake up again and start producing cortisol.

Adrenal Tumors

Along with aldosteronomas (noted above under Conn's Syndrome), there are other types of tumors that can affect your adrenal glands. They can be either benign or malignant. They can also affect either the cortex, the medulla, or an organ associated with the adrenal glands, such as the pituitary gland in the brain. For example:

• Adrenal cortex tumors – These tumors can lead to Cushing’s disease since they increase cortisol production. They also share many symptoms with AFS.
• Pheochromocytomas - These are tumors of the adrenal medulla, and they affect the production of epinephrine and norepinephrine. Their most common symptoms include increased heart rate, high blood pressure, heart palpitations, anxiety, excessive sweating, high blood sugar, and headaches. They can even lead to sudden cardiac arrest or stroke.
• Pituitary gland tumors – These affect the adrenal glands via their impact on the pituitary gland's production of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). ACTH is what signals to the adrenal glands to produce adrenal hormones.
• Paragangliomas – These are tumors that can be found in or outside the adrenal glands. But they still have an impact on the neuroendocrine system, and they cause symptoms similar to those from pheochromocytomas.

Although all of the above issues are all separate from adrenal fatigue, they can lead to it or aggravate it if it’s already present. And because the adrenals are part of the Hormone Circuit of the NEM, their disorders will affect the thyroid and gonads, and also eventually the entire NEM. Adrenal gland disorders are a source of chronic stress, and so should be dealt with as such.

Conclusion

There are many different types of adrenal gland disorders, ranging from tumors to genetic issues to medication-induced problems. But what they have in common is that they will affect your adrenals’ ability to produce adrenal hormones, especially cortisol. AFS and NEM dysregulation also have this in common. And it’s no surprise that you can have AFS along with one of the other disorders.

Some of these disorders are easier to test for with blood and urine samples, MRI scans, and a medical history work-up. With adrenal fatigue, tests don’t help much. It requires the expertise of a medical professional with years of experience in AFS. As does AFS recovery.

But whatever type of adrenal disorder you have, and whatever treatment you might be undergoing, it’s a good idea to also go through an adrenal fatigue recovery program. It can help strengthen your adrenals and replenish your lost energy and nutrient stores. A full AFS recovery plan will include diet, stress management, supplements, gentle forms of exercise, and sleep hygiene practices. These will all help your recovery from the other disorder, as well as general health.

Recovery from adrenal fatigue can have many pitfalls along the way. A supplement that can help one patient tremendously may end up causing you a paradoxical reaction or even an adrenal crash. This is where an experienced doctor can help.

If you have questions about adrenal gland disorders, AFS, or NEM dysregulation, you can contact the Dr. Lam Coaching team. We can offer you a free** no-obligation phone consultation at +1-626-571-1234 where we will privately discuss your symptoms and what your options are. You can also send us a question through our Ask The Doctor system by clicking here.