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Dr. Lam: Another symptom that is very commonly brought up is a sense of discomfort. Sometimes it kind of migrates. It’s kind of a dull ache. It’s almost like somebody’s pressing you sometimes from different parts of the body. Sometimes it can be the left ankle. Sometimes it can be the right wrist. It just kind of moves around. What is going on with it?
Dr. Carrie: Well, what can be going on is that your body has a buildup of metabolites, and what are metabolites?
Dr. Jeremy: So, metabolites are things that have been broken down, such as from toxins and things that leak through your gut into your bloodstream. Now, these metabolites that are not supposed to be there can go into your joints and cause aches and really make you not feel that well.
Dr. Lam: What happens is that your body has an automatic excretion mechanism. But in adrenal fatigue, the body oftentimes--in its attempt to slow down--will reduce the velocity of the excretion. So, instead of going out of your body at the normal speed, it kind of slows.
When it slows, some of it is going to accumulate, and this accumulation gets circulated in the blood. Then wherever it goes… It can go into the joints. It can cause inflammation. Go to the brain, and it can cause brain fog. These are some of the very subtle symptoms that are the way the body reminds you of displeasure within. So, what is the short-term solution?
Dr. Jeremy: So, the short-term solution is to really reduce your stress and to kind of get the metabolite load down.
Dr. Lam: Yes. Drink lots of water. Keep yourself well hydrated. That will help. How about longer-term?
Dr. Carrie: Well, long-term if you’re having issues with metabolite overload, you need to decrease the amount of congestion that you’re having. But you can’t do it alone, because sometimes it can be a very in-depth and slow process that you need to work on.
Dr. Lam: Yes. So, make sure—a lot of people make the common mistake of going through liver flushes and detoxification, a program that is too strong, and then they can crash. So, make sure you don’t do that without proper supervision.
Another set of common symptoms is lightheadedness when they stand up, especially if it’s too fast. That can also go along with the sense of breathlessness when they walk up a flight of steps. It’s not necessarily short of breath. The lung functions are perfect, and there are no neurological issues, but they just kind of feel not very steady. What is this all about?
Dr. Carrie: Well, your adrenals make the hormone aldosterone, which is important in your body’s production or balancing of salt and free water. So when your adrenals start to get tired and exhausted, the hormone aldosterone might not be up to the level that it needs to be. Therefore, you might have some salt cravings. You might feel more lightheaded when you stand up really too quickly, and that’s the reason why.
Dr. Jeremy: So, some short-term things that you can do is to first take some salt boluses in the morning to kind of get your salt level balanced. Another option is to just drink more water throughout the day. However, the long-term resolution is to really restore adrenal health.
Dr. Lam: Yes, now, you have to be very careful. You don’t want to overdrink too much water because it can actually dilute your salt too much, and you can get even worse. At the same time, you also want to make sure that you have something to hold on to. You have to arise from a laying down position then go from laying down to sitting first, and then let your body kind of adapt itself before you stand up.
But in the long-term you’re right. This is again one of the whispers that the body’s trying to tell you. So, it’s not necessarily bad in the sense that it is to be eradicated at all costs. You want to help the adrenals to recover and you use this as monitoring. In other words, as your adrenals recover, actually, the frequency of these happenings will reduce.
Dr. Jeremy: That’s right. Up next
Dr. Lam: …is the inability to remember things. This is not the same as the loss of long or short-term memory on a permanent basis. It’s almost like you sometimes have a vivid recall, but sometimes it’s kind of foggy. It’s not very clear. We call this a brain fog phenomenon. Dr. Carrie, tell us what it’s about.
Dr. Carrie: Well, brain fog can happen when you have a hormonal imbalance. Some people have heavy metals or environmental issues where they’re unable to detox very well. Some people just feel like they have a very hard time concentrating. So, word-finding actually becomes really hard for them.
Dr. Jeremy: Yes, that’s right, and oftentimes it is from your body’s detoxification system not being able to kick in and perform optimally. So, your brain fog may actually last a long period of time.
Dr. Lam: Now, usually brain fog tends to go away by itself. Now, if you have it and it kind of sticks around, then you have to slow down and ask, “What am I doing that is causing these metabolites or detoxification issues to be dysregulated?” So, this is where we have to focus our attention.
So, short-term, the very common things are sugar, dairy products, corn, wheat, and gluten sensitivities. These are the common things that will trigger brain fog, but long-term, what is it we have to do? So, long-term, we have to focus on our adrenals and also focus on our detoxification circuit and make sure the liver is not congested. Your extracellular matrix is not congested. So then, your body is able to get rid of these toxic metabolites.
Dr. Lam: Yes. Now, I also have to warn you in the sense that while this concept of detoxification is very popular, many people get into trouble because they don’t know how to do it, or they do it inappropriately. And that can trigger adrenal crashes very quickly because if you detoxify too quickly and your body is unable to handle it, then that can lead to a retoxification reaction.
So, it’s not just about detoxifying the body. It’s really about a holistic approach of how to help the adrenals rebalance themselves. Because when the adrenals do that, not only is the system able to detoxify, it also is able to support you. So, it’s a combination. It’s not so simple as just getting rid of stuff . You have to replenish that with good stuff as well, through this whole recovery process.
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