Low Energy, Weight Gain, and Pain: The Effects of Aging or Symptoms of Adrenal Fatigue?
Do you know anyone who is often tired and run down, or who can’t seem to lose weight? Or maybe someone who is often moody or irritable or who suffers from frequent headaches? Maybe that person is your mother, your sister, a friend. Or maybe that person is you.
Many middle-aged women contribute their lack of energy, depressed mood, sleep disturbances, and added pounds as a part of getting older. But often times there’s more to those symptoms than the normal effects of aging. This is especially true if you’re experiencing a cluster of problems at the same time, such as:
Low Energy
- Tired, fatigued, afternoon drag
- Mentally tired…or worse—forgetful, trouble finding words
- Maybe you can’t get to sleep or stay asleep
Weight Gain
- Following a healthy diet & exercising, but getting no results
- Too tired to exercise
- Eating helps your energy & mood – especially sweets
Not Feeling Good
- You’ve got pain, like trigger points, headaches, or simply achy & sore
- Or digestive problems, like irritable bowel, gas, constipation/diarrhea
- Maybe mood issues, like feeling depressed, anxious, irritable or worried
While many of the above symptoms can be related to the aging process, if your symptoms have overcome your life to where you don’t feel like your vibrant, energetic self anymore, you could be experiencing the results of adrenal fatigue.
The Stages of Adrenal Fatigue
The human body is an intricate machine. Each of our internal systems relies on the proper function of the other to work properly. So when one isn’t functioning correctly, it’s just a matter of time before other dependent systems get thrown out of whack. The most common source of adrenal fatigue is chronic stress.
Continued stress disrupts our adrenal balance first. That’s because the adrenal glands are the “stress glands.” They are responsible for secreting the stress hormone called “cortisol,” which helps our body cope during times of stress.
In the first stage of adrenal fatigue (when cortisol is high), “pregnenolone”—a major building block in the making of other hormones in the body, especially the sex hormones—is stolen from the hormonal system to make more cortisol. If this continues long enough, it can lead to hormonal imbalance. This typically starts with the female hormones.
Once the hormonal system is compromised, the digestive system is usually the next to follow. The hormonal system has a big impact on the digestive sytem. An imbalance in the digestive system can result in decreased immune response, increased inflammation, and eventual damage to mucous membranes in the digestive tract.
Mucous membranes are an important first line of defense. They are where most absorption of nutrients and toxins occur. Stress can damage these mucous membranes, creating inflammation that can lead to leaky gut, food intolerance, and pathogens.
The detoxification system is usually the last system to be affected. Stressors, impaired mucous membranes, and the increased toxic load in the body overwhelms the detox system. This adds to the body’s toxic burden, the effects result in more stress on the body, which continues the entire destructive cycle of adrenal fatigue.
How to Get Your Body Back on Track
The good news about adrenal fatigue is that it can be reversed. So can the imbalances of other affected body systems. All of this can be achieved through an adrenal-based recovery program.
At Vibrant, we use a functional medicine approach to test and correct the underlying imbalances. With your vital body sytstems back in balance, your symptoms will resolve and you’ll feel healthy again.
If you want to have more energy, remove your body’s road blocks to weight loss, and feel better than you have in years, Vibrant is waiting to design a recovery program that’s tailored just for you.
To make an appointment with Dr. Heather:
- Go to www.vibrantkc.com and click “Book Now!”
- Go to www.bookeo.com/vibrant
- Or call 913.608.HEAL