Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Have you been dragging your feet more than usual lately? Chronic fatigue is often mistaken for regular bouts of exhaustion, while others may consider it to be psychological rather than a physical problem. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is not common and hard to diagnose. However, awareness of the disease is increasing and allowing people to finally get the proper diagnosis they’ve been looking for. It is estimated that approximately 850,000 to 2.5 million Americans are affected by Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
What is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?
Feeling tired is one of the most common symptoms people experience and recognize when they’re feeling ill. However, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is something different altogether. It is characterized as extreme fatigue that is debilitating and cannot be explained by another underlying condition. It can severely impair your day-to-day activities and responsibilities and does not improve with rest.
Chronic fatigue is caused by the energy box of the cells (the mitochondria) being malnourished and flooded with toxins and inflammatory mediators. It can be worsened by infections, liver and kidney congestion, hormone imbalances, or psychological stress.
Symptoms of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Symptoms of chronic fatigue are different for everyone and can vary over time. The onset of illness can also come as a surprise, as some patients describe it as waking up with a bad flu that never goes away. It can be extremely hard to diagnose, since fatigue is a symptom of many illnesses that have to be ruled out. However, here are the symptoms of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome as a chronic illness itself:
Chronic fatigue and muscle weakness
Increased exhaustion after physical and mental activities
Sleeping problems
Dizziness, lightheadedness, or fainting caused by low blood pressure
Brain fog
Headaches
Sore throat
Chills and night sweats
Muscle or joint pains, body aches
Irritable bowels
Sensitivity to light
Irritability, mood swings, or depression
Irregular heart rate or palpitations
Fluctuation in blood pressure and blood sugar levels
Decreased appetite and weight loss
Darkening of the skin
Salt cravings
Nausea, diarrhea, or vomiting
Body hair loss
Sexual dysfunction
Gut Bacteria and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Recent research suggests that people with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome could have imbalances in their gut bacteria. One study found that people with chronic fatigue have higher levels of a certain bacteria in the gut and lower levels of other kinds of bacteria. While some researchers believe the imbalance of gut bacteria could cause chronic fatigue syndrome, it also seems possible that it is a consequence of having Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
What is Adrenal Insufficiency?
If you've been feeling extremely tired every day and it's not improving with rest, you may have chronic fatigue of another kind. Chronic Fatigue occurs when the adrenal glands, responsible for managing our body’s stress and located on top of the kidneys, are no longer functioning properly. Long-standing physical and/or mental stress can cause the adrenal glands to become over-stimulated and eventually over-exhausted. This leads to the adrenal glands no longer able to produce enough cortisol and aldosterone, the stress hormones. Clinically, adrenal insufficiency presents with fatigue that worsens when you exert yourself in physical or mental activity, and is further compounded by stress.
There are two types of adrenal insufficiency. Primary adrenal insufficiency (commonly known as Addison’s disease) is an extremely rare autoimmune disorder in which the body’s immune system slowly destroys the outer layer of the adrenal gland.
Secondary adrenal insufficiency, on the other hand, is more common and develops in response to chronic stress. Under a chronic state of extreme stress, the adrenal glands cannot keep up with the hormone demands and become over-stimulated, leading to chronic fatigue.
Causes of Chronic Adrenal Fatigue
Though it can be hard to pinpoint the exact cause of adrenal insufficiency, there are many aggravating factors that can make a person more susceptible to the condition:
Lifestyle habits (including poor diet, chronic lack of sleep, high level of chronic stress, substance abuse, etc)
Chronic illness or repeated infections (including medications for treatment)
Long periods of feeling trapped or helpless (caused by unhealthy relationships, stressful jobs, poverty, etc.)
Maternal adrenal fatigue during pregnancy
Autoimmune disorder
Secondary adrenal insufficiency is more common and develops when the pituitary gland in the brain is not able to produce enough Adrenocorticotropin (ACTH), a hormone that stimulates the adrenal glands to make cortisol. Under a chronic state of extreme stress, the adrenal glands cannot keep up with the hormone demands relative to the supply and become over-stimulated, leading to chronic fatigue.
Tips to Better Manage Chronic Fatigue and Adrenal Insufficiency
Chronic fatigue is a complex disease that requires a better understanding of each individual person’s stress. People with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome are often burnt out and have pushed their bodies to their own limit. It’s important to learn what those limits are and establish a new daily routine designed to treat Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and manage symptoms. There are many ways you can go about Adrenal Insufficiency treatment, so we have outlined some basics about what the condition is, what causes it, and how you can make adjustments to your lifestyle to address the imbalances in your body.
Treating Chronic Fatigue Syndrome with integrative medicine is essential to get to the root cause of the illness and define a personalized treatment plan. Eating a healthy, balanced plant-based diet to effectively deliver nutrients to the body’s cells and decrease the production of stress hormones. It is also essential to incorporate functional medicine techniques to effectively remove toxins from the body and decrease toxin overload.
Although it is tempting to turn to caffeine when you have chronic fatigue, it will increase your cortisol (stress hormone) levels, irritate the stomach, prevent the absorption of essential nutrients, and make it more difficult for your body to manage stress. The best way to manage cortisol levels is to regularly exercise. Exercise releases endorphins and reduces stress levels in the body. Although people with chronic fatigue may experience extreme exhaustion after physical activity, it is important to work out a personalized treatment plan that balances exercise and rest.
Although it may not relieve the feeling immediately, getting enough sleep is critical for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. It helps the body recover from daily stress and repair its cells.
AUTHOR
Dr. Payal Bhandari M.D. is one of U.S.'s top leading integrative functional medical physicians and the founder of SF Advanced Health. She combines the best in Eastern and Western Medicine to understand the root causes of diseases and provide patients with personalized treatment plans that quickly deliver effective results. Dr. Bhandari specializes in cell function to understand how the whole body works. Dr. Bhandari received her Bachelor of Arts degree in biology in 1997 and Doctor of Medicine degree in 2001 from West Virginia University. She the completed her Family Medicine residency in 2004 from the University of Massachusetts and joined a family medicine practice in 2005 which was eventually nationally recognized as San Francisco’s 1st patient-centered medical home. To learn more, go to www.sfadvancedhealth.com.