What To Do?

[gointribal]

Ok, I'm feeling kind of down right now. I don't know what is wrong with me. I have not eaten anything with gluten in it for the last 5 months, but I am still feeling tired, hungry and dizzy more often then I should be. I only work about 18 hours a week, I work out 5 days a week, I sleep 7 hour every night and yet I can't stay awake all day, all I can think about is eating and at least once a day I get light headed and almost pass out. The doctors said its not a iron problem, I don't have a thyroid problem, they even said I didn't have a wheat intolerance but every time I eat wheat I am sicker than a dog (I fit the bill for Celiac or at least a wheat intolerance).

Anyway, i am wondering if anyone else has this problem? Do I have depression? If anyone has anything, please help me out. I am only 21 and I don't want the rest of my life to be like this.

[CarlaB]

I can't tell you what your problem is, but I can tell you what my problem was. Adrenal fatigue/burnout. Look up various combinations of those three words and see if it's a fit for you. If so, I recommend a book called Tired of Being Tired by Jesse Lynn Hanley, MD. I have been doing the things suggested in the book for a month and am feeling like a different person. It takes about a year to get back to normal, but just feeling a little better is GREAT!!!

[Turtle]

I have some similiar symtpoms: tired, hungry and blurred vision.

I too exercise daily. I sleep longer at night than you do though, usually 8-9 hours and more on the weekends. Like you, I have no idea what is causing these things...I started taking B-12 (the dots) and that has helped somewhat but i'm still not feeling great.

I thought maybe i'm getting cross contaminated so i'm in the process of replacing ALL my kitchen stuff with my goal being starting off the new year with a completely new gluten-free kitchen to see if that helps. But like you, I also wondered is this a depression thing??

Best of luck to you...if I learn anything i'll be sure to share it with you!

[hannahsue01]

Have you been tested for diabetes? All of those symptoms can be related to diabetes?

[CarlaB]

Turtle, you may look up adrenal fatigue/burnout, too. Apparently the constant inflammation from gluten intolerance, along with DAILY EXERCISE , and stress can burn out the adrenals. I also exercised daily ... I am literally a different person now after making these changes.

Ruling out diabetes and anything else is important, but if you end up being sub-clinical on everything, as I was, it's likely your system is just tired.

[gointribal]

OMG...I just looked up the adrenal gland thing and it fits me exactly. I did go to the doctor back in June and they ruled out diabetes, thyroid and iron deficiency. So, are you taking vitamins or anything to help your adrenals?

[CarlaB]

OMG...I just looked up the adrenal gland thing and it fits me exactly. I did go to the doctor back in June and they ruled out diabetes, thyroid and iron deficiency. So, are you taking vitamins or anything to help your adrenals?

I was SURE it would!!!! I am following the guidelines in the book, it's really great ... you really need to read it.

Basically, get to bed by 10, sleep as late as you are able, take naps or rest if you're tired, eat 5-6 meals a day featuring protein (first meal must be before 10AM), NO strenuous exercise (only walks, yoga, tai chi -- yea, this one is TOUGH), no coffee, no alcohol, no caffeine, no sugar, no processed food -- your "job" is resting and rebuilding your adrenals, which takes at least a year. If you go back to draining them, you will deplete them again. This is actually the fourth time this has happened to me, the first I was about your age. Now that I know what it is, it's the last time ... no more burning the candle from both ends for me!

I also take supplements. I had a hair analysis which gave me a good idea of what I needed. The book also has suggestions.

Keep me posted on how you're doing! It is slow going, but every week I am feeling better than the last. I am also getting acupuncture and taking chinese herbs ... weird, but it's helping a lot!

[Turtle]

This is very interesting. Thanks guys!!

[gointribal]

Hey Carla

I'm all teary eyed right now...lol...I just read your post, looked up a few things on line and called my mom. I had forgotten that I had this adrenal problem back in high school. It had gotten better but I guess its back again, so I its time for a change. I had gone to a doctor who had given me a vitamin supplement but I can't use it now because of Celiac (it contains, wheat germ and oats).

So I am wondering what you are using? I take a vitamin B complex and a multi vitamin daily, however I don't think its enough. I am a healthy eater, except for the past two months. I have been going crazy over sugar, salty and fatty foods; I've gained 10lbs and because of that I have been excersing more but then I am so tired. Its a horrible cycle I have gotten into.

Also I am wondering did you have this before or after you found out you had Celiac? I found out last year I had a celiac disease but I had already had adrenal fatigue syndrom before. From what I've read adrenal fatigue syndrom can lead to a gluten intolerance. What do you know about this?

Thanks so much for reading this and for you time:-)

[CarlaB]

For me, I think it's a chicken and egg, no telling which came first. I have known about my gluten intolerance for only a year, and my problem with wheat for four years, but I've had digestive problems all my life.

I'm taking a multiple, B-complex, garlic, C, E, Cal/Mag/Zinc, iron and B12, St. John's Wort, Thyroid.

I had a hair analysis done. I went to Analytical Research Labs, Inc. They will tell you what specifically you need, how you metabolize food and what foods you need to eat. It's a very thorough report and well worth the $138 that my doc charged me for it (don't know how much they actually charge).

If you start with the other things I've mentioned, it will take time, but you will at least start healing. It's important to cut down stress as much as possible. The book was a tremendous help.

[gointribal]

I'm finding it hard to eat with this adrenal fatigue syndrome what do you all eat? I've read a couple differnet things that say I shouldn't eat yogurt and cheese and then others say I dhouldn't. Anything else I should know about? Thanks

[CarlaB]

Basically, I'm eating meat, eggs and vegetables. I eat potatoes, rice or gluten-free bread twice per day.

[kimberly O'Brien]

This is my first post but I've been reading the board for a few months now.

I too have Adrenal Fatigue. Plus, I've been gluten free since July 2006.

The Adrenal Fatigue is difficult to deal with. I had a saliva test done which records your cortosal levels throughout the day. The Adrenal glands make cortosal in order for you to deal with stress.. well I've been really stressed out for years.. and mine are next to quitting on me. You'll want to get your levels checked to see how severe your Adrenal Fatigue is. At my level the dr. said it will take me about 2 years to recover.

I'm starting to feel better with the naturopathic medicine I've been taking. I also take different things each month along with vitamins: B complex, C, Calcium, Fish Oil, Magnesium.

Adrenal Fatigue is new to me, but I am glad I know what has caused so much fatigue.

I can sympathize with anyone else who has this problem.

I also have a slow thyroid and suffer from PMDD, which the doctor says is related to the Adrenal fatigue because it is all linked to hormores, which the Adrenal glands produce.

Hang in there you'll slowly begin to feel better, but like others have said, you'll need to get plenty of rest and reduce your stress levels.

Kim

[CarlaB]

This is my first post but I've been reading the board for a few months now.

I too have Adrenal Fatigue. Plus, I've been gluten free since July 2006.

The Adrenal Fatigue is difficult to deal with. I had a saliva test done which records your cortosal levels throughout the day. The Adrenal glands make cortosal in order for you to deal with stress.. well I've been really stressed out for years.. and mine are next to quitting on me. You'll want to get your levels checked to see how severe your Adrenal Fatigue is. At my level the dr. said it will take me about 2 years to recover.

I'm starting to feel better with the naturopathic medicine I've been taking. I also take different things each month along with vitamins: B complex, C, Calcium, Fish Oil, Magnesium.

Adrenal Fatigue is new to me, but I am glad I know what has caused so much fatigue.

I can sympathize with anyone else who has this problem.

I also have a slow thyroid and suffer from PMDD, which the doctor says is related to the Adrenal fatigue because it is all linked to hormores, which the Adrenal glands produce.

Hang in there you'll slowly begin to feel better, but like others have said, you'll need to get plenty of rest and reduce your stress levels.

Kim

Kim, welcome to the board. You are right, adrenal fatigue takes a long time to correct. I hope you've been able to make the lifestyle changes that are necessary to reduce stress. I had a hair analysis, which also shows how bad it is, but I've heard of the saliva test, too. You'd like the book I recommended ... I really got a lot out of it. I bought it at Barnes and Noble, so you could just skim through it there. Thanks for participating! It's always good to have more people around here!

[Turtle]

Okay so I took your advice Carla and have been reading up via online about Adrenal Fatigue. Some of the descriptions fit me and when I took the questionaire I scored basically borderline. I took a Depression Screening thing too and again I screened borderline. I am split on this at this point b/c I have had a lot of BIG changes in my life in the past 6mons-year which has caused lots of stress and other emotions. So i'm not sure whether it's an adrenal fatigue thing or a depression thing going on.

My questions to try to work towards figuring this out:

What type of doctor(s) did ya'll see that tested you for Adrenal Fatigue?

What did you ask for??

Do doctors REALLY recognize & help you to treat adrenal fatigue or do they try to push it off as something else such as saying "you're depressed"??

Is Adrenal Fatigue testing covered by insurance plans??

I am more than willing to do some Adrenal Fatigue testing to rule this out or in whatever the case may be. I'm just unclear about what type of doctor I would see for this and what I would ask for.

[lorka150]

Ok, I'm feeling kind of down right now. I don't know what is wrong with me. I have not eaten anything with gluten in it for the last 5 months, but I am still feeling tired, hungry and dizzy more often then I should be. I only work about 18 hours a week, I work out 5 days a week, I sleep 7 hour every night and yet I can't stay awake all day, all I can think about is eating and at least once a day I get light headed and almost pass out. The doctors said its not a iron problem, I don't have a thyroid problem, they even said I didn't have a wheat intolerance but every time I eat wheat I am sicker than a dog (I fit the bill for Celiac or at least a wheat intolerance).

Anyway, i am wondering if anyone else has this problem? Do I have depression? If anyone has anything, please help me out. I am only 21 and I don't want the rest of my life to be like this.

are you eating a proper diet? that really could be one of the only issues.

[Mia H]

I too have adrenal fatigue diagnosed by saliva test by my naturopath.

He gave me natural cortisol which did nothing for me but was very hard to get off of.

For me I don't feel like my adrenals will heal until I remove all of my immune system irritants. So, I went gluten free dairy free in May and had done a 3 month gluten-free trial before that. I felt about 10% better. But I still had gut rot, C, and bloating.

I am now trying the specific carbohydrate diet (www.breakingtheviciouscycle.info)

The premise is after eating sugar and refined food all my life, bad bacteria and yeast have overgrown in my gut. This diet is to starve them. It's no grains, sugars or starches. It is recommended to try the diet for a month. If you feel better you do it for a year to heal your gut, if you don't feel better, the diet won't help.

I started the diet Sept 12 and for the first week started to feel great. Then I tried some homemade mayo and got D bad and felt sick for a week! My gut got screwed up and I ended up getting so hungry one day I had to eat, so I ate a pizza my dear husband brought me trying to help. (oooooh the bloating and gut rot after that!). Anyways, I'm back on now for 2 days and already feeling better again. I just need to avoid fat right now, my gut is not ready.

Long story short, if you want to try it, you would know in about 2-3 weeks (or sooner) if it is helping and it is a dramatic difference.

Good luck and keep looking for answers.

Mia