Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion Highlights in Spondylitis Research Tiredness in AS.. Is it "Adrenal Fatigue"?

Many of us AS folk suffer from tiredness. This extremely informative little clip helps to peint a very detailed picture of how our immune system can influence the behaviour of our adrenal cortex, and hence make us so very tired.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ac0npV7dA70

Conclusion: It isn't exactly "Adrenal Fatigue".. rather it is a side effect of TNF-alpha blocking receptors in the Adrenal Cortex.

Moderators: If you watch the video, then you will see this clip focuses very much on established scientific knowledge. Im not sure though, perhaps this post belongs more in the main forum.

i think you have the wrong video linked?

as all it talks about is how stress leads to adrenal fatigue, and how relaxation and sleeping and eating right can help one recover.

is that the video you intended to link?

anyway, my naturpath doctor and gyn/endocrine PA state i have adrenal fatigue as my morning cortisol and saliva cortisol tests came back low. would also help to explain a lot of what i deal with on a daily basis. read the books, etc. they wanted to put me on low level hydrocortisone.

however, my endocrinologist says its all a bunch of hooey!

who to believe?

well, i've decided to take a conservative approach. assume that either could be right and thus do only things that certainly couldn't hurt and could possibly help:

relax as much as possible (ha! try that with a high pressure career! but try we must. so when i'm not working, i do a lot of very relaxing things, surround myself with low stress people, etc),

sleep right (working on that),

eat right,

exercise (but not too much, as that can make things worse. so daily walks fit the bill quite nicely. relaxing too to take a walk, so kill two birds with one stone).

but not take the low level hydrocortisone. as i've decided on my own that that would not be much different than being on lower levels of methylprednisone or prednisone. in my mind steroids are steroids are steroids. that's my opinion.

my rheumy was open to doing it if i wanted to, letting me be the guinea pig, as he felt is was safe enough. but when i told him my decision, he was good with that as well. felt it was a smart decision on my part.

while i have no doubt that the hydrocortisone would make me feel awesome! initially at least. as the medrol dose packs are my magic happy pills. i'm afraid that long term, i'd have the same issues with the hydrocortisone as i could with prednisone.

so, instead, trying to do all the natural things that could help my adrenal glands. i don't know who's right, the naturpath and PA or the endocrinologist. but doing natural healthy things can't be a bad game plan.

adrenal fatigue would explain a lot. if my cortisol really is on the low side, as all the tests have shown. that could explain the inflammatory disease. after years of a stressful job, the stress could have caught up with me. then getting sick, being in pain, dealing with not being diagnosed for a dozen years, that's all stressful too.

maybe i just need a very long vacation........figi sounds very nice right about now

DANG! That was the wrong video .. EEEK
The video I posted there is utter rubbish, sorry about that. Can a moderator change it to this one please.. this is the one I intended to post in the first place :

>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ac0npV7dA70 <<

>> adrenal fatigue would explain a lot. if my cortisol really is on the low side, as
>> all the tests have shown. that could explain the inflammatory disease

The video that I meant to post provides an alternate explanation. So yes the cortisol levels are low, but not due to fatigue - instead it is more likely to be due to inflammatory hormones like TNF blocking the release of cortisol (as TNF block receptors on the adrenal glands that are necessary to release cortisol).

i'll look at that link then and comment back.

but the way you're explaining it, that sounds like something i've read recently somewhere.

ok, thanks, i'll check that one out!

PS just started watching it.......that's where i saw it too........yes, i really like his videos, very thought provoking.......ok, off for a refresher, thanks for posting this

watched this.......again.

yes, i agree.....an excellent video, IMO.

that makes even more sense.

my cortisol levels do test on the low side.
not so low as to be determined low by the established endocrine community
(24 hour urine collection), but rather on the low side as established by AM cortisol blood work or that saliva testing at points throughout the day.

one of the things was that the endocrinologist said the saliva testing was bogus.
but the naturpath and gyn endocrine PA say its a better test.
don't know who's right in this regard.

and then when i take the 4 mg medrol dose pack i feel absolutely wonderful.
another indication (to me) that i'm simply replacing something that my body is low in.

i believe all the information saying taking the cortisone (be it hydrocortisone, methylpred, pred) long term can lead to all those side effects we all know so well.

but i don't completely understand why if one were to take a very low dose for a long time, simply replacing what nature is not making, why that would cause those problems.

but i do believe it, so opted not to do it.

also makes a lot of sense one way that aTNF inhibitors would work.

yes, thanks for the video. whether he's right or wrong, it does make sense to me.

>> don't completely understand why if one were to take a very low dose for a long
>> time, simply replacing what nature is not making, why that would cause those
>> problems

Yeah, I think that makes sense. Shouldn't harm the body if it is bringing hormones into a more normal balance. One problem could arise : the adrenals will have even less reason to produce those hormones since they are being replaced by a drug, right? So if you stop taking them , you would have to cut back slowly and in stages so that the adrenals get a chance to catch up again.

yes, the adrenals do shut down when they aren't being asked to make the cortisone themselves, so do have to ween off very slowly just like with pred or methylpred.

but as for why it would be bad otherwise, i didn't really understand why either, except the endocrinologist looked at the amount the naturpath wanted me on, thought that it was a mg to mg equivalent and thought it was the same as being on 4-5 mg of pred or methylpred. but 4-5 mg of hydrocortisone is only about a quarter that amount. so maybe i should rethink things, now that i learned that information today on another thread. this place is great for learning new things!

I agree, on the days I have to take 6 methrexate I am wiped out for the day! I assume it is working, I have been on it for a month. I really like this site too