Below is a link to a great video.
It explains in simple terms everything to do with adrenal fatigue. Signs, symptoms, tests & helpful remidies.
Hope you find this helpful in addition to all the fantastic advice from the experts on the site.
Adrenal fatigue- Great informative video - PMRGCAuk
Adrenal fatigue- Great informative video
Written by
Naim1
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39 Replies
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Thank you, very interesting!
In our case we are being given steroids, not because we have adrenal fatigue, but to reduce the inflammation which helps supress the pain that we are getting.
Thank you so much for sharing. I'm really now focusing on my diet to help my adrenals as im now at 3.5mg so want to give my body the best chance to get well again. Very informative. Have you tried that ashgawandha stuff he mentions ? I'm always a little sceptical of those sort of things.
Hi, having only just found out about ashgawandha, i've not had chance to look into it further. But will do over the coming days.
Hi Naim1 can you give us some feedback if your decide to take it? Thanks
I certainly will.
I'm currently trying Tumeric, ginger & black pepper capsules as it supposed to reduce inflammation.
Combining turmeric and black pepper can enhance the health benefits of both spices by increasing the body's ability to absorb turmeric's beneficial compounds.......
Well, that's what they say. I've only been on them for a week and i'm glad to report, nothing has fell off....yet!
Thank you.
I don’t know exactly what it does but I’d like to know. I steer clear of anything that seems to directly take the place of any part of the adrenal axis. Logically, it seems to me that if you save the process having to do any part of its job, it won’t bother because it doesn’t need to.
The below link seems to be a balanced view on ashgawandha.
Obviously I am certainly not saying this is a saviour or the a product of the devil as I am not an expert or qualified to comment on it.
There are lots of articles on line explaining the for & against.
medicalnewstoday.com/articl...
Hope this helps. 🤗
Thanks for that. It seems that it lowers cortisol by reducing stress and a lowered cortisol level seems to be used as evidence of the stress reduction. I think the picture is being confused unless I’m being a bit stupid. I think once a steroid is used, the issue of adrenal fatigue goes out the window. First one is suffering from steroid surplus and then we have to deal with low cortisol because the feedback process seems to have been blunted by that surplus.
Perhaps we do get autoimmune conditions because our cortisol production is reduced from burnout from a permanently activated adrenal axis. But once we start treatment the playing field changes because of an artificially high corticosteroid level needed to treat the inflammation, hence the symptoms he speaks of in the video. I do wonder if people get confused by the wording, “adrenal fatigue” because it chimes with the fatigue one gets when the suppressed adrenal axis is not springing into action. The desire to short circuit this difficult process by kickstarting the adrenals gets mixed up by terms. I dunno, perhaps I’ve got it wrong.
No, in my view you aren’t wrong. I’m thinking along the same lines as you.
Whilst the video is interesting in explaining what may happen to many before they get PMR, GCA or any other autoimmune disease… it shouldn’t [as you and others say] be seen as relevant once on long term, higher dose of steroids.
As we know, in that situation, our adrenals don’t need to work. They aren’t fatigued through overworking as described in video, they are asleep.. and then need to wake up once we get to the equivalent of our physiological level of cortisol. For some that can take longer than it does for others, and it maybe more difficult… but what we are encountering is adrenal insufficiency not fatigue.
My interpretation from the video is an explanation for those probably feeling bad, not realising why, maybe having been told they have inflammation or ' your stressed' and before they have been diagnosed with an autoimmune problem or prescribed Pred.
Obviously for us with PMR it revolves around adrenals and those that either accept what they are told by NHS, or trying to make sense of a situation, we can be in a position to look back, join up the dots and receive biological knowledge to help us understand.
With regards to 'natural' remedies, nature often has the answer. Chuck in modern science along with synthetic 'nature' and we all hope it can save us.
With regards to adrenal fatigue, they say there is no proof, however by equal weight there is no proof to suggest it isn't either. Yet many a Doctor and expert talk of ' adrenal fatigue' and list signs and symptoms.
What we can't argue with is what the body does, what each bit does & how everything may be linked up to make us function.
Many appear to report similar journeys up to the point when this terrible PMR kicks in, so there must be something in it.
We can't all be wrong especially in the absence within the expert domain of an answer in the negative or positive.
If we can spot things in others early with our combined knowledge and experiences, I hope we can pull folk back from the brink of diving head first towards Autoimmune problems.
If someone a few years ago had properly spotted the signs & symptoms in me for potential adrenal fatigue, what may come if you don't pull back from the brink then maybe, just maybe I could have avoided getting PMR, but no one joined up the dots!
I now know what to look for and already I can spot what is happening to others in my circle. They are on the same path.
I can now at least say....have a look at this !..... should they wish to of course. Obviously I can't make them.
If I can help just one person by signposting then i'll consider my journey to have been painful but worthwhile.
Hope everyone keeps up the brilliant advice, sharing knowledge and providing empathy to each other.
We need help groups like this more than ever. ❤🤗
webmd.com/diet/supplement-g...
points out it should not be mixed with a range of medications, including immunosuppressants (pred) and a load of other things many of us may be on.
It is said to suppress the release of stress hormones - including cortisol - and that would appear to not be particularly productive if you want INCREASED production of cortisol.
even if adrenal fatigue exists (and that isn't proven) this isn't relevant to people taking pred,
We have steroid induced adrenal insufficiency...the pred takes over from normal adrenal function and the adrenals go into hibernaiton. At lower doses of pred we don't get enough corisol from the pred,,,then we experience deathly fatigue etc. It can only imporve when our adrenals decide to wake up and return to normal functioning.
The purpose of the video & information is to make sense of why many of us have been hit with PMR and need to take Prednisolone in the first place.
Anecdotal evidence supports many of us may have been struck down with inflammation as a result of our adrenal glands taking a battering over a sustained period of time.
For many of us we want to understand, what went wrong, when it went wrong & how it went wrong?
We can only join the dots up when we look back and by doing so it may, just may give us knowledge & the strength to challenge those medical 'experts' who are looking after us to get things right, for us.
Since joining this group I have found out so much from brilliant people. The answers I have been given made me realise my GP does not know as much as he should about PMR and his actions in the early stages made me worse, not better.
All the information and advice given on this group gave me that strength to challenge. It also made me want to understand even more what my body is doing and what I can do to help turn things around, hence being pragmatic and seeking information.
Having watched this short video I joined up the dots!
Many of the signs & symptoms spoke of in the video, I had, but I did not know it. I thought it was just part of living and getting older.
I can now look back at symptoms that built up due to many things over decades ( work, life events ) and I now strongly believe due to adrenal fatigue ( chronic stress) this manifested and brought on PMR. Bearing in mind ' there is little research or info to say why it comes on )
Well, for me if it looks like a duck and it quacks like a duck....it's a duck!
If adrenal fatigue can bring on inflammation and we need steroids to stop it...then that speaks volumes to me...it's a duck!
This video and advice ( in conjunction with my GP and the brilliant folk on this site) has given me answers & potential resolution to help me try and get better.
If the video helps just one other person, then it was well worth sharing 🤗🙏
Let's get well 🤞🙏
Really good video. I agree with you.👍🌺This condition has certainly been a learning curve for me. this site and the family on it are a gold mine.
Thank you - that was so interesting! Maybe explains too why I’ve got PMR. x
This video certainly speaks to me about the things which led up to my PMR and reminded me of the vital dietary and lifestyle issues which affect adrenal activity. Thanks for posting it and do please post an update if you find ashgawhanda effective.
Really interesting, especially the first 12 minutes, and would fit with 'the straw that broke the camel's back' theory often mentioned on this forum.
I'm not sure that the tests would be appropriate for people already taking steroids. But the advice given about eating a healthy diet, reducing stress, and exercising is suitable for all stages!
Thank you for posting 🤗
Glad it helps.....It sure helped me to understand things. 🤗
Thank you for the link. I have had PMR since August 2022, and like others have suffered the ups and downs of this condition. I have had a bad spell and had to increase my pred. I am now reducing and at 5 mg. I have recently been very unwell and my doctor is puzzled as every test looks good. After watching this link, it is showing every symptom I described to my GP, the banging in the ear, the 2.30 am symptoms and all the rest. The GP has referred my to the hospital ENT for tinnitus. I just give up with the NHS.
So glad it has helped. 🤗
I so understand what you are saying. I also had the heart beat in my ear thing when on my side against a pillow, along with other symptoms, when I saw the video and that was mentioned, I nearly fell off my chair!....likewise with getting up quick & feeling dizzy.
Equally I know a little knowledge is a dangerous thing especially with the urge to self diagnose and I would never take things in isolation.
The body is an amazing fine tuned piece of machinery but we are not educated in listening to it when things start to go a bit wrong.
The more I know, the more amazed I become and that's why this help group, everyone on it and the experts are heaven sent. ❤ 🙏
Thank you very much for flagging up this video. I found it very informative and positive. I have no idea about adrenal fatigue but never mind. Adrenals are part of PMR so anything to help them seems useful to know.
Many thanks for posting this. The guy is very plausible. The lower you get in dosage, adrenal insufficiency might come into play.....
I know I've been living under chronic stress for way too long. This was a good video for me to view. I felt like he touched on every symptom I have (including exhausted in the AM and wide awake in the evening until 2 AM, which was not my norm; and salt cravings), plus my latest blood results (low potassium in particular). Thank you for posting. I've been eating so much better for the last few years (lost 65 pounds) and am nearly off prednisone after 7 years. I can see room for more improvement. My endocrinologist reluctantly did some recent cortisol testing at the request of my rheumatologist. I'm sure when we speak she'll say it's all fine, though it will only be that snapshot in time.
Anyway, I still visit you fine folks on the PMR page though my back story is that my PMR was a misdiagnosis for six years. Turns out I had autoimmune vasulitis instead, But I am still so fond of this group I do drop in now and then and always learn something. Plus I always got the best advice on steroid tapering!
Who's the speaker?
"Dr Berg" is not a medical doctor. He sells non-medicines via YouTube. The link below gives a comprehensive summary of his activities as a "quack, antivaxxer, chiropractor, cholesterol denialist, conspiracy theorist, scientologist and ketogenic diet advocate".
"In 2008, Berg was reprimanded and fined $1,500 for promoting bogus chiropractic muscle test techniques."
"Public health scientist Sheila Kealey has commented: "Some of his diet advice is extremely and unnecessarily restrictive (anti-wheat; anti-carbohydrate); he advocates weight loss based on a bogus hormone body type (adrenal, ovary, liver, thyroid); talks about “fat burning” hormones (they don’t exist); and includes a "detox phase" in his diet plan (a term that should raise your quack alarm). As typical with many of these so-called health experts, his website includes a shop with unproven supplements (e.g. adrenal body type package, estrogen balance kit) that beyond being a complete waste of money, could quite possibly do you more harm than good.""
rationalwiki.org/wiki/Eric_...
I am aware of the gentleman and his story, however if you delve deeper the big pharmecutical companies do not like him as they see him as a threat to their profits and the establishment tried to shut him down.
Many of his helpful pieces of advice actually mirror many many other medical opinions within the expert domain, especially with adrenal fatigue, cortisol & stress.
I have found many experts on line, spoke face to face with experts, including pathologists in recent months who speak the speak but can't explain things in simple terms, but he explains it in simple terms, hence the reason why I believe his video helps to make sense of the situation, so i'm afraid on this occasion your input, while totally respected holds no weight for PMR, adrenal problems & Pred.
As for natural remedies I am no expert and cannot comment on them, which I did say in previous post.
From his video he is pushing nothing so while he may be running a business his videos do not shove his products down folks throats, unlike NHS who charge you over £9 and you are told to ' take this' without any proper explanation of consequences.
No one in the NHS told me what was to come with steroids!....I trusted them as I had no choice and no knowledge and was in no state to chalkenge.
Obviously this help group is not for going toe to toe. It helps no one.
We want to help each other & be better informed so we can be well & happy.
We want to help and if you see from my previous posts I have taken on, researched and challenged because i've had to.
I for one don't just take one single piece of info and come to a conclusion, I take info on board from the brilliant people on this site and GP's ( because you have to )and others within the expert domain.
GP's however got things wrong with me and from posts on this site, many many many others also.
It's only the knowledge gained from the brilliant folk on this group and from others that gave me the confidence to challenge & question the so called ' experts in the NHS' who have got it wrong with me, more times than they have got it right causing me more suffering than was needed.
If i'd have listened to them alone i'd be in a far worse position now... One even said I have acid reflux!!!...so it begs the question who is the quack???
GP's and the rheumies who have got things wrong....or the gentleman on line who mirrors well respected experts with his knowledge of the body.
As in my previous post, if it looks like a duck, sounds like a duck....it's a duck. The only quacking i've experienced in the flesh for my condition & journey has been from the NHS!...not Dr Berg.
really interesting video, I was sent to ENT as developed beating in ears/ head , they syringe both my ears and suggest that I had an allergy to something. And I was told to get an antihistamine spray for nose. !! After seeing this video it all makes sense. Thank you for sharing
Carole
Hi, made sense to me as well.
Other things listed, I also had, running along side.
I just didn't know of the relevan e.
Having seen explanations ( from more than one source) and what is likely to have been going on, it's all now so obvious.
My hope is now in time to rid my self of PMR, not be on steroids, let my adrenals come out of hibernation & learn from the experience.
I will now be able to spot things in advance, 🤞 help my adrenals & 🤞 stop PMR coming back.
Time will tell.
I wish you well 🙏🙏
"This systematic review proves that there is no substantiation that “adrenal fatigue” is an actual medical condition. Therefore, adrenal fatigue is still a myth."
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...
The following link makes clear that adrenal insufficiency is a recognised disease, but adrenal fatigue is not:
webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/adr...
Thanks.
What ever it is called, however folk want to label it, fatigue or insufficiency, the symptoms clearly exist.
As I stated before, 'adrenal fatigue' ......no evidence!......Yet experts talk of it. So it's either a figment of of our imagination or there is something in it?
The biology and science makes sense.
Many of us have and and are seeing the same or similar symptoms leading up to being diagnosed with PMR. Clearly the adrenals are taking a kicking.
Those same symptoms fall under the myth of 'adrenal fatigue' when experts talk of it.
We are joining up the dots.
Interestingly I asked a question regarding 'how much cortisol is produced in times of chronic stress?'
I have been provided with a link to a study regarding 'young adult' students taking exams.
Their levels were elevated up to 9 times 'normal levels' while under acute stress.
Using common sense and sound logic, if individuals are subject to chronic stress ( which we all know on this site is a chemical imbalance not just 'they can't cope because the are weak') for weeks, months, years and decades with prolonged elevated cortisol levels that do not significantly lower and the body gets used to it (i.e. folk carry on because they think the way they are feeling is 'normal') is it any wonder the adrenals are somewhat......... fatigued and we get poorly?
If you use anything in the body for prolonged elevated levels , beyond the normal, one would imagine at some point it will start to have a detrimental effect.
just remember Dr Berg is a Dr of chiropractice and not medicine. He promotes and sells very many supplants.
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