Adrenal fatigue: What causes it?

Date Updated: 04/16/2022

Answer Section

Adrenal fatigue isn't an accepted medical diagnosis. It is a lay term applied to a collection of nonspecific symptoms, such as body aches, fatigue, nervousness, sleep disturbances and digestive problems.

Your adrenal glands produce a variety of hormones that are essential to life. The medical term "adrenal insufficiency" refers to inadequate production of one or more of these hormones as a result of an underlying disease or surgery.

Signs and symptoms of adrenal insufficiency may include:

Fatigue
Body aches
Unexplained weight loss
Low blood pressure
Lightheadedness
Loss of body hair
Skin discoloration (hyperpigmentation)

Adrenal insufficiency can be diagnosed by blood tests and special stimulation tests that show inadequate levels of adrenal hormones.

Proponents of the adrenal fatigue diagnosis claim this is a mild form of adrenal insufficiency caused by chronic stress. The unproven theory behind adrenal fatigue is that your adrenal glands are unable to keep pace with the demands of perpetual fight-or-flight arousal. Existing blood tests, according to this theory, aren't sensitive enough to detect such a small decline in adrenal function — but your body is.

It's frustrating to have persistent symptoms your doctor can't readily explain. But accepting a medically unrecognized diagnosis from an unqualified practitioner may leave the real cause — such as depression or fibromyalgia — undiagnosed, while it continues to take its toll.