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[jllmm]

I was wondering if anyone here has ever suffered from sever depression and adrenal fatigue/insufficiency. After going through an extremely stressful year, my body has stop functioning properly. I have fatigue to the point that I am not able to do anything. I am not refreshed by sleep, I can sleep up to 12 hours a night and I still wake up exhausted. I have developed sever allergy's, I brake out in hives and my throat begins to swell. After taking prednisone for over a month, my fatigue has become so much worse, it`s debilitating. My Dr does not think that there is a connection to my adrenals. I am at a loss of what to do. I have researched adrenal fatigue on line and I have every symptom listed.
I am not able to keep house and care for my children. This has thrown me into a deep depression, plus the extreme stress is still there ( problems with my bipolar elderly father, to the point that he is in jail now.) I do not know how to cope anymore, I feel so hopeless. It is like my meds have completely stopped working. I do not want to try another antidepressant.
Has anyone here gone through anything similar?

[Trace]

Hi jllmm

Fatigue is common with depression. There is also something called chronic fatigue syndrome. Here is a link to a pinned topic in here on it:

http://www.depressio...tigue-syndrome/

Hi CRP levels can also create extreme fatigue (these are usually high due to inflammation and often arthritis and the likes).

Trace

[jllmm]

Thank you for your reply Trace. I have had fatigue caused by my depression most of my life. But after dealing with so much stress lately, the fatigue has become completely debilitating. Some days I`m not able to get out of bed, if I do make it out of bed I end up in a recliner for most of the day. I `m not in any pain, other than the occasional head ache.
I have another Dr appointment next week, I`m hoping she will have some answers for me.

[matildasmom]

I have adrenal fatigue, as a result of long term, chronic infection with Lyme Disease, plus secondary fibromyalgia, horrible in-law and neighbor problems, and financial ruin due to the economic crash. Any long term stress can wear out your stress response. For me the depression came after my thyroid and adrenals crashed, but we are all different. I would suggest reading at the websites of Dr. Lam, Dr. Rind, Dr. James Wilson. Dr. Gerald Poesnecker, and Dr. Jacob Teitlebaum for expert info.

If you want to confirm or rule out adrenal fatigue, ask your doctor if you can do an Adrenal Salivary Index test aka an ASI. Most insurance covers this now, but check first. Your doctor will have to call the lab and create a relationship with them, so they can send him the results. You order the kit online at Diagnos-Techs Lab and pay for it, then apply to be reimbursed by your insurance. Last time I took it, it was $175. You collect your saliva at 4 times of the day on a cotton roll, and put each roll in a tube, then mail the whole kit in the box provided through your regular mail. Your doctor gets results in two weeks. This is the most accurate way to know for sure, to know what stage of adrenal fatigue you have, and the only way used by specialists in fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome.

If you'd rather take the easy way at first, ask for an 8 am cortisol blood test. Most doctors will not treat your adrenals for any number above 5 on this test. Most Fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue specialist will treat a result below 16 on the test, as adrenal fatigue is a major part of fibromyaliga and chronic fatigue syndrome, and they realize there are degrees of it.

Treatment should be NATURAL hydrocortisone in very small doses, not synthetics like Prednisone, which are given in large doses that can suppress your natural adrenal output to the point where you can't recover adrenal production if you take them long term. I hope you are seeing an Endocrinologist for this, as most primary doctors know almost nothng about hormonal imbalances.

Good luck to you!

[jllmm]

Thank you for the information Matildasmom.

I will be asking for a referral to a Endocrinologist at my next Dr. appointment. Do you have more info on the natural hydrocortisone? I know there is a connection between my use of Prednisone and my sever fatigue.

I have had sever depression my whole life(family history.) Been diagnosed for about 20 years with hypothyroid. The depression has been so much worse since I have been having symptoms of adrenal fatigue. I usually do pretty well on my antidepressant, but it`s like it has suddenly stopped working. I`m sure some of the depression is because of the fatigue, I am a SAHM and love keeping house and taking care of my kids. It kills me to see the work that needs to be done, and not being able to do it.

I have seen some info on Dr.Wilson on line. I need to do some more research. Anyway, thanks for your help.