Posted by TENA/MERMIE on 7/29/2007, 12:49 am, in reply to "Re: CFIDS#4" "it is this combination of an exhausted adrenal gland and an overactive That is the nearly simultaneous appearance of exhaustion and anxiety in the While the patient is basically fatigued, he also feels as though he has a motor Since both stress and adrenal malfunction contribute significantly to CFS it is As is noted by Poesneckerit is the genetically determined adrenal capacity which The person with signicantly reduced adrenal capacity, who will be very prone to On the other hand, a person with normal or above normal adrenal capacity (ie. an According to Tintera , the "person with very poor adrenals may never be affected The day must come when those reserves are exhausted and the whole body is in It would seem that the important point here, is how much reserve capacity the Poesnecker makes a definite distinction between the abovementioned two groups Those patients who have greater adrenal capacity but who have had a greater These latter patients may be recognised, according to Poesnecker by the degree In my opinion, Poesnecker's classic publication, Chronic Fatigue Unmasked 2000 Individual susceptibility to stress and CFS may perhaps be partly explained by In view of the fact that B vitamins are known to effect adrenal function it is In view of the apparent adrenal weakness of many CFS patients and the adverse Landis lists various stresses such as "toxic exposure, over-exercising, not Any type of chronic stress, including chronic illness or pain exposure to excessive noise bereavement infections and numerous illnesses or excessive exercise from athletic training may cause chronic elevation of cortisol levels *********Since synthetic drugs such as morphine ) may also stress the body and To make matters worse, many people initially experience such a high from stress Of course, when the exhaustion stage is reached cortisol levels will become Since stress hormones may cause a type of hormonal "drunkeness" with more The importance of the above facts is further highlighted by the difficulty of Due to the wide range and fluctuating diurnal rhythm of serum cortisol values These problems are further accentuated by the interaction of various hormones The failure of cortisol therapy in CFS patients even in spite of considerable Although this is a foreign concept to modern medicine there is increasing While elimination of nutritional deficiencies which may effect hormone levels Pregnenolone, being the source of all other adrenal cortical hormones may tend . Hormones such as pregnenolone and DHEA have the advantage that they tend to Given the possible side effects of DHEA however, 7-keto DHEA should perhaps be The potential for use of DHEA or pregnenolone in CFS is further highlighted by Additionally, since CFS may involve a deficiency of T3 and a compromised ability A word of warning is necessary here however, since if there is any tendency DHEA, pregnenolone, liquorice, ginseng, or evening primrose oil should perhaps be avoided. The use of these products would be expected to greatly exacerbate symptoms in More appropriate may be the use of adrenal inhibitors or anti-cortisol products The Size of the Adrenal Glands in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Secondly, what has caused this reduction in adrenal size, and is this reduction The importance of adrenal gland size relates to the fact that it is the reserve The adrenal gland must have sufficient reserves to be able to respond instantly As I have discussed previously, excessive reduction in adrenal size will reduce
Poesnecker continues
Hypothalamic-Pituitary Axis that produces a symptom pattern unique to CFS.
patient.
running inside him that just will not shut off"
necessary to determine the precise role each of these factors play in the
individual patient.
determines the stress tolerance of a person, and therefore, the susceptibility
of that person to CFS.
CFS, will develop CFS from a much lower stress burden than will a person with
greater adrenal capacity.
Adrenal type) will be able to endure enormous amounts of stress without
developing this disorder.
by it if he lives a completely sheltered life, free of extraordinary stress" but
" if the adrenals are not thoroughly competent, each stressful incident cuts
into their reserves.
trouble".
adrenals have ( see also Traditional Medicine page, Stress and Adaptation ).
of CFS patients.
stress burden (described by Poesnecker as "hyperstress types") have a better
prognosis than the second or "chronic adrenal type" of patient whose adrenal
capacity is such that they react to even relatively minor stresses.
of their hypersensitivity to stress and by the fact that their difficulties
usually start early in life due to their genetic weakness.
makes a unique and indispensable contribution to the understanding of CFS. It
reflects rare insight into the plight of CFS sufferers.
genetic differences in the utilisation of various B vitamins (
interesting to note the results of recent research which revealed the presence
of B vitamin deficiencies in CFS patients
effects of stress upon the adrenal glands, it is interesting to note, according
to Landis that although the whole stress response system should be reserved for
emergency situations, there is today a "low-grade constant arousal" which may
result in us constantly "bathing in our own stress hormones".
enough sleep, trauma, injury and illness", which may contribute to this
situation
activate the adrenal glands it is clear that a wide range of chemicals and
biological toxins may share these effects.
hormones that they become addicted and deliberately seek to prolong this effect
depleted.
serious consequences than alcoholic intoxication and may alter our perception of
reality , these facts are very relevant to modern society.
accurately assessing normal cortisol levels.
in normal people, and the effects of stress during blood sampling, normal
laboratory tests are very unreliable when it comes to accurately determining
adrenal status
which makes measurements of single hormones of rather limited value.
evidence of reduced adrenal capacity in such patients, further underlines the
importance of building adrenal reserves rather than simply increasing levels of
single hormones.
evidence to justify such an approach. In this respect the use of adrenal
"mother" hormones such as DHEA and pregnenolone to treat CFS patients may have
considerable potential
remains of fundamental importance, if this does not have the desired effect then
the prescription of DHEA and pregnenolone by practitioners may perhaps have
various benefits
to have the effect of increasing adrenal reserves of all other cortical hormones
balance the adrenal gland and, particularly in the case of DHEA, may counteract
symptoms of cortisol excess while simultaneously rebuilding adrenal reserves
the preferred form of this hormone
the positive effects of these hormones on mental function, memory, insomnia and
depression
to convert T4 to T3adrenal hormones such as DHEA, which are claimed to stimulate
conversion of T4 to T3 may also assist in normalising thyroid function.
towards adrenal overactivity then adrenal tonics such as
such cases.
In view of the importance of adrenal size in determining our constitutional make
up and our adaptive capacity and the relevance of these factors to CFS, it is
indeed exciting to see the results of new medical research by Scott et al
indicating that some CFS patients have adrenal glands which are 50% smaller than
normal.
These findings raise some very important questions. Firstly, what is the
significance of this reduction in adrenal size and how does it effect CFS
sufferers?
in adrenal size the cause of CFS, or the result of it?
capacity of the adrenal gland which is of vital importance
and completely to stressors such as physical or emotional stress or the onset of
an acute infection.
the capacity to cope with all types of stress, whether the stress is physical,
emotional, or immunological. If such stresses are avoided however, then even
quite small adrenal glands can sustain life. It is interesting to note at this
point, that this concept of reserve capacity equates with the Chinese concept of
Yin.
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