Adrenal Fatigue? What Are These Symptoms?

[Pisqualie]

I went to the eye doctor yesterday simply to get an exam for contact lenses so I can use my glasses as a back up. While examining me, we got on the subject of wheat and how I think I may have Celiac. He suggested hypothyroidism, which I tested negative for, and explained why many doctors use tests that just aren't good for diagnosing it. (I do have ALL of the symptoms for hypothyroidism...).

Anyway, as he was examining me, he did the light in my eyes thing to watch my pupils dilate, etc, and said that I had some issues with it (I forget what) and that is was a sign of adrenal fatigue. He asked if I had a lot of stress in my life (YES!!!) and then said adrenal fatigue can cause hypothyroidism.

After reading about it, I just wonder if there is a hypothyroidism/adrenal fatigue connection to Celiac or wheat intolerance? He said some things can cause intolerance to certain foods.

My symptoms:

- Migraines - moreso when I am under a lot of stress; especially in my eyes

- Dry, flaky skin and frizzy hair (it's straight and fine, but totally frizzed)

- Very sensitive to temperature; cannot tolerate cold at all

- Constipation unless I eat something very triggering - then painful, urgent diarrhea. When I have that kind of diarrhea, it makes my heart palpitate (so weird!) and drains my entire body. I feel so weak and lethargic the rest of the day. What is that? Usually the milk/wheat/fried oil combo makes me the sickest, the quickest

- Nervousness/Anxiety

- Depression at times/feeling low

- Brain fog. Like I am lost and confused! Sometimes answering questions like, "What's your name?" can throw me.

- Really bad memory. Short term memory is bad - even remembering a phone number.

- General aching/fluish feeling

- Sick to my stomach in the mornings; can't eat anything first thing

- Pelvic pain - no idea if bladder, intestines, cervix (had partial hysterectomy due to endometriosis, but wonder now if the pain all along was actually this - same sensation)

- Fatigue! I notice after I eat something genuinely wheaty - like real bread, I feel extreme exhaustion for the next 24 hours. Like lay down and fall asleep - cannot keep my eyes open.

- Bloating. I'm always bloated!

- Weight gain. This boggles me. I have always been underweight and have gained steadily about 20 lbs and I don't know why. I can't seem to lose it regardless of dropping calories and exercise. Something is wrong.

- I double over in pain sometimes - it's not consistent or predictable. Like something is passing. I have wondered about an ulcer or something in my digestive tract. One place is my lower right quadrant, or lower left ... and the other is right below my rib cage on the right side. Sharp stabbing knives, burning in that one.

- I have weird hunger cues. I will eat a big plate of food and be STUFFED, then 20 minutes later my stomach is growling. I know I'm not hungry. So I have strange eating habits.

The most recent thing though is when I eat wheat - like a big portion of genuine wheat (bread, etc), that evening I feel this strange sensation in my muscles and bones. It feels like ... jittery, but not shaking as with caffeine. More like... being tickled from the inside. Not quite numb and tingling ... but something along that line. Like I need to just get up and seizure or something - shake wildly to satisfy it. What on earth is that??

I have had the gluten panel, but it came back negative. Like not even on the charts negative. But I had been gluten free for about 6-8 weeks at that point. The test made me doubt myself so now I keep changing my mind because I am uncertain.

Will an endoscopy/colonoscopy absolutely diagnose you? Or can that have false positives too? If this isn't wheat/gluten... what else is it?

I know that stress intensifies it (my reactions to wheat) about tenfold, if not more. Maybe that is my variable ... the level of intensity of symptoms. They are always there - it's just a matter of how much.

I am so tired of being bloated, fatigued, low energy and generally not feeling good. I wouldn't have known this wasn't normal except I went off wheat for three days and felt GOOD all day! It was insane. I have not had that feeling since though...

We eat 90% unprocessed, chemical free but have been slacking after life got really chaotic. Overall though, we stay away from packaged foods. I have had blood work in December from a endocrinologist and then blood work again in April from an internist. Both said I am absolutely normal. Everything looks great.

Thanks all!!! I appreciate your time and insight.

[tinab3girls]

I was diagnosed with Adrenal Fatigue in Dec. My symptoms were exhaustion, fast resting heartrate (110 bmp), weight loss and inability to regain weight, major anxiety and the shakes. My endocrinologist put me on a Beta Blocker and so far it has worked amazing for me. While I'm not 100% sure I don't have Celiac since all of my testing has come back normal and I have no Vitamin deficencies, the Beta Blocker has helped 75% of my main symptoms. My endo basically said my body was in overdrive for some reason? Hope this helps!

[ravenwoodglass]

Your doctor should have had you go back on gluten for a couple of months before you were tested. If you are gluten free for even a short time before testing you will have a false negative. You can even have a false negative when eating a regular gluten filled diet. If you need a doctors diagnosis then go back on gluten for a couple of months and get retested. If not go strictly gluten free and watch out for cross contamination and see if your issues resolve. You do sound like one of us.

[carolynmay]

I went to the eye doctor yesterday simply to get an exam for contact lenses so I can use my glasses as a back up. While examining me, we got on the subject of wheat and how I think I may have Celiac. He suggested hypothyroidism, which I tested negative for, and explained why many doctors use tests that just aren't good for diagnosing it. (I do have ALL of the symptoms for hypothyroidism...).

Anyway, as he was examining me, he did the light in my eyes thing to watch my pupils dilate, etc, and said that I had some issues with it (I forget what) and that is was a sign of adrenal fatigue. He asked if I had a lot of stress in my life (YES!!!) and then said adrenal fatigue can cause hypothyroidism.

After reading about it, I just wonder if there is a hypothyroidism/adrenal fatigue connection to Celiac or wheat intolerance? He said some things can cause intolerance to certain foods.

My symptoms:

- Migraines - moreso when I am under a lot of stress; especially in my eyes

- Dry, flaky skin and frizzy hair (it's straight and fine, but totally frizzed)

- Very sensitive to temperature; cannot tolerate cold at all

- Constipation unless I eat something very triggering - then painful, urgent diarrhea. When I have that kind of diarrhea, it makes my heart palpitate (so weird!) and drains my entire body. I feel so weak and lethargic the rest of the day. What is that? Usually the milk/wheat/fried oil combo makes me the sickest, the quickest

- Nervousness/Anxiety

- Depression at times/feeling low

- Brain fog. Like I am lost and confused! Sometimes answering questions like, "What's your name?" can throw me.

- Really bad memory. Short term memory is bad - even remembering a phone number.

- General aching/fluish feeling

- Sick to my stomach in the mornings; can't eat anything first thing

- Pelvic pain - no idea if bladder, intestines, cervix (had partial hysterectomy due to endometriosis, but wonder now if the pain all along was actually this - same sensation)

- Fatigue! I notice after I eat something genuinely wheaty - like real bread, I feel extreme exhaustion for the next 24 hours. Like lay down and fall asleep - cannot keep my eyes open.

- Bloating. I'm always bloated!

- Weight gain. This boggles me. I have always been underweight and have gained steadily about 20 lbs and I don't know why. I can't seem to lose it regardless of dropping calories and exercise. Something is wrong.

- I double over in pain sometimes - it's not consistent or predictable. Like something is passing. I have wondered about an ulcer or something in my digestive tract. One place is my lower right quadrant, or lower left ... and the other is right below my rib cage on the right side. Sharp stabbing knives, burning in that one.

- I have weird hunger cues. I will eat a big plate of food and be STUFFED, then 20 minutes later my stomach is growling. I know I'm not hungry. So I have strange eating habits.

The most recent thing though is when I eat wheat - like a big portion of genuine wheat (bread, etc), that evening I feel this strange sensation in my muscles and bones. It feels like ... jittery, but not shaking as with caffeine. More like... being tickled from the inside. Not quite numb and tingling ... but something along that line. Like I need to just get up and seizure or something - shake wildly to satisfy it. What on earth is that??

I have had the gluten panel, but it came back negative. Like not even on the charts negative. But I had been gluten free for about 6-8 weeks at that point. The test made me doubt myself so now I keep changing my mind because I am uncertain.

Will an endoscopy/colonoscopy absolutely diagnose you? Or can that have false positives too? If this isn't wheat/gluten... what else is it?

I know that stress intensifies it (my reactions to wheat) about tenfold, if not more. Maybe that is my variable ... the level of intensity of symptoms. They are always there - it's just a matter of how much.

I am so tired of being bloated, fatigued, low energy and generally not feeling good. I wouldn't have known this wasn't normal except I went off wheat for three days and felt GOOD all day! It was insane. I have not had that feeling since though...

We eat 90% unprocessed, chemical free but have been slacking after life got really chaotic. Overall though, we stay away from packaged foods. I have had blood work in December from a endocrinologist and then blood work again in April from an internist. Both said I am absolutely normal. Everything looks great.

Thanks all!!! I appreciate your time and insight.

hello - I have just seen this and realise it was posted some months ago but thought I would reply in case you see it. I am also a celiac but have had further problems beyond this when on a gluten free diet.

The thing that has made a huge difference for me was getting my intestinal valves treated - ie. ileocecal valve mainpulation and same for the other 3. This was actually through an acupuncturist who told me that after antibiotics in particular, the valves may not function correctly meaning that waste matter actually flows backwards through the system when it should not, literally poisoning the body.

Your identification of where you get the pain in your intestine resonates entirely with the locations of the three valves, so I just thought I'd mention this in case it's helpful.

Best wishes, Carolyn

[GF Lover]

Two tests I would suggest are the full thyroid test ( not just tsh but free t3's and t4's ) and a test for Addison's. These are both autoimmune diseases just like celiac.

Good luck.

Colleen

[Lady Eowyn]

I believe that stress is not only brought on by external events but also caused by the body having problems from struggling to manage with low thyroid and of course, from ingesting gluten! These cause the body stress and can lead to high cortisol levels followed by adrenal fatigue. (IMHO).

Loads of other causes too like inflammation, etc.

[peeptoad]

The thing that has made a huge difference for me was getting my intestinal valves treated - ie. ileocecal valve mainpulation and same for the other 3. This was actually through an acupuncturist who told me that after antibiotics in particular, the valves may not function correctly meaning that waste matter actually flows backwards through the system when it should not, literally poisoning the body.

Glad I checked this thread... I have what my GI doc suspects is recurring SIBO, and exactly what you describe about the "backflow" of waste is what I'm struggling with. (Basically the backflow of bacteria from colon into the small intestine). I never knew that actupuncture could be used to help with this... I'll definitely look into it now!

[carolynmay]

Glad I checked this thread... I have what my GI doc suspects is recurring SIBO, and exactly what you describe about the "backflow" of waste is what I'm struggling with. (Basically the backflow of bacteria from colon into the small intestine). I never knew that actupuncture could be used to help with this... I'll definitely look into it now!

A chiropractor may be able to do this as well - I think my acupuncturist learned his manipulation technique from a chiropractor originally - good luck!

[wembles]

I know this is an old thread, so you may have already found what was causing your pain, but the sharp, stabbing pain below your right rib cage sounds like gallbladder issues to me. Have you ever had an ultrasound to check for gallstones? Might be worth checking out!

[porkchop60c]

I went to the eye doctor yesterday simply to get an exam for contact lenses so I can use my glasses as a back up. While examining me, we got on the subject of wheat and how I think I may have Celiac. He suggested hypothyroidism, which I tested negative for, and explained why many doctors use tests that just aren't good for diagnosing it. (I do have ALL of the symptoms for hypothyroidism...).

Anyway, as he was examining me, he did the light in my eyes thing to watch my pupils dilate, etc, and said that I had some issues with it (I forget what) and that is was a sign of adrenal fatigue. He asked if I had a lot of stress in my life (YES!!!) and then said adrenal fatigue can cause hypothyroidism.

After reading about it, I just wonder if there is a hypothyroidism/adrenal fatigue connection to Celiac or wheat intolerance? He said some things can cause intolerance to certain foods.

My symptoms:

- Migraines - moreso when I am under a lot of stress; especially in my eyes

- Dry, flaky skin and frizzy hair (it's straight and fine, but totally frizzed)

- Very sensitive to temperature; cannot tolerate cold at all

- Constipation unless I eat something very triggering - then painful, urgent diarrhea. When I have that kind of diarrhea, it makes my heart palpitate (so weird!) and drains my entire body. I feel so weak and lethargic the rest of the day. What is that? Usually the milk/wheat/fried oil combo makes me the sickest, the quickest

- Nervousness/Anxiety

- Depression at times/feeling low

- Brain fog. Like I am lost and confused! Sometimes answering questions like, "What's your name?" can throw me.

- Really bad memory. Short term memory is bad - even remembering a phone number.

- General aching/fluish feeling

- Sick to my stomach in the mornings; can't eat anything first thing

- Pelvic pain - no idea if bladder, intestines, cervix (had partial hysterectomy due to endometriosis, but wonder now if the pain all along was actually this - same sensation)

- Fatigue! I notice after I eat something genuinely wheaty - like real bread, I feel extreme exhaustion for the next 24 hours. Like lay down and fall asleep - cannot keep my eyes open.

- Bloating. I'm always bloated!

- Weight gain. This boggles me. I have always been underweight and have gained steadily about 20 lbs and I don't know why. I can't seem to lose it regardless of dropping calories and exercise. Something is wrong.

- I double over in pain sometimes - it's not consistent or predictable. Like something is passing. I have wondered about an ulcer or something in my digestive tract. One place is my lower right quadrant, or lower left ... and the other is right below my rib cage on the right side. Sharp stabbing knives, burning in that one.

- I have weird hunger cues. I will eat a big plate of food and be STUFFED, then 20 minutes later my stomach is growling. I know I'm not hungry. So I have strange eating habits.

The most recent thing though is when I eat wheat - like a big portion of genuine wheat (bread, etc), that evening I feel this strange sensation in my muscles and bones. It feels like ... jittery, but not shaking as with caffeine. More like... being tickled from the inside. Not quite numb and tingling ... but something along that line. Like I need to just get up and seizure or something - shake wildly to satisfy it. What on earth is that??

I have had the gluten panel, but it came back negative. Like not even on the charts negative. But I had been gluten free for about 6-8 weeks at that point. The test made me doubt myself so now I keep changing my mind because I am uncertain.

Will an endoscopy/colonoscopy absolutely diagnose you? Or can that have false positives too? If this isn't wheat/gluten... what else is it?

I know that stress intensifies it (my reactions to wheat) about tenfold, if not more. Maybe that is my variable ... the level of intensity of symptoms. They are always there - it's just a matter of how much.

I am so tired of being bloated, fatigued, low energy and generally not feeling good. I wouldn't have known this wasn't normal except I went off wheat for three days and felt GOOD all day! It was insane. I have not had that feeling since though...

We eat 90% unprocessed, chemical free but have been slacking after life got really chaotic. Overall though, we stay away from packaged foods. I have had blood work in December from a endocrinologist and then blood work again in April from an internist. Both said I am absolutely normal. Everything looks great.

Thanks all!!! I appreciate your time and insight.

I would try and go gluten free for a while. You sound like you could be celiac and the tests are not always accurate. The true way is to go off of it 100 percent and if you feel better then you know. You might have other food problems and could have a elisa food test.When i did the blood test and stayed away from foods I was reacting to I feel so much better. If I am glutened by accident I cannot sleep, get dry mouth, gums hurt, and the next day I get some joint pain. It is well worth it to eat healthy and get off of gluten. No one should eat the poison. Dr. william Davis that wrote Wheat Belly is so awesome writing that book. If I were still eating gluten I would be on many different drugs and would be very sick right now. I feel great and am on no meds except synthroid for my thyroid. The doctors told me 2 years ago I had crohns disease and I am so grateful I did not listen to the doctor because he wanted me to go on Imuran for the rest of my life which is a horrible drug that can cause cancer. It was gluten that made me so sick all of my life and I feel so good now.I do not trust doctors like I use to. I truly believe that if we eat whole foods, exercise, do yoga or something that is relaxing, and have a good attitude, we will not get sick. Drugs are not the answer.