Anyone have experience with overactive Adrenals?

[StevieC]

I'm trying to fix a health problem I have with always feeling very lethargic and general sense of anxiousness (GAD) in the mornings/early afternoon. It's not work or anything else related. I could be watching a show about nature and feel panicky so it's definitly a problem that is creating itself.

I have decided to visit a Naturopath as well as my regular medical doctor. Both seem to think that my Adrenal glands are over active for some unexplained reason.

I have had blood, saliva, urine tests done and X-rays, MRI, Ultrasound too, to rule out anything like cancer etc.

My GP wants to treat it with anxiety medications and some regular exercise.

My Naturopathic doctor wants me to come off the anxiety medication when my GP says its ok and try to teat it with diet/life-style changes and exercise.

I have learned to cope with it pretty well. I also have quick acting meds that I can pop if I need to calm down in a hurry during a meeting etc. but it's really taking a toll on my general health and making getting up in the morning a challenge and getting to sleep as well.

Once the anxiety passes in the afternoon I feel like I normally do for the most part and almost dread having to go to bed to start all over again.

So with all that said... Anyone else have a similar problem where they may have some advice to give or a solution?

 

[Gary Allan]

Steve ..man ..I can't even play certain music due to the anxiety it causes me

I'll even be laying there in bed and some stray obsessive thought occurs to me and I'll have to get up ..and it's another 4am to bed day. It would be nice if it was an adrenal gland origin.


"Losing one's mind is a terrible waste" Dan Quayle in an address to the UNC.

 

[StevieC]

Originally Posted By: Gary Allan
Steve ..man ..I can't even play certain music due to the anxiety it causes me

I'll even be laying there in bed and some stray obsessive thought occurs to me and I'll have to get up ..and it's another 4am to bed day. It would be nice if it was an adrenal gland origin.


"Losing one's mind is a terrible waste" Dan Quayle in an address to the UNC.
Gary,

It has been a struggle. A year ago I was very healthy and no problems in sight. I would regularly work 16-18 hours a day both on work stuff or other side stuff, I had an abundance of energy and was very active.

Now I can't even seem to get out of bed in the morning no matter what time I go to bed. I constantly toss/turn in the night and don't deep sleep anymore.

I wake up feeling dizzy/groggy and it take a few cups of coffee to get me going. I feel anxious from the time I wake up until the afternoon.

I have weird tingling sensations in my face, tongue, arms and hands during this time and I'm sensitive to light and see vision spots.

Then by 2-3pm it's gone and I'm like I was a year ago...

It's really frustrating because they have poked/prodded me with test after test and all of it says I'm in perfect health yet a year ago my BP was a bit higher than normal and I felt much better and wasn't dealing with anxiety, severe migraines and daily headaches/fatigue.

I have been told everything from I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, to Generalized Anxiety Disorder to over active adrenals to possible under active thyroid.

 

[Gary Allan]

It's all too complicated for me to navigate. I ams what I ams. There's going to be no giving up two pots of coffee until I stop enjoying coffee ..stuff like that.

Have you had a sleep study done? Not that it's necessarily related, but you haven't, it's one avenue to explore.

 

[BuickGN]

Originally Posted By: StevieC
Originally Posted By: Gary Allan
Steve ..man ..I can't even play certain music due to the anxiety it causes me

I'll even be laying there in bed and some stray obsessive thought occurs to me and I'll have to get up ..and it's another 4am to bed day. It would be nice if it was an adrenal gland origin.


"Losing one's mind is a terrible waste" Dan Quayle in an address to the UNC.
Gary,

It has been a struggle. A year ago I was very healthy and no problems in sight. I would regularly work 16-18 hours a day both on work stuff or other side stuff, I had an abundance of energy and was very active.

Now I can't even seem to get out of bed in the morning no matter what time I go to bed. I constantly toss/turn in the night and don't deep sleep anymore.

I wake up feeling dizzy/groggy and it take a few cups of coffee to get me going. I feel anxious from the time I wake up until the afternoon.

I have weird tingling sensations in my face, tongue, arms and hands during this time and I'm sensitive to light and see vision spots.

Then by 2-3pm it's gone and I'm like I was a year ago...

It's really frustrating because they have poked/prodded me with test after test and all of it says I'm in perfect health yet a year ago my BP was a bit higher than normal and I felt much better and wasn't dealing with anxiety, severe migraines and daily headaches/fatigue.

I have been told everything from I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, to Generalized Anxiety Disorder to over active adrenals to possible under active thyroid.

You just described me perfectly. I think we react the same to the diet drinks too.

I've been through this stuff for years with every test you can imagine.

One thing I learned early on is to get plenty of exercise. It helps greatly. The times when you least feel like it is when you need it the most.

What I hate the most is the harder I try and concentrate, the harder it is. Very frustrating. Anxiety meds such as clonopin help a lot but not completely.

Out of curiosity, have you ever suffered any head trauma?

 

[StevieC]

Originally Posted By: Gary Allan
It's all too complicated for me to navigate. I ams what I ams. There's going to be no giving up two pots of coffee until I stop enjoying coffee ..stuff like that.

Have you had a sleep study done? Not that it's necessarily related, but you haven't, it's one avenue to explore.


Yes I spent 2 nights in a sleep clinic to rule out sleep apnea because my dad has that. I'm fine and all checks out.

I have cut all things out of my diet like Alcohol, diet and regular pop, fast food, 99% of the caffeine I used to consume.

I also started eating a lot of raw vegetables/fruits and non-processed meats/cheese.

I also am taking a clinically prescribed mutli-vitamin with minerals and essential acids to ensure my body has all the building blocks it needs.

I try to exercise as much as possible, but this is difficult with my lethargy and work schedule. I do fit in as much as possible and I'm averaging about 5 hours a week.

 

[SrDriver]

Have you had your Thyroid levels checked.

Often overlooked can cause similar problems. Many folks have Thyroid problems and are not aware of it.

Often doctors' overlook it. Simple blood test can let you know.

 

[Pete591]

Time to get a used oil analysis!

 

[StevieC]

Originally Posted By: SrDriver
Have you had your Thyroid levels checked.

Often overlooked can cause similar problems. Many folks have Thyroid problems and are not aware of it.

Often doctors' overlook it. Simple blood test can let you know.
I have had it done and it is on the borderline for being underactive. My doctor and naturopath both agree that they think it is caused because of the extreme anxiety my body is experiencing and not because it is causing the problem.

My hair at the front has thinned out a bit too.

Originally Posted By: Pete591
Time to get a used oil analysis!

You's a funny man! I have done that so to speak and it came back normal but I still am having low horsepower in the morning and my lifters are ticking something fierce! Maybe some Amsoil would help?

 

[moribundman]

Originally Posted By: StevieC
A year ago I was very healthy and no problems in sight. I would regularly work 16-18 hours a day both on work stuff or other side stuff, I had an abundance of energy and was very active.

Now I can't even seem to get out of bed in the morning no matter what time I go to bed. I constantly toss/turn in the night and don't deep sleep anymore.

I wake up feeling dizzy/groggy and it take a few cups of coffee to get me going. I feel anxious from the time I wake up until the afternoon.

I have weird tingling sensations in my face, tongue, arms and hands during this time and I'm sensitive to light and see vision spots.

Then by 2-3pm it's gone and I'm like I was a year ago...


You started posting on BITOG a year ago.

 

[Gary Allan]

Quote:
My doctor and naturopath both agree that they think it is caused because of the extreme anxiety my body is experiencing and not because it is causing the problem.


That's the hardest thing to figure. You can give meds to alter/control most physiological anomalies. Physiology clearly alters behavior. The other end of that is behavior alters physiology.

It's very much like a thin vs. thick debate ..except it goes on between Psychiatrists/doctors and therapists.

 

[BuickGN]

Head trauma?? Seriously, my doctor said this is a likely cause of my anxiety from all the hits to the head. It can alter brain chemistry.

 

[doitmyself]

It seems that you are doing a lot of good work on the physical aspect to combat your problems. Have you considered your mental aspect?

A good psychiatrist that has training in the chemical/mental interactions that affect moods (as opposed to a psychologist) may have some ideas.

The challenge is finding a good one and overcoming the stigma attached with visiting a "nut" doctor. GP's often administer mood altering drugs without sufficiently exploring and/or being educated enough to diagnose the underlying issues.

Often, a combination of treatments (not just drugs) is successful.

Best of luck.

Oops, didn't see Gary's post.....what he said, too.

 

[StevieC]

Originally Posted By: BuickGN
Head trauma?? Seriously, my doctor said this is a likely cause of my anxiety from all the hits to the head. It can alter brain chemistry.
None at all that I know of.

I was in a car accident about 5-6 years ago and suffered some whiplash which has been plaguing me now/again but no blows to the head.

I have had my head/neck x-rayed and MRI'ed for spinal cord damage and damaged vertebrey and it's fine.

 

[moribundman]

Originally Posted By: moribundman
Originally Posted By: StevieC
A year ago I was very healthy and no problems in sight. I would regularly work 16-18 hours a day both on work stuff or other side stuff, I had an abundance of energy and was very active.

Now I can't even seem to get out of bed in the morning no matter what time I go to bed. I constantly toss/turn in the night and don't deep sleep anymore.

I wake up feeling dizzy/groggy and it take a few cups of coffee to get me going. I feel anxious from the time I wake up until the afternoon.

I have weird tingling sensations in my face, tongue, arms and hands during this time and I'm sensitive to light and see vision spots.

Then by 2-3pm it's gone and I'm like I was a year ago...


You started posting on BITOG a year ago.

That's twice my post count, and I post mostly one liners. And I see giant bunny rabbits occasionally.

 

[StevieC]

Originally Posted By: doitmyself
It seems that you are doing a lot of good work on the physical aspect to combat your problems. Have you considered your mental aspect?

A good psychiatrist that has training in the chemical/mental interactions that affect moods (as opposed to a psychologist) may have some ideas.

The challenge is finding a good one and overcoming the stigma attached with visiting a "nut" doctor. GP's often administer mood altering drugs without sufficiently exploring and/or being educated enough to diagnose the underlying issues.

Often, a combination of treatments (not just drugs) is successful.

Best of luck.

Oops, didn't see Gary's post.....what he said, too.


I don't feel depressed, angry, upset, happy or excited about anything anymore and I think it's the Effexor I'm on now doing that... Just an overall feeling of anxiousness and not the kind when something just happened. It's like the muscles in my neck/shoulders tense up and I can feel something coursing through my veins. It's really weird and I feel the "impending doom" feeling even though I could be sitting on the couch reading something funny.

I haven't seen a psychiatrist yet, not because I don't believe in them but because I want to be as drug free as possible seeing as this just showed up out of nowhere in the last year or so and has no physical cause or post traumatic cause.

And it's not BITOG Mori!

I also wanted to thank everyone in advance for contributing to this thread and all those who have already. I really appreciate it and hope that I have overlooked something that could make life normal again.

 

[moribundman]

Originally Posted By: StevieC
And it's not BITOG, mori!

You are clearly in denial.

 

[StevieC]

Originally Posted By: moribundman
Originally Posted By: StevieC
And it's not BITOG, mori!

You are clearly in denial.
Same as you are about Auto-RX, know a good Psychiatrist? I mean you do live in California!

 

[moribundman]

Originally Posted By: StevieC
Originally Posted By: moribundman
Originally Posted By: StevieC
And it's not BITOG, mori!

You are clearly in denial.
Same as you are about Auto-RX


That just means I'm not delusional. Speaking of placebos, they will probably do wonders for you!

 

[StevieC]

Originally Posted By: moribundman
That just means I'm not delusional. Speaking of placebos, they will probably do wonders for you!