Cures for Adrenal Gland Overstimulation

The adrenal glands are small hormone-producing glands that secrete the steroid hormones (cortisol, aldosterone and testosterone) and adrenaline and noradrenaline. These glands are located on top of the kidneys. If the adrenals become overstimulated through emotional or environmental stress or through illness, their ability to produce hormones is diminished. This may be temporary or permanent. Other ways the adrenals glands can be temporarily depleted are by surgery, medication or infection. Adrenal-gland insufficiency can be permanent due to Addison's disease, the surgical removal of the adrenals or the pituitary gland or continued overstimulation.

Approaches to treatment

• The adrenal glands are necessary for production of hormones that control heart rate, blood pressure, the way food is digested and other functions. Adrenal gland failure can be life-threatening. Adrenal gland insufficiency can cause tiredness and weakness, dizziness when standing up, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite, stomach ache, weight loss, darkening of the skin and salt cravings.

  There are two main approaches to treating adrenal gland overstimulation. Traditional medicine practitioners recognize certain acute conditions, such as Addison's disease or Cushing's disease, but not generalized adrenal gland fatigue. Generalized adrenal gland fatigue is a diagnosis that is controversial within the allopathic (traditional) medical community. Naturopathic doctors treat adrenal gland fatigue in a holistic manner, examining the hormonal imbalances that cause the condition, examining the patient for underlying physical conditions that may exacerbate the condition and identifying the stresses that aggravate the depletion.

Traditional Medical Treatments

• Traditional medical treatments include medicines called glucorticoids that act to replace missing hormones. These may include prednisone or hydrocortisone. If a patient is not able to retain the proper levels of salts and fluids, he will also be given fludrocortisone. When a patient develops an illness or an infection that results in a fever, the body's ability to fight infection is impaired without enough cortisone and a glucorticoid injection is recommended.

Natural Medicine Treatments

• Natural-medicine doctors prescribe a wide array of treatments for adrenal glad overstimulation. Many times a naturopathic doctor will prescribe a regimen of supplements, herbs and hormones to help restore the system to health. Recommended supplements include Vitamin C, Vitamin E, B Vitamins, free-form amino acids and adrenal glandular. Herbs that are recommended include Siberian ginseng and cordyceps (a Chinese herb traditionally used to support adrenal function). Hormonal supplements such as DHEA, progesterone cream and pregnenolone are also prescribed.

  Naturopathic doctors will also assess the level of stress the patient is undergoing or has dealt with in the past. It is crucial to recovery that stressful situations be normalized. The patient should be careful to get plenty of sleep and engage in a gentle exercise like walking or stretching. Toxic substances should be replaced with nontoxic cleansers. Diet is very important. It is recommended that the patient eat some protein with every meal