How to Test for Adrenal Fatigue

Depression, inability to handle stress, low blood pressure and severe PMS hinder the day-to-day routine of many suffering from adrenal fatigue. Cortisol, DHEA, adrenaline and norepinephrine are the body's stress hormones, produced in the adrenal glands. If you have a low level of any of these hormones, or your glands are not functioning properly, your body will display fatigue symptoms. Luckily, there are numerous tests to determine if your adrenal glands are working properly.

Things You'll Need

• Home blood pressure machine
• Journal

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Instructions

• 1

  Keep a journal of your meals, exercise routines, symptoms and mood changes to take with you to your doctor. This can help your doctor determine what kind of tests to run. There are numerous conditions, such as hypoglycemia, hypothyroidism and gluten allergies, that mimic the symptoms of adrenal fatigue.

• 2

  Check your blood pressure. Purchase a home blood pressure kit, available at most pharmacies. Two different numbers appear: systolic and diastolic. Systolic measures the peak force that the heart uses, while diastolic measures the fading force when the heart takes a break in between beats. Measure your blood pressure after lying down for at least five minutes. Stand up and check it again. Compare the readings. If the stand-up measurement is higher than the one you took lying down, you may have adrenal fatigue or a condition associated with hypoadrenalism.

• 3

  Test your saliva. Laboratories can determine, based on the amount of hormones in your saliva, if your level of cortisol is too high or too low. Order a saliva test online through a reputable laboratory, such as ZTR Laboratory (see References). When you receive your test, follow the directions exactly. The majority of tests want you to get a saliva sample in the morning when your cortisol is at its highest peak. Send in your test and wait a couple of days to receive the results in the mail. Saliva tests can test bio-available hormone activity, which is not tested in blood work.

• 4

  Visit your doctor and request blood work. Do not change your normal schedule before getting the blood work preformed. Low levels of cortisol indicated in your results require an ACTH (Adrenocorticotropic hormone) stimulation test. This hormone is produced during times of stress and stimulates cortisol secretion. After the doctor injects synthetic ACTH, he checks the patient's cortisol levels. Rising cortisol indicates that the adrenal glands are not damaged. However, if there is little impact, more tests are necessary to determine how badly the adrenal glands are functioning.