Adrenal Failure

See that pocket under my eye? Well, it's accenting a pupil that spasms when exposed to light. The cause is Adrenal failure. What's Adrenal failure ? For that matter what is adrenal? You've heard of adrenaline rushes, yes? That little zinging feeling that runs through your body and gives you the ability to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Okay, maybe that was exaggerating it a bit but I have heard of people lifting super heavy objects off of someone when frightened for the victims life. It was a large increase of Cortisol flowing through their veins that did the trick making your heart beat faster and fueling your muscles with an increase in oxygen. It's the thing that made you leap backwards with amazing speed when your friend stuck a snake in your face when you were a teenager. If they know what's good for them they don't do that now.

Well, this little women, maybe I should rephrase that since I ain't little, this lady's adrenaline rushes just shut things down. The pump is defunct. The supply can't meet the demand or however you want to put it. Give me a stressful task and soon my legs grow weak and I can't lift them. My oxygen levels drop, my heart beat slows to a low enough level to set the hospital's alarm off, and my temperatures drop into the low 95.0 F. I've even experienced hypothermia.

So though you may have never heard of the Adrenal glands, if they don't function you ain't doing nothing honey. You hurt like crazy since the gland produces powerful anti-imflamatories and if you've gone through menopause, they are suppose to take over producing estrogen, and progesterone etc. for your ovaries. Hopefully you don't know how precious those hormones are.

The organ even messes with your sugar levels, and oh my, if you have type one does it mess with your electrolytes and cause dehydration. Three years later my doctor has decided that he was in denial the whole time and yes, though I'm not skinny like I'm suppose to be, DANG!!! That's probably why he didn't think I had it. And despite his efforts to treat me for Adrenal Fatigue, I'm not getting better but worse. In fact, I'm in the beginning stages of Adrenal failure just like I thought. Sometimes its awful to be right. So if you hear me say, " Oh how I love drugs." Don't take it wrong. Those handful of pills taken twice a day and those few in the middle mean the difference between breathing hard and exhausted because I walked across the room while I hustle to the bathroom where I deposit the incredible amounts of fluid I'm drinking while dehydrating and causing my heart to over work; and some what functioning.

What does this have to do with you? Little except if you are under a great deal of stress, you will not likely get Addisons but you will suffer Adrenal fatigue. Sustained stress releases high levels of cortisol continually which "destroys healthy muscle and bone, slows down healing and normal cell regeneration, co-opt biochemicals needed to make other vital hormones, impair digestion, metabolism and mental function, interfere with healthy endocrine function; and weaken your immune system. " Some medical professionals are now wondering if adrenal fatigue isn't a part of the problem with many people who have fibromyalgia, hypothyroidism, chronic fatigue syndrome, arthritis, premature menopause. In other words stress over a long period of time is very destructive. So quit stressing about things. Easier said than done, right?

Why am I reporting on such a depressing subject? It is raining AGAIN though the garden had just dried enough to possibly rototill tomorrow and I'm depressed and feeling sorry for myself. I decided to have a royal pity party. Want to join me? I'm sure your woes are much worse than mine so pretty soon I'll kick myself in the behind and get to work after all, I've 5 more loads of 14 loads of laundry to finish today and I really should start cleaning house. My is it dirty after working outside and neglecting it. No, I'm not keeping up taking care of 6? How do you women do it? How did I do it with 5?

Oh, yeah I forgot to show you what else you get with Addisons. No, not chubby gross knees but these lovely golden brown patches on your joints. This is a self-portrait. I'm sure the picture of me trying to take the picture would be far more entertaining but alas, I'm not that coordinated. My ankles are even darker.
I may not be one in a million but I am 1 in 100,000 as that is the number of people with Addisons. So though some say I'm a rare find, hardly a gem to some I'm sure, I am a 50 year old women doing the best she can with what she's been given. Thank heavens for good doctors and medicine. Today may be the first time I've taken Advil this year as believe it or not I'm not a pill taker. That is except for the large amount of vitamin and mineral supplements prescribed by my natural thinking doctor and the medications he orders to replace hormones I don't produce. I guess instead of a pity party I should be having a thank you party instead for modern medicine and the blessings it has had on my life.