Could It Be Adrenal Fatigue?

I had a doctor's visit yesterday and was blind-sided by the scale...again.  I have been on a new medication for two months and in that two months I gained (get ready) 20 pounds. Added to this 20 pounds is the 50 pounds I gained on Prozac and the 30 pounds I gained on Prednsone totaling a whopping 100 pounds. The real kicker is the medications have never helped the problem.  What did the doctor do?  Prescribe a diuretic. I am in a nightmare, and I need to get out.

I have done all I can with the doctors and their remedies.  Now I am taking control of my health and doing some research.  For years I have read about Cortisol and Adrenal Glands and interestingly enough they cause the same symptoms that I have suffered with for most of my life.  In the past I forced the issue and made the doctor give me a blood test to check my cortisol and adrenal levels and the results came back normal and the issue was dropped. Well my instincts tell me to pick up the issue again since nothing else has worked.  During my research I ran across the following links which I found to be very enlightening:

Adrenal Fatigue Quiz:  http://www.adrenalfatigue.org/take-the-adrenal-fatigue-quiz

What is Adrenal Fatigue:  http://www.drlam.com/articles/adrenal_fatigue.asp

Well I took the adrenal fatigue quiz, and I scored twice the number suggesting extreme fatigue.  So I then began researching natural medications to help with adrenal fatigue. I have  posted the link for the medication below.

Native Remedies Website

http://www.nativeremedies.com/products/adrenoboost-adrenal-glands-function.html

Amazon Website

http://www.amazon.com/Native-Remedies-AdrenoBoost-Adrenal-Support/dp/B000TMXGJ6/ref=sr_1_1?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1366791824&sr=1-1&keywords=native+remedies+adrenal+boost

(When you check out the Amazon website, scroll down to the description of the medication.) 

Contrary to what the doctor(s) say to me, I don't take care of myself... I DO TAKE CARE OF MYSELF.  I keep looking for the answer to the question, why do I feel so bad all of the time?  If you read these websites you will find that as the Adrenal Fatigue worsens the body continues to decline.  It is very interesting reading and it gives you a lot to think about.

 

Here is a link to a new book on the subject of Adrenal Fatigue.

http://www.amazon.com/Adrenal-Fatigue-Century-Stress-Syndrome/dp/1890572152/ref=pd_sim_sbs_hpc_2

Well thanks for listening...God bless us and guide us on our journey to better health!

Linda

Blind Sided

Last night I went to the movies.  I was meeting my sister and her son.  I waited in my car for over 20 minutes for the line to get shorter because I am disabled and cannot stand for longer than a minute or two.  When I approached the ticket line, to my left there were about eight people milling around the ticket window, and to my right was a woman standing on the curb looking at the ticket window, but she didn’t move up in the line.  So I asked her if she was waiting in line.  She replied, “Yes” and continued to stand on the curb.  I suggested she move up in line before others moved in front of us; she didn’t move.  I could tell she was “annoyed” at me but before she could comment another line opened up and she moved into that line, and I moved to the next available ticket window.  I purchased my ticket and went to the lobby to sit on the bench while I waited for my sister and nephew.

“Well, was it worth it…rushing to get your ticket so you could sit on a bench?”  I looked up to find myself being confronted by the woman in the ticket line. 

“It doesn’t make any sense to me,” she continued, “that you would rush to buy your ticket so you could sit on the bench.”  Again she looked at me as if she was expecting an answer.

“I am disabled” I replied, “and I cannot stand for any length of time.”

This person looked me up and down and sneered at me while she was asking, “What are you disabled from?”  Maybe if you got off the bench more often you wouldn’t be disabled.”  She, of course, felt it was her place to verbally abuse me for being overweight. Again she made the comment, “it just doesn’t make any sense to me” as she is walked toward the movie theater.

The remarkable thing about this encounter, other than she had no right to confront me in the first place, was she was also fat.  

The second remarkable thing was she was not interested in me or what I had to say…she was a person who believed she was above me in every regard and that she had every right to let me know what she thought of me!  However, she did not stay around to hear what I had to say.  So…being the human that I am, I yelled, “What is your problem?” several times to her back as she walked away from me. Then, I must confess, I also yelled, “Get a life.”

What upsets me the most is that I am a Christian, and I truly try to be a nice person. I had to ask for forgiveness for reacting in such a childish manner. I also had to dig deep inside myself and find a way to forgive this woman for attacking me.

One of the many promises God gives us is He will turn bad into good for those who love Him, and true to his Word, He did! 

I want to thank this woman for her insensitivity…because it inspired me to set up this blog and make it my mission to EDUCATE people on the devastation invisible disabilities can have on a person.  Not only do we face unbelievable suffering physically, financially, emotionally, socially and with family, we have to endure unrelenting humiliation from strangers, physicians, disability agencies, government programs and a life-time of sorrow.

Half A Life: Living With Invisible Disabilities is a book I have written.  I would like to enter into the book any and all comments I receive from you regarding your invisible disability.  What is your disability?  How do you deal with it?  How does it affect your life?  Your comments will be anonymous unless you tell me to use your name. 

WHAT ARE INVISIBLE DISABILITIES?

DEFINITION

Invisible Disabilities is an umbrella term that captures a whole spectrum of hidden disabilities or challenges that are primarily neurological in nature.

Do people sometimes have difficulty understanding how your symptoms such as extreme fatigue, dizziness, pain, and cognitive impairments can be so debilitating to you but can even be met with hostility by society at large?

People with some kinds of invisible disabilities, such as chronic pain or some kind of sleep disorder, are often accused of faking or imagining their disabilities. These symptoms can occur due to chronic illness, chronic pain, injury, birth disorders, etc. and are not always obvious to the onlooker.

Invisible Disabilities are certain kinds of disabilities that are not immediately apparent to others. It is estimated that 10% of people in the U.S. have a medical condition which could be considered a type of invisible disability.

Nearly one in two people in the U.S. has a chronic medical condition of one kind or another, but most of these people are not considered to be disabled, as their medical conditions do not impair their normal everyday activities. These people do not use an assistive device and most look and act perfectly healthy.

According to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) an individual with a disability is a person who: Has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; has a record of such an impairment; or is regarded as having such an impairment.

Generally seeing a person in a wheelchair, wearing a hearing aid, or carrying a white cane tells us a person may be disabled. But what about invisible disabilities that make daily living a bit more difficult for many people worldwide?

Invisible disabilities can include chronic illnesses such as renal failure, diabetes, and sleep disorders if those diseases significantly impair normal activities of daily living.

For example there are people with visual or auditory impairments who do not wear hearing aids or eye glasses so they may not seem to be obviously impaired. Those with joint conditions or problems who suffer chronic pain may not use any type of mobility aids on good days, or ever.

Another example is Fibromyalgia which is now understood to be the most common cause of chronic musculoskeletal pain. Sources estimate between 3 and 26 million Americans suffer from this hidden condition.

  

OTHER TYPES OF INVISIBLE DISABILITIES

Chronic Pain: A variety of conditions may cause chronic pain. A few of those reasons may be back problems, bone disease, physical injuries, and any number of other reasons. Chronic pain may not be noticeable to people who do not understand the victims specific medical condition.

Chronic Fatigue: This type of disability refers to an individual who constantly feels tired. This can be extremely debilitating and affect every aspect of a persons’ everyday life.

Mental Illness: There are many mental illnesses that do qualify for disability benefits. Some examples are depression, attention deficit disorder, schizophrenia, agoraphobia, and many others. These diseases can also be completely debilitating to the victim, and can make performing everyday tasks extremely difficult, if not impossible.

Chronic Dizziness: Often associated with problems of the inner ear, chronic dizziness can lead to impairment when walking, driving, working, sleeping, and other common tasks.

People with psychiatric disabilities make up a large segment of the invisibly-disabled population covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

Invisible disabilities can also include chronic illnesses such as renal failure, diabetes, and sleep disorders if those diseases significantly impair normal activities of daily living. If a medical condition does not impair normal activities, then it is not considered a disability.

96% of people with chronic medical conditions live with an illness that is invisible.

Many people living with a hidden physical disability or mental challenge are still able to be active in their hobbies, work and be active in sports. On the other hand, some struggle just to get through their day at work and some cannot work at all.

LIST OF CONSIDERED INVISIBLE DISABILITIES

ADHD
Anxiety disorders
Arachnoiditis
Asperger Syndrome
Autism
Bipolar disorder
Brain injuries
Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease
Chronic fatigue syndrome
Chronic pain
Circadian rhythm sleep disorders
Coeliac Disease
Crohn's disease
Depression
Diabetes
Epilepsy
Fibromyalgia
Food allergies
Fructose malabsorption
Hereditary Fructose Intolerance
Hyperhidrosis
Hypoglycemia
Inflammatory bowel disease
Interstitial cystitis
Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Lactose Intolerance
Lupus
Lyme Disease
Major depression
Metabolic syndrome
Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple Chemical Sensitivity
Narcolepsy
Personality disorders
Primary immunodeficiency
Psychiatric disabilities
Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy
Repetitive stress injuries
Rheumatoid arthritis
Schizophrenia
Scleroderma
Sjögren's syndrome
Temporomandibular joint disorder
Transverse Myelitis
Ulcerative Colitis

REFERENCE

http://www.disabled-world.com/disability/types/invisible/