talk to me about adrenal fatigue

Post date: 2021-06-19 10:23:11

Is it a thing? If not, what is wrong with me?

A friend of mine started taking a supplement to help with adrenal function because she was feeling horrible. She described her symptoms to me and said that based on her research she's experiencing adrenal fatigue.

My symptoms are identical to hers. I'm exhausted, I have trouble waking up in the morning, I have gained a lot of pandemic weight that's hard for me to lose, not least because I'm too exhausted to even drag myself out for a walk. I get a sudden burst of energy in the evening and am suddenly able to be prolific and bang out page after page of writing (I work freelance for an arts publication). I have trouble falling asleep at night.

So I asked my endocrinologist, and she said adrenal fatigue isn't a thing and whatever supplements my friend is taking is probably homeopathic woo-woo stuff.

I don't believe in homeopathy. But my endo checked my blood, and my thyroid is fine, my iron levels are normal, and I have a Vitamin D and B12 deficiency that is already being treated with vitamins for the past two years, so those are also showing normal now.

So what the fuck is going on? I start a new job on the 28th and we are in the process of moving and I am a walking zombie. I realize that literally everyone everywhere has just gone through the most stressful and frightening year in their lifetimes, and now that the vaccination rate is high enough in my area mask and social distancing mandates are being removed and the world is starting to feel more "normal" so maybe this is some sort of crash after a year of hypervigilence? But how do I treat this? I don't want to go into woo-woo land but I've been reading up on adrenal fatigue and how it's linked to cortisol and stress and I am starting to think that this is what is going on with me.

Help. I cannot function like this.

Full disclosure: I have bipolar 2 (in treatment for nearly 15 years, well-managed, this does not feel like a depressive phase), anxiety disorder (in treatment for 2 years, also well-managed, drowsiness and fatigue is like the opposite of what anxiety feels like for me), and C-PTSD (so I was hypervigilent way before COVID). I also have PCOS (hence the endocrinologist, in treatment for 20 years).

HAAAALP

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