Another new diagnosis

Yesterday I visited the third new doctor at Integrative Health  Solutions (the other two having left shortly after I saw them!) and came away with a new term for what they think is going on with me.  HPA Axis Dysregulation.

Turns out, according to the literature they gave me, it’s the correct term for what people label ‘adrenal fatigue’.  If you’ve read about adrenal fatigue online, you know that there are arguments for it being real and arguments for the opposite.  Well my doctor believes it’s not a thing and put simply, she said, the adrenal glands don’t get fatigued and stop producing cortisol etc, they get down-regulated by the body on purpose, to save the body from the continuous extra stress of cortisol and the other stress hormones.

The literature describes 4 possible triggers of HPA Axis Dysregulation (or HPA-D) and they are in short, perceived stress, circadian disruption, glycemic dysregulation and inflammation.  What do you know?  I had all four!  Another diagnosis of this type again doesn’t mean a ‘cure’ because there is no medication to take to aid the re-regulation of my body, just taking more care and following the path I am already on – reducing stress, learning what’s important to me, letting myself off the hook.

It’s something I need to look more into to understand, because a quick Google suggested I don’t have the right microbiology background to glean the meaning from a quick read.

But for now, I need to switch off my light emitting device and go and get some good sleep.

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