Adrenal Failure

Adrenal Failure, or when your adrenals are not functioning properly, may be caused by a disease of the adrenal gland which the doctors call it as Addison’s Disease.

Addison’s Disease is a fairly rare hormonal disorder because it affects only one over a hundred thousand people. This can really be a life-threatening disease to both male and female of all ages.

Addison’s disease, also known as Chronic Adrenal Insufficiency or Hypocortisolism, occurs when your body does not get enough hormones produced by your adrenal glands. It either produces very little of the cortisol hormones or sometimes not enough of the hormone aldosterone.

Symptoms of Addison’s Disease

• Extreme Fatigue, Sweating
• Anxiety, Depression
• Headaches, Feeling Dizzy
• Mood Swings, Irritable
• Craving for Salty Foods
• Unintentional Weight Loss
• Joint or Muscle Pain, Muscle Weaknesses
• Hypoglycemia, Hyperpigmentation
• Vomiting, Diarrhea, Abdominal Pain
• Nausea, Fever
• Hair loss,
• Sexual Dysfunction

These symptoms slowly develop through time and may even take effect before you realize it’s there.

What Causes Addison’s Disease

When your adrenal glands are damaged, your body fails to produce the right amount of cortisol hormones and might even produce insufficient amounts of aldosterone as well. Adrenal glands are composed od the interior and outer layer, medulla and cortex, respectively. It is located right above your kidneys. The medulla is in charge of adrenaline-like hormones production. The cortex oversees the production of the 3 corticosteroids hormones: (1) glucocorticoids, (2) mineralocorticoids, and (3) androgens.

The failure to produce these hormones may be caused by the Primary Adrenal Insufficiency or the Second Adrenal Insufficiency.

Primary Adrenal Insufficiency

This insufficiency occurs when your adrenal cortex is damaged, ninety percent of it at least. This results to producing both glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid hormones of little amounts than what your body actually needs.when your adrenal galnds failr to produce hormones, your body will usually resort in attacking & destroying itself. Sometimes it is not only your adrenal glands are affected, but also other glands.

Other Causes of Primary Adrenal Insufficiency:

• Having Both Type I & II of Polyendocrine Deficiency Syndrome
• Tuberculosis
• Fungal Infections
• Spread of Cancer Cells all over Your Body
• Amyloidosis
• The Removal of the Adrenal Glands

Secondary Adrenal Insufficiency

The pituitary gland produces ACTH or adrenocorticotropic hormone.  The reason why insufficient or lack of ACTH is the cause of Secondary Adrenal Sufficiency is because, even though your adrenal glands are not destroyed, the insufficiency can affect also your adrenal glands from sufficiently producing hormones. A different cause happens when people who constantly takes corticosteroids, for their treatment, suddenly stops taking them.

Addison’s Disease Treatment

Taking the right supplements to help treat Addison’s Disease, or Adrenal Failure, can help in filling in the hormones which your adrenal glands fail to make.