
Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Adrenal fatigue overview
Introduction
Overview
Overview
Adrenal Fatigue is a condition of the body in which the adrenal glands are exhausted and unable to produce adequate hormones, notably cortisol, the stress hormone of the body. This condition is currently widely unrecognized by the medical community. However, this fact accompanied by many people suffering gave rise to an industry of supplements and treatments for this syndrome. General practitioners and psychologists routinely mistake symptoms of adrenal fatigue for other illnesses, especially mental. Therefore the patients must be very careful in locating a helpful practitioner to help them in their recovery, before spending their time and money on various supplements and treatments. There is large confusion regarding the relation of this syndrome to another very misunderstood syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome. The two may have common symptoms and it is difficult to distinguish.
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Cafer Zorkun, M.D., Ph.D. [2]
