Adrenal Fatigue: All revved up and too tired to go

Symptoms

Although the diagnosis of Adrenal Fatigue is not often recognized by those in mainstream Western medicine, it has been recognized by naturopaths, homeopaths, acupuncturists, nutritionist and other alternative medical practitioners. It is defined as the hypofuntion of the adrenal glands which secrete vital steroid hormones including cortisol. Adrenal Fatigue comprises a complex of symptoms which include, but are not limited to:

1. Fatigue not alleviated by sleep, inability to wake in the morning, difficulty in performing everyday tasks
2. Decreased sex drive
3. Cravings for salty foods
4. Decreased ability to handle stress, low tolerance for stressful people and situations
5. Frequent illnesses with increased recovery time
6. Lightheaded feeling upon standing
7. Depression and lack of enjoyment in life
8. Skipping meals or inadequate meals makes symptoms worse
9. The need to constantly snack or drink caffeinated beverages to keep going during the day
10. Fuzzy head, poor memory
11. A spike in energy after 6 pm. Inability to fully wake before 10 am; crash at 3-4 pm.

How does it happen:

From a Chinese Medical perspective, Adrenal Fatigue is the perfect storm. Since the adrenal gland sits on top of the Kidneys, it’s no surprise to me that the Kidneys are the root of this disease. In our medical paradigm, the Kidneys are the “batteries” on which we all rely to keep us going. When these batteries are used up, our life is over. The Kidneys are the root of all Yin and Yang in the body. Yin is everything that is moist, cooling, still, receptive, restful and nourishing in our body. Yang is everything that is dry, warm, active, defensive, dynamic, and building. Yin and Yang generate one another. Remember the Taiji, the symbol of Yin and Yang. Each one has a dot of the other inside of it, they are constantly generating, consuming and balancing the other.

Ironically, Adrenal Fatigue often affects the most driven of people. They work themselves to brink and past the brink of fatigue. These people go, go, go until they burn out their Yin. Think of driving your car at 90 miles an hour and never getting an oil change! Without the Yin, the Yang collapses in on itself and there’s no get up and go left. In addition to overwork, stress and poor diet are usually part of the picture. Stress primarily affects the Liver which in Chinese Medicine is in charge of the free flow of Qi in the body. Lack of exercize, emotional, physical and mental stress cause the Liver to become bound up and stagnant. This is like trying to drive around town with your emergency brake on. See my blog entry, “Your Liver and You” below. Poor diet damages the Spleen. A hypofunctioning Spleen leads to poor digestion, food cravings, a decrease in immunity, foggy head, weight gain and allergies. See my blog entry, “Me and My Spleen” below.

Factors leading to Adrenal Fatigue:

1. Overwork
2. Stress, lack of relaxation, lack of emotional outlets
3. Recent bouts of severe illness, surgeries, injuries, auto immune flare-ups
4. Dependence on caffeine and sugar to keep going
5. Consumption of poor quality foods including refined carbs, sugar, fried foods, fatty foods
6. Emotional traumas such as death of a loved one, divorce, job loss, financial strains
7. Lack of exercize

How can I recover from adrenal fatigue?

So, metaphorically, you’ve been driving around town at 90 miles an hour, with your emergency brake on, putting poor quality gasoline in your tank, you haven’t had an oil change in years. This will not a quick problem to fix, but it IS fixable. Here’s my list of changes you can make to feel better. These are good tips for almost anyone dealing with a stressful lifestyle and any level of fatigue.

1. Stop overworking yourself! You must slow down and cut back.
2. Get weekly acupuncture treatments. Acupuncture boosts your Kidney Yin and Yang, it soothes the Liver to decrease stress, it also tonifies the Spleen to improve digestion and immunity
3. Get to be before midnight. Resist the urge to stay up late- even if that’s when you feel most energetic. If you’re really burnt out, you might find you get the best sleep from 7 am to 9 am in the morning.
4. Be sure to give yourself breaks throughout the day
5. Eat regular meals and snacks. Stop skipping meals!
6. Get us to give you a lesson in how to use a moxa stick to tonify your Spleen and Kidneys on a daily basis. This is an easy way to feel better right away.
7. Ask us if Chinese Herbs are right for you and your condition. Chinese Herbs improve digestion, relieve stress and boost the adrenals.
8. Discover what’s draining your energy, then change your behavior and lifestyle to address them. Are there people in your life constantly bringing you down? Do you hate your job or certain aspects of your job? Are you overusing alcohol, over the counter medicines or recreational drugs? What can you do differently to limit the effect these have on you?
9. Exercise lightly and regularly, but not to exhaustion. See your MD to determine the best exercise plan for you.
10. Stop smoking, stop using recreational drugs, limit alcoholic beverages
11. Improve your diet. A few guidelines:
1. Make cooked vegetables one third of your daily intake. Soups and stews are delicious and also easy to digest. Think about making a nice pot on the weekend and enjoying it all week long
2. Make whole grains, (but NOT wheat) one third of your daily intake. Millet, quinoa, barley, and brown rice are especially good.
3. Limit animal protiens to no more than on fourth of your daily diet. Vegetarians may benefit by adding organic chicken broth, fish, eggs or chicken breast to their diets.
4. Limit fruit and do not eat fruit for breakfast
5. Limit dairy, wheat, sugar and unrefined carbs!
6. Avoid fast food! Avoid deep fried foods, highly spiced foods, hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils
7. Please no coffee, energy drinks, soda, diet soda, fruit juice or cocoa! Try filtered water, herbal tea, green tea and barley tea instead.
8. Chew your food well!

____________________________________________________________________

Get your 'Qi' on at Left Hand Community Acupuncture

424 E. Simpson St. Lafayette, CO 

 www.lefthandacu.com

720-248-8626

Book your appointment today at:  

http://left-hand-community.genbook.com

How long should an acupuncture treatment last?

When Less is More and When More is More

When I was in school, I was taught that "Qi takes 20 minutes to circulate through the body". Most westerners translate "Qi" as "vital life force energy". A better translation is the metaphorical "breath" of the body. The character for Qi actually depicts the steam rising off of a bowl of cooked rice: there is a smooth movement of warmth, water vapor, and air all mixed together. Qi is everything in your body that distinguishes you from a corpse.

The idea that Qi takes 20 minutes to circulate has lead some practitioners of Oriental Medicine to the idea that everyone needs a 20 minute acupuncture treatment. Some community acupuncturists (contrarians that they are!) leave people for as long as they don't need the chair for someone else, leading to two hour cook times. 

What if you only have time for a 20 minute treatment, but you usually get an hour? I still think you'll get a good treatment. I feel that anything  less than 15 minutes is pushing it, but my friend Theresa gets great results just leaving needles in for 5 minutes, so who knows! 

Some of my colleagues and I have noticed that, again, one size does NOT fit all. Many patients will do better with a shorter "cook" time. In my experience, those patients who have low blood sugar, are more frail, are elderly, those going through chemo and those who are fighting off colds generally do better with less time. Just like "it takes money to make money", it takes Qi to move Qi around. If you don't have much Qi to begin with, we don't want to go using it up by leaving someone too long with needles. 

One of my mentors taught that building the body's resources takes many short bursts of treatment over a long period of time. This seemed counter-intuitive to me at the time, but now I get it. I, myself, have had several experiences of having acupuncture before lunch that left me wiped out. (This is an example of having your blood sugar too low for acupuncture.) I felt really relaxed, but also like I needed to go home and take a three hour nap. 

For some folks, it takes 45 minutes or more for their body and mind to settle down and let go of all the stress of their life. These are the people who will do better with a longer time.

It's natural to feel relaxed, floaty and slightly spacey after acupuncture. If you feel dizzy or muzzy-headed, please have a glass of water before you get into your car. This will help ground your energy and "bring you back". If you feel exhausted or exceptionally foggy-headed after acupuncture, you had too many needles or both. Please tell us if this happens so we can adjust accordingly. 

Some of our patients feel they get the best treatment from over an hour with the needles. Some of our patients only relax for 10 minutes before they feel "done". Some folks need a lot of needles before they feel the positive effects of acupuncture. Some folks only need 5-10 needles to get a good treatment. How do we know what's right for you? We start out with an average treatment and make adjustments depending what diagnosis we've made for you. Then we see what happens. 

Cook times can change, too. One of my regulars who tends to crash out for 45 minutes got very agitated 20 minutes into a treatment. He got angry, in fact. After I pulled the needles he calmed down and said that he just felt like "he needed to get up and go!" Patients who are more sensitive can learn to tune in to their bodies. The cues are different for everyone. Feeling antsy, suddenly awake, and energized are the ones I've encountered most often in clinic. 

Don't be afraid to ask us for something different. We won't always be able to accommodate you because of safety concerns or logistics, but we do want to help you get the very best treatment possible. Please be sure to communicate with us about your treatments. Tune in for the first 48 hours after treatment: do you feel calmer? More energized? Wiped out? Hyper? Do you have less pain right away? Does the pain slowly lessen over time?

We have wireless doorbells for each patient. (I'm lousy about handing them out sometimes. If you want one, just ask!) Use a doorbell, wave us over or cough repeatedly if you're ready to get up. Note that sometimes we can't get to you immediately if we're in the middle of needling. Please, please tell us if you have to get up at a certain time. We will do our best to get you out the door on time!

_________________________________________________________________

Get your 'Qi' on at Left Hand Community Acupuncture
424 E. Simpson St. Lafayette, CO 

 www.lefthandacu.com

720-248-8626

Book your appointment today at:  

http://left-hand-community.genbook.com