Are Imbalanced Adrenal Hormones Messing with Your Health?

 

Let’s talk about adrenal health. There’s a common misconception that high stress is the only thing that causes cortisol to skyrocket and cause imbalanced adrenal hormones (and cause a number of health issues).

 

While stress is definitely a common reason for elevated cortisol, that’s not the only thing altering your hormones. It’s a little more complicated than that. There are tons of other factors that contribute to poor adrenal health, leading to your hormones getting out of whack. 

 

I know hormones can be puzzling sometimes, so this article will clear some things up for you. We are going to talk about the two main adrenal hormones, cortisol and DHEA. 

 

Let’s Talk Cortisol

Cortisol is commonly known as your main stress hormone. When your body is under physical, mental or emotional stress, your brain picks up on these signals and tells your adrenals to make more cortisol to help regulate different functions in the body. If your body is stressed out and needs to be on high alert, other processes can be shut down for the time being to give more energy towards what’s causing you stress.

 

However, if your body is under constant daily stress, your brain will tell your adrenals to continually produce cortisol. This in turn inhibits digestive and reproductive function, and even immune function. That’s sure to cause issues! 

 

Symptoms of High Cortisol

  • Brain fog
  • Hair loss
  • Insomnia
  • Inflammation
  • Weight gain (belly fat)
  • High blood pressure
  • Blood sugar dysregulation

 

Causes of High Cortisol 

  • Cortisol supplementation
  • Stress
  • Acute inflammation/infection
  • Acute pain
  • Insulin dysregulation
  • Caffeine consumption
  • Hyperthyroidism
  • Cushing’s syndrome or disease

 

Many people believe their cortisol must be through the roof because they are stressed all the time. Yet, when they get their labs done, their levels are shockingly low! What? How could this be?

 

When you experience chronic stress, it may lead to HPA axis dysfunction. Your stress communication system doesn’t work properly and your adrenals can’t produce adequate levels of cortisol. You may think, “yay, I have low cortisol” but the thing is, your body needs cortisol. It helps keep you alive and helps your body deal with stress. 

 

Symptoms of Low Cortisol

  • Fatigue
  • Feeling burned out
  • Low libido
  • Sleep apnea
  • Feeling dizzy
  • Low motivation
  • Overwhelmed over small things

 

Common Causes of Low Cortisol

  • Medications (glucocorticosteroids, opioids, Accutane)
  • Long-term stress
  • Pituitary or hypothalamic dysfunction/lesion
  • Head trauma/TBI affecting pituitary/hypothalamus
  • Hypothyroidism
  • Sleep dysregulation
  • Surgical removal of adrenal gland
  • Addison’s disease

 

Adaptive Cortisol 

Have you ever heard of adaptive cortisol before? This usually occurs because of adrenal fatigue where your HPA-axis is not working properly. So, as stated above, cortisol levels can show up as always low or always high and even as abnormal cortisol patterns. For instance, on your lab results, cortisol may be high and low but just at the wrong part of the day. 

 

In normal healthy people, cortisol should be high in the morning, as it helps you wake up and be energized and motivated for the day. By the evening time, these cortisol levels should be back down to help you unwind and let you fall asleep at night. 

 

If you have imbalanced adrenal hormones like abnormal cortisol patterns, you may struggle with insomnia at night and feel super sluggish in the morning – not quite what we want, right?

 

How to Regulate Cortisol Naturally

Here are some ways that you can naturally regulate your cortisol levels so that your adrenal hormones can get back into balance.

 

  • Practice breathing techniques
  • Give mediation a try
  • Practice yoga
  • Spend time in nature
  • Talk it out with a trusted friend
  • Give grounding a try (feet in the grass/earth)

 

What is DHEA?

DHEA stands for dehydroepiandrosterone. It’s an adrenal hormone that is also produced by your adrenal glands. DHEA’s role is to help create other hormones, (including testosterone and estrogen) and support optimal organ function. When your adrenals are burnt out from producing too much cortisol, they may not produce enough DHEA either.

 

Symptoms of Low DHEA

  • Low libido
  • Lacking motivation
  • Weight Gain (belly fat)
  • Overwhelmed
  • Depressed

 

Causes of Low DHEA

  • Age – naturally declines with age
  • HPA axis dysfunction
  • Inflammation
  • SULT2A1 issues
  • Medications (opioids, Metformin and others)

 

Sometimes low DHEA isn’t the issue, but having too much is! Many people who are supplementing on their own may find that they are actually taking too much. Women can be very sensitive to DHEA supplements. In some cases, it can lead to increased testosterone, or even mess up your estrogen-to-progesterone ratio (causing estrogen dominance). Here are some symptoms and causes of what happens when your adrenals are making too much DHEA.

 

Symptoms of High DHEA

  • Hair loss
  • Hair in unwanted places
  • Fertility issues
  • Acne
  • Increased muscularity

 

Causes of High DHEA

  • DHEA supplementation (taking too much!)
  • Certain medications
  • High alcohol intake
  • Smoking
  • Elevated cortisol
  • Adrenal tumor
  • High prolactin

 

How To Balance DHEA Naturally

To balance DHEA levels naturally, try one or more of the following suggestions.

  • Increase your consumption of dietary fats and vitamin E
  • Supplement (it’s important to discuss this with your provider)
  • Manage your stress levels
  • Cultivate joy!
  • Make connections with others
  • Exercise
  • Find time for fun hobbies 

 

The first step in getting your imbalanced adrenal hormones back on track is to get your hormones tested. This allows you to know exactly which hormones are imbalanced so you know the most effective steps to take first. Using the DUTCH lab test can give you a comprehensive look at a number of hormones, including cortisol and DHEA. 

 

Taking care of your adrenals is vital because your adrenal health can impact the rest of your hormones directly or indirectly. When adrenal hormones get out of whack, that’s when we see a whole array of additional issues pop up. If imbalances are left untreated, they can potentially lead to chronic diseases.

 

Address Imbalanced Adrenal Hormones with a Functional Medicine Provider 

Annapolis Functional Medicine Provider, Dr. Skye Stewart, can order these tests for you and help you analyze the results. From there, she can give you guidance on how to treat hormone imbalances. 

 

Since imbalanced adrenal hormones are a common root cause of many symptoms and illnesses, it’s vital that you address these head-on, at the beginning of your health journey. Dr. Stewert is currently accepting new patients in the Annapolis, MD area. You can make an appointment with her here.