Social Anxiety Support

wxolue · 10-22-2009, 08:38 PM

Last year in my junior year of high school, I would fall asleep 2-3 times a day, despite getting 7-10 hours of sleep every night. This year, its starting all over again. The good news is I seem to have found what im suffering from. Basically, my anxiety puts me in a constant state of stress that forces my body to release adrenaline. Since im stressed so much and so often, my adrenal glad runs out of juice and I crash.

Anyone else have this?

meyaj · 10-22-2009, 09:39 PM

"Adrenal fatigue" is hocus pocus BS used by alternative medicine practitioners for a set of symptoms with no obvious cause and that can't in any way be tested for.

When your adrenal glands are REALLY not producing enough, it's called Addison's disease, which is pretty serious and produces way more symptoms than just simple fatigue. It's not difficult to test for either, although it's a very rare condition (about 1 in 100,000 have it), so it doesn't make too much sense to be looking there first.

Your best bet is to go to a sleep specialist and have a sleep study done. Different sleep disorders, like abnormal sleep cycles, sleep apnea, and dare I say, even narcolepsy, can make you feel exhausted and sleepy all day even if you think you've had more than enough sleep. Sleep apnea is a particularly common culprit of excessive daytime sleepiness.

wxolue · 10-23-2009, 09:12 AM

I have been tested for narcolepsy and sleep apnea. Both negative. There really isn't anything else to explain my sudden and severe exhaustion.

Selection10 · 10-23-2009, 10:02 AM

Adrenal Fatigue CAN be tested for, by testing the 24-hour urine cortisol, or the more accurate test of 4 salivary samples for cortisol (@8AM, NOON, 5PM, 10PM) which is the most sensitive test for subclinical adrenal insufficiency (aka adrenal fatigue). Treatment is a combination of lifestyle changes and low dosages of cortisol.

I highly recommend the book, "Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome", it's a very indepth and highly rated book.

meyaj · 10-23-2009, 12:55 PM

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/adr...atigue/AN01583

Girl_Loner · 10-23-2009, 04:39 PM

Hey I don't want to put ideas in your head but could it be glandular fever?

I had it a couple of years ago and I would go to sleep at 6pm (very early for me) wake up at 8am get dressed and feel like I hadnt any sleep at all. I felt like I could barely stay awake and had to find places on campus to crash out. Going out was funny to because even though I had crazy amounts of sleep in preperation as soon as I got to the place (usually a club) I would be tired and try to find somewhere to rest haha. You will need a blood test to find out. It is recurring so might be a possiblity.

http://www.nzgirl.co.nz/articles/7573

pollster · 10-23-2009, 05:01 PM

I agree with the notion of adrenal fatigue. And I have begun taking a natural supplement made in Canada that helps with adrenals and thyroid. I noticed more energy once I started taking it. My body is also low in DHEA, as determined by saliva testing, which is produced by the adrenals.

wxolue · 10-25-2009, 10:44 PM

Ill look into glandular fevor, but I already had a blood test done looking for thyroid disorder and everything came back normal EXECPT I had unusually low blood sugar (despite having breakfast less than two hours prior to the test). I have no idea what that could mean.

The usual thing about my exhaustion is that I am fine throughout the day (although I am usually pretty tired the first hour or two after I wake up. depends on when I wake up though), but sometimes I just become extremely exhausted. It really has only happened during class, and never happened over the summer which leads me to believe it is caused by my anxiety over school. I get worked up before a class, the adrenaline starts pumping, I get to class, I relax once the professor starts lecturing, and I crash. I get so tired that I physically cannot stop myself from falling asleep. The only thing that will stop my exhaustion is the class being over or actually nodding off. After I get even a minute of sleep I feel fine.

So basically:

1) Low blood sugar after a meal.
2) Caused by anxiety.
3) Not constant throughout the day.

jim_morrison · 10-26-2009, 05:04 AM

Did you look into blood disorders like for example; anemia, thrombocytopenia etc?

meyaj · 10-26-2009, 10:37 AM

Yeah get your B12 and Vitamin D checked as well

10-22-2009, 08:38 PM	#1 (permalink)
wxolue Status: SAS Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 334	Hypoadrenia/Adrenal Exhaustion Last year in my junior year of high school, I would fall asleep 2-3 times a day, despite getting 7-10 hours of sleep every night. This year, its starting all over again. The good news is I seem to have found what im suffering from. Basically, my anxiety puts me in a constant state of stress that forces my body to release adrenaline. Since im stressed so much and so often, my adrenal glad runs out of juice and I crash. Anyone else have this?

10-22-2009, 09:39 PM	#2 (permalink)
meyaj Status: SAS Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Markham, Ontario Gender: Male Age: 23 Posts: 571	"Adrenal fatigue" is hocus pocus BS used by alternative medicine practitioners for a set of symptoms with no obvious cause and that can't in any way be tested for. When your adrenal glands are REALLY not producing enough, it's called Addison's disease, which is pretty serious and produces way more symptoms than just simple fatigue. It's not difficult to test for either, although it's a very rare condition (about 1 in 100,000 have it), so it doesn't make too much sense to be looking there first. Your best bet is to go to a sleep specialist and have a sleep study done. Different sleep disorders, like abnormal sleep cycles, sleep apnea, and dare I say, even narcolepsy, can make you feel exhausted and sleepy all day even if you think you've had more than enough sleep. Sleep apnea is a particularly common culprit of excessive daytime sleepiness. __________________ Medications I've tried: escitalopram, bupropion, venlafaxine, sertraline, nortriptyline, hydroxyzine, lorazepam, diazepam, temazepam, clonazepam, zopiclone, mirtazapine, trazodone, quetiapine, olanzapine, paliperidone Currently taking: 2mg nortriptyline hs(tapering), 7.5mg-15mg zopiclone hs, 2mg clonazepam prn

10-23-2009, 12:55 PM	#5 (permalink)
meyaj Status: SAS Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Markham, Ontario Gender: Male Age: 23 Posts: 571	http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/adr...atigue/AN01583 __________________ Medications I've tried: escitalopram, bupropion, venlafaxine, sertraline, nortriptyline, hydroxyzine, lorazepam, diazepam, temazepam, clonazepam, zopiclone, mirtazapine, trazodone, quetiapine, olanzapine, paliperidone Currently taking: 2mg nortriptyline hs(tapering), 7.5mg-15mg zopiclone hs, 2mg clonazepam prn

10-26-2009, 05:04 AM	#9 (permalink)
jim_morrison Status: SAS Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Australia Gender: Male Age: 23 Posts: 1,027	Did you look into blood disorders like for example; anemia, thrombocytopenia etc? __________________ Warning: I am not a trained medical professional. Any information provided by me is based on my own personal experiences and research and is not intended to be used as professional medical advice. Please contact a medical professional before taking any action that may be discussed on this board.

10-26-2009, 10:37 AM	#10 (permalink)
meyaj Status: SAS Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Markham, Ontario Gender: Male Age: 23 Posts: 571	Yeah get your B12 and Vitamin D checked as well __________________ Medications I've tried: escitalopram, bupropion, venlafaxine, sertraline, nortriptyline, hydroxyzine, lorazepam, diazepam, temazepam, clonazepam, zopiclone, mirtazapine, trazodone, quetiapine, olanzapine, paliperidone Currently taking: 2mg nortriptyline hs(tapering), 7.5mg-15mg zopiclone hs, 2mg clonazepam prn

10-23-2009, 09:12 AM	#3 (permalink)
wxolue Status: SAS Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 334	I have been tested for narcolepsy and sleep apnea. Both negative. There really isn't anything else to explain my sudden and severe exhaustion.

10-23-2009, 10:02 AM	#4 (permalink)
Selection10 Status: Duplicate Account Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Calgary, Canada Gender: Male Age: 19 Posts: 33	Adrenal Fatigue CAN be tested for, by testing the 24-hour urine cortisol, or the more accurate test of 4 salivary samples for cortisol (@8AM, NOON, 5PM, 10PM) which is the most sensitive test for subclinical adrenal insufficiency (aka adrenal fatigue). Treatment is a combination of lifestyle changes and low dosages of cortisol. I highly recommend the book, "Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome", it's a very indepth and highly rated book.

10-23-2009, 04:39 PM	#6 (permalink)
Girl_Loner Status: SAS Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Cardboard Box Gender: Female Posts: 524	Hey I don't want to put ideas in your head but could it be glandular fever? I had it a couple of years ago and I would go to sleep at 6pm (very early for me) wake up at 8am get dressed and feel like I hadnt any sleep at all. I felt like I could barely stay awake and had to find places on campus to crash out. Going out was funny to because even though I had crazy amounts of sleep in preperation as soon as I got to the place (usually a club) I would be tired and try to find somewhere to rest haha. You will need a blood test to find out. It is recurring so might be a possiblity. http://www.nzgirl.co.nz/articles/7573

10-23-2009, 05:01 PM	#7 (permalink)
pollster Status: my rainbow helmet Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Canada Gender: Female Age: 33 Posts: 89	I agree with the notion of adrenal fatigue. And I have begun taking a natural supplement made in Canada that helps with adrenals and thyroid. I noticed more energy once I started taking it. My body is also low in DHEA, as determined by saliva testing, which is produced by the adrenals.

10-25-2009, 10:44 PM	#8 (permalink)
wxolue Status: SAS Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 334	Ill look into glandular fevor, but I already had a blood test done looking for thyroid disorder and everything came back normal EXECPT I had unusually low blood sugar (despite having breakfast less than two hours prior to the test). I have no idea what that could mean. The usual thing about my exhaustion is that I am fine throughout the day (although I am usually pretty tired the first hour or two after I wake up. depends on when I wake up though), but sometimes I just become extremely exhausted. It really has only happened during class, and never happened over the summer which leads me to believe it is caused by my anxiety over school. I get worked up before a class, the adrenaline starts pumping, I get to class, I relax once the professor starts lecturing, and I crash. I get so tired that I physically cannot stop myself from falling asleep. The only thing that will stop my exhaustion is the class being over or actually nodding off. After I get even a minute of sleep I feel fine. So basically: 1) Low blood sugar after a meal. 2) Caused by anxiety. 3) Not constant throughout the day.