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Adrenal Fatigue vs Chronic Fatigue

• Are they the same condition?

There are a lot of similarities between Adrenal Fatigue and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

The end result and symptoms seem identical for both CFS and AF.

But do they have different root causes?

The chart below shows the number of times people search for certain terms in Google. It shows a 10-year trend, up to October, 2014.

The number of searches for Chronic Fatigue has been decreasing. But the number of searches for Adrenal Fatigue has been increasing.

How likely is it the prevalence of Chronic Fatigue is decreasing at the same time that Adrenal Fatigue is increasing?

It more likely that desperate people are starting to find out about Adrenal Fatigue first, rather than Chronic Fatigue.

The term Adrenal Fatigue has been growing in alternative medicine.

So it is not surprising that once people have given up looking for solutions from conventional doctors, they turn to a Naturopathic Doctor, Nutritionist, etc., who now use the term Adrenal Fatigue.

Up until the early 2000's, chronically sick people came to the conclusion they had something called Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

More and more, people are coming to the conclusion that they have something called Adrenal Fatigue.

But .... are they the same condition? Other than the above chart .... are there other hints that they are one in the same?

Adrenal Function with CFS

• Hypo-adrenal function is part of CFS

Saliva and urine samples show low levels of the adrenal hormone cortisol of Chronic Fatigue subjects ^5,6.

  Mean cortisol and cortisone concentrations were significantly lower in patients than controls across the whole day, as were levels at each individual time point except 2100 h.⁶

9:00pm levels of cortisol were normal ⁶ in CFS subjects. This might explain the evening boost of energy that is common with adrenal fatigue, and obviously CFS.

With adrenal fatigue, it is very common to be exhausted all day, but get a boost of energy in the evening. A survey of visitors to this site asked Do you have increased energy late in the evening ? .....71.6% of 86 people responded Yes.

CFS patients have lower levels of ACTH³. The pituitary gland uses ACTH to signal the adrenal glands to increase output.

  Patients with CFS demonstrated subtle alterations in HPA axis activity characterized by reduced ACTH over a full circadian cycle and reduced levels during the usual morning physiological peak ACTH secretion.³

So Chronic Fatigue patients show hypo-function of the adrenal glands, as well as the entire HPA axis in general.

Symptoms: CFS vs Adrenal Fatigue

• The symptoms of CFS and Adrenal Fatigue are identical

The article Symptom Comparison: CFS vs Adrenal Fatigue compares symptoms.

The article contains survey results of people with CFS, and compares them to survey results of people researching Adrenal Fatigue.

Causes of Chronic Fatigue

Although many people are convinced that Chronic Fatigue Syndrome starts with some sort of virus, they have not been able to find a virus that is common in chronic fatigue subjects.

The following article makes the case that chronic stress is the root cause of CFS,
Causes of Chronic Fatigue, just like Adrenal Fatigue.

Onset of CFS

• Chronic Fatigue can appear suddenly

CFS can appear suddenly. i.e. people can feel healthy for years, but suddenly develop exhaustion, along with many other strange symptoms.

  One of the most notable characteristics of CFS/ ME is that it often appears suddenly. Many patients with CFS/ ME can give the precise date they first started experiencing symptoms.²

Does the sudden onset distinguish CFS from other chronic illnesses?

The following quote is from the book Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Treatment Guide, 2nd Edition.

  The sudden onset of the illness is what allows a diagnostician to distinguish CFS/ ME from many of the ailments and conditions that CFS/ ME can resemble, such as allergies, endocrine abnormalities, multiple sclerosis, and mood disorders, none of which develops from one day to the next².

To the author of the book, it seems like an endocrine abnormality, such as Adrenal Fatigue can not happen all of a sudden.

Let's see if we can challenge that assumption !

Sudden Onset Adrenal Fatigue?

From surveys taken on this site, there are many people who responded that they suddenly became chronically exhausted, also had symptoms of being stuck in a state of stress for years becoming ill.

The article Sudden Adrenal Fatigue? has more information, as well as the survey results.

Summary

CFS subjects show evidence of hypo-adrenal function. The symptoms of CFS and Adrenal Fatigue are essentially identical, and occur at nearly the same frequency.

There is evidence connecting CFS to childhood trauma, as well as other stressors.

There is no agreed upon cause for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. However, there are many hints that it is a chronic stress disorder, just like Adrenal Fatigue.

References

1. CDC: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)
2. Verrillo, Erica (2012-09-14). Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Treatment Guide, 2nd Edition
3. 24-hour pituitary and adrenal hormone profiles in chronic fatigue syndrome
4. Neuro-endocrine correlates of burnout
5. Diurnal excretion of urinary cortisol, cortisone, and cortisol metabolites in chronic fatigue syndrome.
6. Diurnal patterns of salivary cortisol and cortisone output in chronic fatigue syndrome.
7. Chronic fatigue syndrome: diagnosis and treatment
8. No association found between the detection of either xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus or polytropic murine leukemia virus and chronic fatigue syndrome in a blinded, multi-site, prospective study by the establishment and use of the SolveCFS BioBank.