Anti-Aging Medicine: Often Means Getting You Back to "Your OLD Self"

Fatigue is one of the most common complaints of those living in today's high paced, fast food, deadline driven world and interruptions in a persons schedule can make seizing the day near impossible.  I'm not sure what the statistic would be of those coming to me for help, but I'm guessing that >90% of those that I interview will express fatigue as a noticeable concern.  What about you?  How are you feeling in the area of stress and fatigue?  Not sure?  In this blog,  and because it seems to be so prevalent, I want to simply cover a little background to help you determine if something can be done to help you get "back on your game".

If you have symptoms such as tiredness, difficulty concentrating, inability to lose weight, anxiety, or depression, then you may be suffering from adrenal fatigue.  This clinical condition dates back as far as the medical texts of the 1800's, and the prescription for treatment then was simply to "relax".  That's about as helpful as telling someone who is depressed to "cheer up" while you softly pat them on the shoulder.  It just doesn't quite work like that.  Despite effective diagnostic tools and treatment regimens, most clinicians are not informed or prepared to treat adrenal fatigue as a threat to health.  I say threat to health, because I personally wonder how often there are car accidents, falls, illnesses, and diseases that can be connected to long term fatigue, insomnia, weight gain, anxiety, etc.

How extreme is the fatigue?  That's a reasonable and necessary question because there is another condition called Addison's disease where the adrenal glands are not functioning.  While Addison's disease is often caused by autoimmune problems, adrenal fatigue is most commonly caused by stress.  Conventional medicine recognizes Addison's disease, but not necessarily the hypoadrenia state of adrenal fatigue.   I've never really understood that, and don't have the same clinical perspective about it.  The person experiencing either will have similar symptoms, and both, in my opinion, should be treated.

Does this list describe you?

Symptoms of Adrenal Fatigue:
Tendency to gain weight and inability to lose it
High frequency of illness and difficulty getting well
Tendency to tremble under pressure
Reduced sex drive
Lightheaded upon rising
Lack of concentration
Need for coffee or stimulants
Depression
Dry and thin skin
Low body temperature
Nervousness
Unexplained hair loss
Alternating constipation and diarrhea
Upset stomach
Emotional behaviors and expressions
Rapid Aging

The reality is that stress is no longer a mystery to treat and our body has a built is mechanism to give clinicians diagnostic identifiers.  The mission control center of our body are the adrenal glands and when they get short circuited due to stress, the whole body can go haywire and physical manifestations can present (like those above).  The good news is that hormones produced by the adrenals can easily be tested, and if out of range, can be treated through natural and restorative therapies.   It's rare that I recommend only an adrenal hormone panel because the sex hormones are also intricately connected to everything in the endocrine system as well.  Estrogen, Progesterone, and Testosterone can have a significant impact on well being, energy, weight, emotions, mood, etc.  While testing one aspect of adrenal fatigue, it's important to test others.  And it's very affordable to do so as you see below.

So what do you do with this information?
If this describes you, or is a concern to you, then call our office for an at-home saliva testing kit.  417-231-4544. We only charge $10 for the packet of information and the testing kit.  Mention this blog for that deal!!  From there, you will simply need to follow the instructions within the kit for testing, or call us to help guide you through the process before shipping off your sample to the lab. A good panel to evaluate sex hormones and adrenals hormones is typically $130.  That's a small price to pay to identify what the source of your concerns might be.  Then, once your results post to me, I will call you and design a treatment plan for you.  Remember, I'm ALL about natural when possible, but sometimes the intervention and expertise of your personal medical doctor will be necessary to get you back to your "old" self.  It's rare that practitioners in Anti-Aging Medicine focus on getting you back to your old self, but in this case, that's a good thing.

Give us a call today!



Dr. Sonja O'Bryan, Pharm. D. ABAAHP
Board Certified Health Practitioner Diplomate
American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine