Blood pressure starts to stabilize, brain fog starts to dissipate, and functional sleep returns. There might be mini-crashes and setbacks from time to time that last a few days.
Recovery from adrenal fatigue can take anywhere from 3 months to 3 years. Each individual has a unique set of symptoms and an individual response to treatment. The recovery process depends upon the stage and severity of the adrenal exhaustion.
Full recovery from HPA Dysfunction or adrenal fatigue can take anywhere from three months to two years, depending on the severity and how long the condition has existed. Your adrenals are stressed the most by emotional stress, followed by diet, and, finally, by the hidden stressors I listed earlier.
Symptoms said to be due to adrenal fatigue include tiredness, trouble falling asleep at night or waking up in the morning, salt and sugar craving, and needing stimulants like caffeine to get through the day. These symptoms are common and non-specific, meaning they can be found in many diseases.
Most people with adrenal fatigue will recover quite quickly but severe symptoms may take some months to recover, or even longer. The time for recovery will vary enormously from person to person and will also depend on the cause of stress and the severity of symptoms.
“The adrenal gland was one of the first tissues—as early as the nineteenth century—known to undergo regeneration,” said Breault, an endocrinologist at Boston Children's Hospital. “Despite this, the rules that control its regeneration following injury or its daily maintenance are not well understood.”
As we discuss in the The Adrenal Fatigue Solution, one of the major causes of Adrenal Fatigue is getting insufficient sleep. Getting more rest is therefore one of the best ways to recover. However, when suffering from Adrenal Fatigue many patients wake up extremely tired and 'foggy', even after getting a long sleep.
Healthy fats and nutrient-dense foods provide the best nutrition for your adrenal cleanse. So, increase eating lots of vegetables, legumes, coconut oil, fatty fish, avocados, along with nuts and seeds. Herbs such as Ashwagandha and borage can help to restore your adrenals.
As an adrenal cancer grows, it presses on nearby organs and tissues. This may cause pain near the tumor, a feeling of fullness in the abdomen, or trouble eating because of a feeling of filling up easily.
Secondary adrenal insufficiency
If the pituitary doesn't make enough ACTH, the adrenal glands don't make enough cortisol. Over time, the adrenal glands can shrink and stop working.
Men and women of all ages are equally affected by adrenal insufficiency, which may be permanent or temporary and can be treated with medications.
The suggested treatments for healthy adrenal function are a diet low in sugar, caffeine, and junk food, and “targeted nutritional supplementation” that includes vitamins and minerals: Vitamins B5, B6, and B12. Vitamin C. Magnesium.
Adrenal fatigue is thought to occur when the adrenals have been overworked to a degree that they can no longer secrete levels of cortisol that are adequate for optimal function. Potential stressors include environmental and dietary influences, as well as anxiety and emotional stresses.
As the body's primary stress hormone, cortisol surges when we perceive danger, and causes all the symptoms we associate with “fight or flight”—increased blood pressure and heart rate, muscle tension, and the digestive system slamming to a halt, resulting in nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.
Dry or Wet Eyes
Studies show that stress, a major factor in the development of adrenal fatigue, could cause dry eyes. This may result from poor sleep quality. But this very issue could also cause an increase in tear secretion.
Stage 2 (Dismay Response)
Our bodies have now been under severe stress and our cortisol levels will continue to elevate while our DHEA levels will decrease. Normal activities can still be carried out, but fatigue hangs wearily on each day more and more. It will take longer to feel recovered or well rested.
In its early stages, adrenal insufficiency can be hard to diagnose since symptoms come on slowly. Your health care professional may suspect it after reviewing your medical history and symptoms. The next step is blood testing to see if your cortisol levels are too low and to help find the cause.