The most common symptoms are fatigue, muscle weakness, loss of appetite, weight loss, and abdominal pain. Adrenal insufficiencyAdrenal insufficiency is a disorder that occurs when the adrenal glands don't make enough of certain hormones. The adrenal glands are located just above the kidneys. Adrenal insufficiency can be primary, secondary, or tertiary. Primary adrenal insufficiency is often called Addison's disease.https://www.niddk.nih.gov › definition-facts
lack of energy or motivation (fatigue) muscle weakness. low mood. loss of appetite and unintentional weight loss.
Diarrhea is less common, but may also occur. Affected individuals may have a poor appetite and unintentional weight loss and may develop progressive fatigue and muscle weakness. Muscle pain (myalgia), muscle spasms and joint pain may also occur. Dehydration can also affect individuals with Addison's disease.
Addison's disease symptoms usually happen slowly, often over months. The disease can move so slowly that people who have it may ignore the symptoms at first.
Other causes
Other possible causes of Addison's disease include: infections – such as those linked to AIDS, or fungal infections. a haemorrhage – very heavy bleeding into the adrenal glands, sometimes associated with meningitis or other types of severe sepsis.
If Addison's disease is suspected, blood tests will be carried out to measure the levels of sodium, potassium and cortisol in your body. A low sodium, high potassium or low cortisol level may indicate Addison's disease.
Results: The results show that patients with Addison's disease have not only increased levels of anxiety and fear, and over-reaction to stimuli, but decreased performance efficiency and need for social contact as well.
Symptoms tend to come and go and may include abdominal pain, dizziness, fatigue, weight loss, salt craving, and the darkening of the skin. 1 During periods of extreme stress or poor health, Addison's disease can trigger a rapid drop in cortisol levels and a potentially life-threatening event known as an adrenal crisis.
Symptoms of lower-than-normal cortisol levels, or adrenal insufficiency, include: Fatigue. Unintentional weight loss. Poor appetite.
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.
Addison's disease can be a life-threatening condition, but it is often not diagnosed until weeks or even months after the first vague symptoms present themselves.
It is frequently mistaken for psychiatric disorders, such as depression, apathy, anxiety or even psychosis, and already in the originally described cases by Addison it is obvious that these traits often precede other symptoms.
Ocular Features: Virtually all patients have visual symptoms. Loss of acuity, hemianopia, visual agnosia, optic atrophy, and strabismus are the most common features.
Acute adrenal crisis is a medical emergency caused by a lack of cortisol. Patients may experience lightheadedness or dizziness, weakness, sweating, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, or even loss of consciousness.
Too little cortisol may be due to a problem in the pituitary gland or the adrenal gland (Addison's disease). The onset of symptoms is often very gradual. Symptoms may include fatigue, dizziness (especially upon standing), weight loss, muscle weakness, mood changes and the darkening of regions of the skin.
Low levels of cortisol can cause weakness, fatigue, and low blood pressure. You may have more symptoms if you have untreated Addison's disease or damaged adrenal glands due to severe stress, such as from a car accident or an infection. These symptoms include sudden dizziness, vomiting, and even loss of consciousness.
Cushing's syndrome is the opposite of Addison's: it is an excess of cortisol. However, other levels of the adrenal cortex are usually not significantly affected, therefore, electrolytes are normal.
Women are more likely than men to develop Addison's disease. This condition occurs most often in people between the ages of 30 and 50, 2 although it can occur at any age, even in children. Secondary adrenal insufficiency occurs in people with certain conditions that affect the pituitary.
Autoimmune Addison disease can lead to a life-threatening adrenal crisis, characterized by vomiting, abdominal pain, back or leg cramps, and severe hypotension leading to shock. The adrenal crisis is often triggered by a stressor, such as surgery, trauma, or infection.
abnormal drowsiness or tiredness (lethargy) low mood (mild clinical depression) or irritability. a frequent need to pee. increased thirst.
Neuropsychiatric symptoms of AD include, but are not limited to, depression, lack of energy, and sleep disturbances. During an Addisonian crisis, agitation, delirium, and, in some cases, visual and auditory hallucinations are reported.
Patients with Addison's disease frequently self-report memory and attention difficulties, even when on standard replacement therapy.
Addison's disease stages
Stage 0: Normal adrenal function. Stage 1: You may have increased plasma renin with normal or low levels of aldosterone but no other abnormal results. Stage 2: You're likely to have high renin levels and low aldosterone levels. Renin is an enzyme produced in your kidney.