Adrenal fatigue — why your functional medicine doctor’s favorite diagnosis doesn’t exist
Ok so I’ve been seeing a functional medicine doctor for about 6 months and every time I mention fatigue or sleep issues she immediately goes to “adrenal fatigue” and wants to sell me like $200 worth of adaptogen supplements. I finally did some digging and turns out the Endocrine Society has straight up said adrenal fatigue isn’t a real diagnosis. Like, actual endocrinologists don’t recognize it.
Don’t get me wrong, I was definitely tired and my cortisol rhythms were probably off, but calling it “adrenal fatigue” is apparently not accurate. Real adrenal problems are things like Addison’s disease which is serious and rare. The symptoms we all complain about (tired, stressed, can’t lose weight) are real but they’re usually from other stuff like poor sleep, insulin resistance, thyroid issues, or just chronic stress.
I switched to a regular endocrinologist and we’re actually addressing my insulin resistance and looking at my thyroid more closely. Already feeling better on low dose tirzepatide.
Anyone else get this diagnosis thrown at them? I feel like it’s the functional med goto for everything.
YES omg I got the same thing from my naturopath. Spent probably $500 on adrenal support supplements over like 8 months and honestly felt zero difference. What actually helped was getting my sleep apnea diagnosed and treated, plus addressing vitamin D deficiency. My cortisol was high in the evening but that was because I wasn’t sleeping properly, not because my adrenals were “fatigued.” I still see functional med people for some things but I’ve learned to be more skeptical about the supplement pushing.
I mean I get what you’re saying but I do think there’s something to HPA axis dysfunction even if “adrenal fatigue” isn’t the right term. The problem is functional med docs use it as a catch-all without doing proper workup. A good practitioner should be testing your thyroid thoroughly (not just TSH), looking at insulin/glucose, checking sex hormones, etc. The adaptogen thing is whatever, ashwagandha might help some people feel less stressed but it’s not curing anything. MitoMinded is right that sleep issues are usually the culprit. Glad the tirzepatide is helping you!
tbh this is why I stopped going to functional med doctors altogether. Too much pseudoscience mixed in with the legitimate stuff. My previous doc had me convinced my adrenals were shot and I needed to avoid all exercise except walking. Turns out I just had hashimotos that wasn’t being treated properly. Now I’m on levothyroxine, doing strength training 4x week, and on semaglutide for weight loss (down 35lbs). I wasted 2 years and probably $3000 on supplements that did nothing. See a real endocrinologist people!!