Life Without Stress: How This Negatively Affects Your Health
Cortisol is one of many hormones released when the body is under stress, and producing too much of it causes health problems such as depression, concentration impairment, and in severe cases stroke. To avoid such health issues, naturally you’d want to produce less cortisol – but what happens when your body is incapable of producing this hormone at all?
A rare disease within the endocrine system called Addison’s Disease (adrenal insufficiency) prevents the production of the cortisol hormone by the adrenal glands. Affecting approximately 1 in 100,000 people in the United States, diagnosing this disease is difficult as symptoms develop slowly and are shared by more commonly diagnosed ailments such as hypotension (low blood pressure) and myalgia (muscle pain). Typically, symptoms of Addison’s Disease do not present until 90% of the adrenal cortex is damaged, deeming it an irreversible condition.
Figure 1. Adrenal glands in an individual affected by Addison’s Disease. (Via ScientificAnimations)
Addison’s Disease typically occurs when the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks its healthy tissues, destroying adrenal glands. While there is a possible genetic predisposition linked to adrenal insufficiency, but other causes include:
- Cancer
- Fungal Infections
- Tuberculosis of adrenal glands
- Inherited disorders of the endocrine glands
Mild symptoms of the disease occur when the body is under physical stress, which include:
- Weakness
- Fatigue
- Dizziness
- Weight loss
- Fluid loss (dehydration)
- Lack of appetite
- Muscle aches
- Upset stomach (nausea), vomiting, diarrhea
- Low blood pressure
- Low sugar levels
- In women, irregular or no menstrual periods
Adrenal insufficiency is diagnosed through a clinical evaluation, blood and urine tests, and imaging tests including X-rays, ultrasounds, and MRI. If Addison’s Disease goes undiagnosed, individuals are at risk for:
- Severe belly (abdominal) pain
- Extreme weakness
- Low blood pressure
- Shock
- Kidney failure, which can lead to death
- Adrenal failure, which can lead to death
Treatment plans for Addison’s Disease vary per person, but any person diagnosed with adrenal insufficiency will need to take hormones to replace those that are not being produced. Hormones are taken either by mouth, intravenous therapy (IV), or via an insulin pump that delivers continuous cortisol to the body instead of insulin.
The next time you are under stress, you can be slightly thankful that your body can produce a very necessary hormone!