Adrenal Fatique And Ptsd

[Caroline greenlaw]

Just wonder if anyone else has low blood pressure, dizziness when standing up tiredness, along with palpitations and general feeling of being constantly adrenalised, I struggle to get the energy to do my daily tasks, and feel I need to lie down a lot due to low blood pressure, I was thinking I should maybe go see my gp, but it's maybe just a side effect of ptsd,

 

[Upside Down Eagle]

Yeah. I actually had it checked out with a doctor multiple times.
The best response I was is that young women (but more women than men overall) tend to get this. She said to eat bouillon. Lots of stew.

Fatigue can also be a side effect of PTSD so it kind of works both ways.

PD: It did get a bit better over the years.

 

[Caroline greenlaw]

Thanks radise, yes I think maybe increasing my fluid and salt intake might help,

 

[Chosen]

you described my day to day life practically. My body is so broken. Exhausted all the time. It's one of the worst parts of PTSD. I have little energy for anything, and been to so many doctors to get tested for so many things. Seems like there's no solution.

Sorry that you're going through this. :(

 

[Caroline greenlaw]

Yes Noah, it's definitely a daily struggle, I hate the fact that were psychologically and physically broken and there's really no conclusive tests or treatments, and going to the dr feels like making a fuss over nothing, because nothing shows up, feel invisible with a whole load of invisible problems,

 

[katiekat]

Yes, I get that too and have seen my doctor about it. I'm mostly vegetarian, so adding iron supplements has been suggested. Also-try taking Vitamin D3- I swear every time I take it before bed I wake up ready to go-as opposed to wanting to sleep in and press snooze 5 times.

 

[Chava]

Yes there's a connection. I have adrenaline issues (feeling like I'm buzzing all over, then more like I've been punched in the head) and variable blood pressure...but stabilized. I've had palpitations too, dizziness, and an arrhythmia (benign)...all been checked out by a couple different cardiac specialists. It's stress-related. It's obvious with panic, but even on a good day I can feel these extremes...triggered too easily. I also have chronic pain and my body can sort of over-inflame everywhere. My blood sugar has spiked a couple times in relation to stress and I'm going to check that with my GP soon (was found in ER labs). While all stress related, all of these issues have to be assessed and, if troublesome, treated for what they are. I am eliminated crap foods and sugars. My hormones are really screwed up too (also diagnosed via bad symptoms and situation seen on ultrasound). My therapist says there is a likely a connection there too.

Even if connected to trauma and autonomic nervous system stuff, it's good to check with a doctor because they can still be real problems. If you can't do your daily tasks and are really exhausted, it would be helpful to get bloodwork for all the electrolytes, vit D, maybe a thyroid check...and whatever else they would want to look at just to make sure you are okay, especially if blood pressure is a constant issue. I do have to take some supplements because I've come up low on bloodwork. Sometimes I have bad fatigue when everything is "okay." There isn't really an official way to diagnose adrenal fatigue but I relate a lot to those symptoms...was very bad a few years ago and has improved. It's the other stuff that's easy to diagnose that I let doctors and therapist help me deal with more directly...panic, heart stuff, hormone stuff, and mineral levels..

Here's some more info if you are interested:
http://www.afwh.org/articles/paid/chronicstress.htm

 

[Seagreen]

I used to get it a lot too and still occasionally. Its best to have the heart stuff checked by your doctor. My tests came back clear but it doesn't hurt to rule out any other any medical causes.

 

[Caroline greenlaw]

Thanks for your advice, I've made appointment with my gp, I'm sure it's all stress related, but as you say it's best to get it checked out,

 

[Esmeralda]

If your body has been in a constant state of anxiety this can cause adrenal fatigue. Have your cortisol levels checked! Important to do! Once I was diagnosed and treated for adrenal exhaustion, my energy level and overall sense of well being improved!

 

[Caroline greenlaw]

Thanks esmererlda, sounds hopeful

 

[Anarchy]

I've just stumbled into this thread, late

I can surprise doctors with my low blood pressure. It was at it's worst after I had glandular fever a few years back (and looking back, I was really symptomatic with PTSD at that time).