I have been getting increasing worsening symptoms over the last 3 years or so.

SYMPTOMS:
low blood sugar
anxiety
cant gain weight BMI 16 very underweight
lethargic, lack of energy stamina can bearly walk far now
persistant tiredness strange pattern -(wake up tired, midday better, 3pmish tired, 6pmish better, 8.30pmish tired again) some days better than others so begin to question wether it is real.
weaker than i used to be
cold all of the time especially hand and feet
very thin hair that comes out easily now

fasting blood glucose 1.2mmol
thyroxine normal
not aneamic

gp put me on antidepressants as thought it might slow my metabolism down, they did very little for me and did nothing for my symptoms at all.

i have looked up on various sites, to me it seems to fit some sort of adrenal insufficiency. What do you think?

Could be hormones; you need your thyroid and morning blood cortisol levels checked as well as prolactin.

Sorry you are feling so bad. You have exactly the same symptoms as me, I have secondary adrenal insufficiency, you should most definately get your cortisol levels checked and thyroid. there is a 24 hour cortisol test that you take at home that works very well, also try the ACTH Stimulation. Go to GP and request these tests, if they will run not run them go to Endocronologist. You definately have a hormone problem. Sarah

thanks for your reply. What is secondary adrenal insufficiency? how were you diagnosed? is it treatable?

Jen
I am like Sarah and have secondary AI with Lyme being responsible for it. I have the wierd pattern of tiredness too. I wake up tired and throughout the day it changes. I usually am really bad from 2:00 until after dinner. Then I feel a little better but not good enough to go out or anything like that.

The 24 hour saliva cortisol test is what I used and they also checked my DHEA which was also very low. Hopefully your doctor can give you the test kit and it is very easy to do. I am on cortef now for the AI 20 mg and am just now (after 2 months) to feel a slight difference. I wish I was less tired during the day though. Good luck and I hope you find some answers. It was 2 long years for me for the doctors to figure it out.

Kim

Jen,
It would be a great idea to see an endocrinologist about your symptoms. I had very similar symptoms to yours, and after the cortisol stimulation test was diagnosed with adrenal insufficiency about 9 months ago. It has been a long road, trying to get educated and used to how the meds work, but I feel a lot better now! Do get the stim test, as just a random cortisol is not always reliable. My random cortisol tests were normal, but I asked for the stim test anyways, and that showed my defficiency.

Good luck and keep us posted!
MaryAnn

thanks for your reply. What is secondary adrenal insufficiency? how were you diagnosed? is it treatable?

Secondary AI is AI that is caused by another disease, mine being Lyme Disease just like Kim. It is very common in people that have Lyme to also have adrenal and thyroid problems. My endocron. diag. me. Usually Cortef is prescribed, same as with AI that is not secondary, but I am not taking the Cortef because it is a steroid and steroids make the Lyme Disease worse. My Endoc. has me on pregnenolone, Biotin and enzymatic supplements right now, and if my levels don't go up then I will take a very low dose of the cortef only in the morning. I am fatigued all the time, I don't feel any better in the morning than I did before I went to bed. Even if I sleep 12-13 hours. My 24 hour cortisol shows that I am producing less than 1/4 of the cortisol that a normal healthy person produces. So basically I feel like crap all the time. I do have times when I feel a little less fatigued and then all of a sudden I will feel a sudden rush of fatigue, it is very weird, and frustrating. If I stand for very long in one place I get nauseated and feel like I am going to pass out. I also get shaky notice that I get shaky and aggitated or space out:dizzy: if I do not consume some type of sugar every few hours. I hope that you are able to find out what is wrong with you, but it really does sound like a hormone problem by what you have described. sincerely, Sarah