iThei mdcdaelcinfd o c elllllrllll ThofthThseYou can try the following test with a flashlight: Stand in your bathroom
with the lights out for a few minutes, allowing your eyes to adjust. Shine
the flashlight across your eye, keeping it perpendicular to your face (do not
shine the light directly into your eyes). Watch how your pupils react.
Normally, the pupils get smaller and stay that way. If they get
smaller, then bounce back and forth only to become slightly bigger
again, this may be a sign of poor adrenal function. Symptoms in-
clude light sensitivity, difficulty seeing in bright lights, and having
to wear sunglasses.
Unstable Temperatures
If you are keeping track of your basal temperatures, low and unstable
morning temperatures may indicate adrenal insufficiency.
Hormone Testing
Adrenal hormones can be measured through blood or saliva testing.
Saliva testing—which measures the “free” or available hormones of cor-
tisol throughout the day as well as levels of DHEA, progesterone, and
estrogen—is often used to detect adrenal fatigue. Blood tests may also be
utilized to test for hormone deficiencies, but they do not always detect
adrenal fatigue as they don’t register changes until 90 percent of the adre-
nal cortex has been destroyed.
Thyroid Function and the Adrenals
Excess cortisol inhibits the peripheral conversion of T4 to T3, the ac-
tive thyroid hormone. At the same time, it promotes the production of
reverse T3 (rT3), an inactive thyroid molecule that still has three iodine
molecules—but in the wrong spaces (see Figure 12).
This molecule is able to bind the receptor sites T3 normally occupies, but
it does not have the ability to unlock these receptors, thus obstructing the
necessary reactions from taking place.
At the same time, cortisol blocks the release of TSH, preventing the pro-
duction of more thyroid hormones. A lab test may indicate our TSH is
“normal” and even our T3 and T4 are normal, but we will still experience
thyroid symptoms if this occurs.
Most physicians don’t test for reverse T3, but it is readily available and
can be easily added to a thyroid blood panel test.