iThei mdcdaelcinfd o c elllllrllll ThofthThse“The part can never be well unless the whole is well.”
—Plato13: Adrenals
Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal Axis and Hashimoto’s
The hypothalamus is our command center for hormones. It sends mes-
sages to the pituitary to control organs such as the liver, thyroid, adrenals,
mammary glands, and ovaries. This is why adrenal fatigue and hypothy-
roidism often go hand in hand.
The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is an intricate system of
direct and indirect feedback mechanisms that regulate the body’s reaction
to stress. The HPA axis plays a significant role in regulating the immune
system, digestion, energy usage, mood, and sexuality. It is controlled by
hormones, which are altered when the body experiences stress.
Treating hypothyroidism without treating a dysfunctional HPA axis is
one of the biggest reasons people continue to feel exhausted, despite re-
ceiving treatment with thyroid hormones. Patients may initially report
feeling more energetic, but this is usually followed by feeling increas-
ingly worse until they are back to where they were before starting thyroid
medications. They will go back to their physicians to check blood work
and will be told that everything is normal.
The patient begins to feel crazy ... but that’s when another layer of what
is broken in Hashimoto’s unravels. Many symptoms of hypothyroidism
actually overlap with symptoms of underactive adrenals, but physicians
don’t routinely check adrenal function in those with Hashimoto’s.
Symptoms of poor adrenal function may include the following: feeling
overwhelmed, feeling tired despite adequate sleep, difficulty getting up
in the morning on most days, craving for salty foods (a.k.a. “I-just-ate-
a-whole-bag-of-chips” syndrome), increased effort required for everyday
activities, low blood pressure, feeling faint when getting up quickly, men-
tal fog, alternating diarrhea/constipation, low blood sugar, decreased sex
drive, decreased ability to handle stress, slowed healing, mild depression,
less enjoyment in life, feeling worse after skipping meals, increased PMS,
poor concentration, impaired ability to make decisions, reduced produc-
tivity, poor memory ... do any of these sound familiar?