I need to get to bed earlier.  

I missed the article about leaches though, must've been interesting.  Hehehehhehehe  

Well, I finally went onto the NZ website that Rebecca C recommended to me and ordered some Rhodiola, Tyrosine and Valerian last week!  It arrived today and I am very excited to start my 8 week Antistress Protocol for Type O's today - Yay

I think my biggest struggle will be doing the exercise component, but I've gotta try.  Anyone else with adrenal fatigue struggle with exercise?

Anyway will keep in touch to let you know how I am doing.  How is everyone else?

I think I have adrenal fatigue Caz B. Well, I struggle with exercise. I'm always tired. Could also be M with me.

That's great that you are handling your stress.    With me meditation really helps. Also another way I like to use is Oxycise..

Are you finding now that the weather is warming up here Caz that you feel like a lil' more exercise?

Winter was hibernation-like for me, but spring has really got into my bones and I am enjoying gardening and walking in the sunlight, I even started back on my core strengthening exercises this week after a rather too-long and neglectful winter-hiatus.  
Dr D does mention in Gatherer profile in GTD book this.

Quoted from Caz B

I think my biggest struggle will be doing the exercise component, but I've gotta try.  Anyone else with adrenal fatigue struggle with exercise?

When I had Adrenal Fatigue, just going to work and sitting at a desk all day was all I could do...  Of course, mine was caused by allergies to much of the food I was eating and the chemicals, pollens, etc. in the environment and at work...

I still don't do as much exercise as is recommended, but am continuing to detox and heal the body.  One of these days, I'll be able to exercise without overloading the body with stored toxins...

Diana - what is Oxycise?

Honeybee - I haven't exercised all winter but the sun is very enticing now.  I have just returned from my first 30 min brisk walk in many months.  I actually enjoyed it but my chest is now wheezy - I have been wheezy for the last 5 mths which has been very frustrating!

ABJoe - I understand what you mean, for the last couple of years it has been an effort just to get out of bed!  But I know I need to start somewhere/sometime.  My naturopath said to take it slow and steady, so I won't be going in any marathons for a while  

I'm exercizing more easily than I ever have.  I remember those days, Joe, from early elementary school up through the end of high school, at which time things got a little better (getting out of school did wonders for my outlook on life).  It would be all I could do to get myself to class--and struggle to stay awake the whole day--and then have to go to gym class and move?  Wow.  I was nearly always the last one chosen for a sports team because I was so out-of-it and clumsy.  I'm so much better now.  I was out throwing the frisbee recently and was so impressed by my abilities---just from being on the Warrior diet!  

I've just found this old thread and am researching and saving much of it for Hamish who
is probably suffering from A/F big time, with bad heart reactions, palpitations, fibulations, atrial and ventricular, from time to time. He has been on Explorer for 5 months. the first 6 weeks were shocking for him - he felt awful and lost. Now the food has settled down, and he likes being a true blue Explorer, and sticks to it religiously, though it is very hard work as he is not used to doing so much cooking as he can no longer buy convenience foods. But the fatigue and heart conditions are continuing on just as badly as before.
We'd like to pose the question of all you people on this enormous thread who followed the cumulative advice, how are you all doing now,  a couple of years later? It would be good to hear that A/F can be successfully addressed by the GTD and supplements.
Thanks to all of you who contributed to this thread and gave out so much amazing information.

I'm improving.  I wake up, and I'm not a zombie.  Nor do I feel nauseous in the AM.

I take less Isocort, yet I don't often feel like collapsing into bed when I get home from work.

Hi Jenny,

I have found that my ticker stays settled with magnesium powder supplement.  I take this sprinkled into veggie juice or fruit smoothie.  As an explorer I'd be very careful about the amount of mg taken as too much does feel like a drug to me (    ! )  My ticker jumps and dances with a feeling of somersaulting and the mg definitely helps.  

Previously with fast palpitations a few years ago, I found that upping my potassium helped eliminate this.

This is just a suggestion but sure worked for me so hope it helps!  

Quoted from shells

... with magnesium powder supplement.

might I ask what brand you use? I have some ticker issues as well.  
and thanks for the reminder on potassium.

Sea salt has made the biggest difference for me.  I know GTD has helped as well.  I'm still tired, but I do have more energy between the tired patches in my day.  I don't think I have adrenal crashes very often anymore.

Hi italybound,

The mg I am taking at the moment for my ticker is Muscle Resuscitation (Bio-Enhanced Magnesium Powder) by Herbs of Gold.  This is an over-the-counter product from the HFS.

Metagenics makes a good one but over here it is only available through Naturopaths and it is called Cardio-X.  Again mostly mg with some co-factors including a bit of Taurine (in both products).

  

Quoted from shells

Muscle Resuscitation (Bio-Enhanced Magnesium Powder) by Herbs of Gold...Metagenics makes a good one.... called Cardio-X.

thanks a bunch for the info!  

who are all the lovely girls in your signature line?

Quoted from italybound

who are all the lovely girls in your signature line?

These are my three daughters...and my sons are posted in "Hallmarks of the Explorer"

you got some 'hard epigenetic work' done there!!!

Quoted from Caz B

Well, I finally went onto the NZ website that Rebecca C recommended to me and ordered some Rhodiola, Tyrosine and Valerian last week!  It arrived today and I am very excited to start my 8 week Antistress Protocol for Type O's today - Yay

I think my biggest struggle will be doing the exercise component, but I've gotta try.  Anyone else with adrenal fatigue struggle with exercise?

Anyway will keep in touch to let you know how I am doing.  How is everyone else?

Hi there-- could you give me the exact name of the Antistress Protocol for O, as I could not find it in the Store.I also deal with Gina in NZ and find that she can supply goods very quickly. Perhaps a link or something?  Many thanks,

not in the store  
http://www.dadamo.com/protocols/5.html

Thanks so much Lola, in fact the list of protocols you gave does have Catechol listed in the store which would be the appropriate one in our case.

I have a new take on adrenal fatigue that I'd like to add.  I don't know if it will be useful to most Os but here goes.

When we talk about AF, mostly we talk about cortisol.  Insufficient cortisol, with all its repercussion, is an important factor in AF, but cortisol isn't the only hormone to think about.  For me, I believe my shortage of adrenaline is just as troublesome as my insufficient cortisol.

Think about these things that adrenaline does: increases muscle strength, increases metabolism, improves mental clarity, encourages the release of fat from fat tissues to increase blood sugar (instead of breaking down muscle tissue for energy), and counters inflammation from allergies.  Of course, these are more of a short-term effect than cortisol.

Throughout my life, I have had a tendency toward being an "anti-adrenaline junky", usually avoiding anything that was particularly exciting.  Often I feel kind of sick after having an adrenaline rush type experience, suggesting that I'm deficient in adrenaline, too.  So I've been doing some reading about adrenaline.  It's made from phenylalanine and tyrosine (which is itself made from phenylalanine).

So I've started taking a DL-phenylalanine supplement so I have more of the building blocks of adrenaline.  I've also started working out at the gym again, intentionally doing short, intense workouts in an effort to get the adrenaline going.  Sometimes I still overdo it, and leaves me feeling depleted, but I give myself a day or two of recovery before going to the gym again, and in the meantime I'm learning to pay close attention and end my workout when I should.  I will tell you that after one of those good workouts where it doesn't make me feel ill afterward, that I feel alert and energetic the rest of the day and the next day, and I sleep better.

So there are a few ideas about AF to consider.  I have limited access to the internet so it might be a while before I can come on again but I look forward to reading other ideas in response.

come back soon!

Good post TJ. thanks for sharing that insight w/ us!! makes sense.

My doctor recently diagnosed me with adrenal fatigue, and was telling me about some recent studies involving a connection between adrenal/autoimmune issues and head injuries. The gist of it was, there seems to be a correlation between head injuries and people developing idiopathic (i.e., unknown origin) problems. The issues tend to show up 6-12 mos. after the injury.

In my case, I've had two concussions in my life, and less than a year later after each have had irregular hormone production leading to an inability to regulate food sensitivities and causing me to break out in chronic hives. Correlation doesn't necessarily equal causation, and my anecdote doesn't equal data, but it's interesting.

As it was explained to me, an easy-to-recognize marker for this type of adrenal problem is finding your sleep schedule getting out of whack. Your body is supposed to produce hormones (yes, cortisol!) at various levels at different times of day. If you're trying to keep a regular schedule and are tired during the day but can't sleep when it's time to go to bed, it's a good indication that something goofy is going on with your adrenaline production. That kind of goofy production can be caused by a major stressor (like, say, a head injury) or lots of stress over a sustained period, or a combination of the two.

But our bodies are pretty smart and are built to deal with what they have to, when they have to, so they tend to keep plugging along to get through the actual problem. It's not until later when they get worn out that we start to feel the effects.

I don't have a cite to the actual study, but I just thought I'd share the info I had in case it could help anyone! It's easy enough to confirm this sort of thing via blood tests, if you can find a doctor who knows what to test for, so maybe it will help some folks navigate some of those "unexplained" symptoms.

Interesting Kayzee, thanks. So we have to try to stick to our schedules for the benefit of our health!! We know that, but we need to be remind it the reasons why every now and then.  Thanks for the refresher and at a very appropriate time!!!.  It is 1:00am now here, just came back from the movies DD took us to see (late night show), very funny, good laugh exercise, but left me a bit pump up and that is why i am here at this time.  But sleep is now coming back and after reading your post, I better listen to it and try to do some catch up sleep in the next few hours.  Good night!  

TJ, those chemicals you mentioned were in the write up on IAP that Lola linked in other posts.  Intestinal Alkaline Phosphatase or something.  I didn't quite understand the write up, whether it's good to have or not, but it did say it's higher in O's and B's.  And I wonder if that means if it's in the gut more, it's not in your system as much.  Or you burn it up faster.  Eating meats and such.  So, it could be why you need to take it.  I could be all wet there, but it was just a thought.  

I just realized you are Drive55, right?