assessments to provide a guide when you suspect possible adrenal fatigue. There are many more sophisticated tests that could be ordered such as four-point salivary test, 24-hour urine collection test and blood hormonal panels. However, these tests can be inconvenient and cost-prohib-itive for the patient. Another method of testing that is fairly easy to complete and is inexpensive is a hair mineral analy-sis. Assessing the sodium/potassium ratios and other imbal-ances such as copper can provide valuable insight into ad-renal function. The signs and symptoms a patient may present with may also often be mistaken for thyroid dysfunction. This really is not a “mistaken” differential diagnosis seeing how closely the thyroid gland and adrenal gland function in concert. The entire HPA axis is affected and must be considered. This again reinforces the need to view patients as whole body beings versus parts disconnected from one another. Other key areas to question your patients on would in-clude their immune status, inflammation and use of stimu-lants such as caffeine, alcohol and sugar, which can wreak havoc on the adrenal glands. Excessive exercise is another area to question; exercising more than 45 to 60 minutes, especially when done vigorously, can lead to adrenal exhaus-tion down the road. The initial high felt can be the spike in cortisol as it does provide a natural high, but then with time this cannot be maintained. Eventually, with adrenal exhaus-tion there can be a loss in motivation and even depression. Lifestyle intervention is truly the answer to correcting adre-nal dysfunction. Supplements such as adrenal gland extracts, licorice and key vitamins and minerals such as zinc and mag-nesium can be suggested to improve adrenal gland health. Targeting energy with B vitamins to assist as important meta-bolic cofactors may help a patient get over the hump while making other lifestyle changes. Improved quality of sleep when repair work is most active is important and using support nu-trients such as lactium, and melatonin may be needed to encourage this. Diet is one of the most important areas to monitor. The removal of the damaging stimulants and increased need for high quality nutritious foods and protein while reducing any refined carbohydrates is essential. Tools such as Dr. James Wilson’s Adrenal Fatigue ques-tionnaire are also valuable in assessing your patient’s adrenal health. If you suspect a patient may be struggling with adrenal fatigue, think simple, easy, in-office tests first as a start to your assessment. For more on wellness, visit www.canadianchiropractor.ca. Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College Specialized patient management: Women’s health, paediatrics, geriatrics CMCC Bronze sponsors Symposium October 26 & 27, 2013 in Toronto 12 CE hours Register at: www.cmcc.ca/symposium September 2013 Canadian Chiropractor 33 Media sponsor www.canadianchiropractor.ca
Chiropractic + Naturopathic Doctor September 2013: Page 33
