Let's Talk About Our Adrenal Stress Index: Seeking the Causes of Fatigue, Stress and Anxiety11/4/2019
Are you experiencing chronic stress, insomnia, anxiety and fatigue? Having trouble losing weight? Our ASI Panel can help you discover the causes, by measuring cortisol and five other hormones through saliva over 24 hours. What tests are included in the ASI Panel? Cortisol
The Adrenal Stress Index can be helpful if you experience:
Did you know saliva is the best method for measuring free, active levels of cortisol?  © 2004 - BioHealth Diagnostics Functions influenced by cortisol levels: Literally the entire body. Energy Production Abnormal adrenal function can alter the ability of cells to produce energy for the activities of daily life. People who have a hard time rising in the morning, or who suffer from low energy throughout the day, often have abnormal adrenal rhythms and poor blood sugar regulation. The maintenance of a stable blood sugar level depends on food choice, lifestyle, adrenal function, and insulin activity. The Adrenal Stress Index panel measures stress hormones and insulin, to help clarify the causes of fatigue, cravings, and obesity. Immune System Function Various immune cells (white blood cells) cycle in and out of the spleen and bone marrow. The immune system trafficking follows the cortisol cycle. If the cycle is disrupted, especially at night, then the immune system is adversely affected. Short and long-term stress is known to suppress the immune response in the lungs, throat, urinary tract, and intestines. With lowered levels of mucosal antibodies (secretory IgA), our resistance to infection is reduced and allergic reactions may increase. Skin Integrity Human skin regenerates mostly during the night. With higher night cortisol values, less skin regeneration takes place. Therefore a normal cortisol rhythm is essential for optimal skin health. Muscle and Joint Function Abnormal adrenal rhythms are known to compromise tissue healing. Reduced tissue repair and increased tissue breakdown can lead to muscle and joint wasting with chronic pain. Bone Health The adrenal rhythm determines how well we build bone. If the night and morning cortisol levels are elevated, our bones do not rebuild well, and we are more prone to osteoporosis. Stress is the enemy of the bones. In postmenopausal women, the effect of stress worsens due to the naturally lower levels of female hormones. Allergies/Autoimmune Disorders More than fifty years ago, Dr. Jefferies (author of Safe Uses of Cortisol) discovered that patients with environmentally triggered allergies and autoimmune diseases dramatically improved when given cortisol for other purposes. More recently, German researchers reported that disruption of the adrenal axis and cytokine relationships lead to predisposition and aggravation of autoimmune diseases. The ASI panel can help identify patients with autoimmune diseases and adrenal problems who may improve with cortisol support. Sleep Quality The ability to enter REM sleep cycles and to experience regenerative sleep are interrupted by high cortisol values at night and in the morning. Chronic lack of REM sleep can reduce a person’s mental vitality, vigor, and induce depression. Thyroid Function The level of cortisol at the cell level controls thyroid hormone production. Often, hypothyroid symptoms such as fatigue and low body temperature are due to an adrenal maladaptation. Blood Sugar Regulation Chronic hypoglycemia can impair normal adrenal function by repetitive overstimulation of cortisol production. Recurring exposure to high cortisol will impair insulin activity and invariably lead to insulin resistance and beta-cell exhaustion (diabetes). The ASI panel investigates the insulin-cortisol relationship under real-life conditions to allow targeted and meaningful interventions. This panel is useful in the following clinical situations: rapid weight gain and obesity, imbalanced blood lipids, sugar blues, early diabetes, and associated emotional disturbances. Brain Function and Emotional Health Several recent publications report a hyperactive HPA axis in depressed patients. Elevated midnight salivary cortisol is now considered one of the best tests in diagnosing endogenous depression. Other anomalies in cortisol rhythm usually accompany the midnight elevation. On the other hand, cortisol elevations and rhythm disruptions throughout the day are typical of attention deficit disorders (ADD). The anomalous cortisol findings in depression and ADD can be diagnosed successfully with the ASI panel. Subsequent interventions to rectify specific cortisol elevations (during the day or night) are usually effective when applied under proper supervision. This panel is done from the convenience of your home! You don't have to be poked or prodded, you just simply use your saliva. Let's get back to health, Dr. Taryn Referencing: DiagnosTechs™, Inc.
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Let’s Talk About Sleep! Do you toss and turn, with your mind racing, before you finally fall asleep? Do you wake up in the middle of the night, unable to fall back asleep? Do you wake up feeling exhausted? Why is this?! Drum roll please……. *Stress and Cortisol* Stress has a profound impact on our stress-coping giant, cortisol. Cortisol is the boss of our stress-response team- which also includes adrenaline and endorphin. Chronic, excessive stress can lead to a permanent hyper-cortisol state. What does that mean? Even after your “stressful events” have passed, your cortisol levels can stay elevated. The ability to enter REM sleep cycles and to experience regenerative sleep are interrupted by high cortisol values at night and in the morning. Chronic lack of REM sleep can reduce a person’s mental vitality, vigor, and induce depression.
At night, cortisol levels should be at their lowest. When your cortisol levels remain elevated before bed, you sleeping issues ensue. This results in: insomnia, feeling agitated and/or hyper-vigilant, sudden awakening, etc. Chronically elevated cortisol suppresses serotonin and exhausts GABA. Having decreased serotonin and decreased GABA is a HUGE deal. Serotonin impacts every part of your body. (Read that again) From your emotions to your motor skills- serotonin is vital player. It’s considered the “happy hormone”, because it contributes to overall well-being and happiness. Fun Fact: about 95% of the serotonin in your body is produced in the lining of your gastrointestinal (GI) tract? Another reason why a healthy gut microbiome is key! Serotonin deficiency is associated with several psychological symptoms- including but not limited to:
Serotonin deficiency is associated with several physical symptoms due to its vital role in many body functions- including but not limited to:
GABA is the most common neurotransmitter in the central nervous system, it reduces brain activity in the areas of the brain responsible for:
Essentially, GABA limits nerve transmission, which prevents nervous activity. GABA deficiency is associated with several symptoms over several systems- including but not limited to:
 Now, listed above is a lot of potential symptoms- and is honestly, a little overwhelming. Bottom line: if you are struggling with your quality of sleep, please contact us today! There is hope and we are here to help. At Stittleburg Restorative Health, we utilize an Adrenal Stress Index test that is done from the convenience of your own home- through saliva! That’s right, it can be shipped right to your door and you don’t need to be poked/prodded by a needle. Saliva testing specifically measures free, unbound hormone levels. This eliminates the need to estimate how much circulating hormone is present in a patient’s body. The highest form of happiness is health,
Dr. Taryn
Let’s Talk About Anxiety, Gut Dysbiosis, and Benzodiazepines! I’m going to start this off by saying anxiety disorders are the most common form of mental illness in the United States. Anxiety disorders affect 40 million adults in the United States age 18 and older, or 18.1% of the population every year. Research shows that in 2018, more than one in eight U.S. adults (12.6%) used benzodiazepines, a class of drugs primarily used for treating anxiety, in the past year. But research from 2013 and 2014 found about 4 to 6 percent of adults used benzodiazepines. It’s 2019, why do these numbers continue to increase? If the solution was benzodiazepines- shouldn’t the numbers be decreasing? Typical benzodiazepines used for the treatment of anxiety-related to panic disorder or other anxiety disorders include:
Benzodiazepines “work” by increasing the effect of a brain chemical called GABA. GABA is the most common neurotransmitter in the central nervous system, it reduces brain activity in the areas of the brain responsible for:
The most common side effects associated with benzodiazepines are:
“This same basic paradox-that a psychiatric drug may curb symptoms over the short term but worsen the long-term course of the disorder-has been found to hold true for benzodiazepines, at least when used to treat panic attacks. In 1988, researchers who led the large Cross-National Collaborative Panic Study, which involved 1,700 patients in 14 countries, reported that at the end of 4 weeks, 82% of the patients treated with Xanax (alprazolam) were "moderately improved" or "better," versus 42% of the placebo patients. However, by the end of 8 weeks, there was no difference between the groups, at least among those who remained in the study (Ballenger et al., 1988). Any benefit with Xanax seemed to last for only a short period. As a follow-up to that study, researchers in Canada and the UK studied benzodiazepine-treated patients over a period of 6 months. They reported that the Xanax patients got better during the first four weeks of treatment, that they did not improve any more in weeks 4 to 8, and that their symptoms began to worsen after that. As patients were weaned from the drugs, a high percentage relapsed, and by the end of 23 weeks, they were worse off than patients treated without drugs on five different outcomes measures (Marks et al ., 1993). More bad news of this sort was reported by Pecknold in 1988. He found that as patients were tapered off Xanax they suffered nearly four times as many panic attacks as the nondrug patients, and that 25% of the Xanax patients suffered from rebound anxiety more severe than when they began the study. The Xanax patients were also significantly worse off than nondrug patients on a global assessment scale by the end of the study (Pecknold, Swinson, Kuch, & Lewis, 1988). I’m not sure about you, but this is terrifying to me. On top of the side effects and the shocking research shared above, benzodiazepines have such significant withdrawal that it’s now classified as “benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome”. Withdrawal from benzodiazepines is arguably as difficult, if not more difficult, than street drugs. Pétursson explains in PMID: 7841856- “Physiological dependence on benzodiazepines is accompanied by a withdrawal syndrome which is typically characterized by sleep disturbance, irritability, increased tension and anxiety, panic attacks, hand tremor, sweating, difficulty in concentration, dry wretching and nausea, some weight loss, palpitations, headache, muscular pain and stiffness and a host of perceptual changes. Instances are also reported within the high-dosage category of more serious developments such as seizures and psychotic reactions. Withdrawal from normal dosage benzodiazepine treatment can result in a number of symptomatic patterns. The most common is a short-lived "rebound" anxiety and insomnia, coming on within 1-4 days of discontinuation, depending on the half-life of the particular drug. The second pattern is the full-blown withdrawal syndrome, usually lasting 10-14 days; finally, a third pattern may represent the return of anxiety symptoms which then persist until some form of treatment is instituted.” So how do we get to the root cause of anxiety? Because, remember, anxiety is a SYMPTOM. Well, gut dysbiosis is an imbalance of bacteria and microbes in our intestines. Time and time again, studies continue to show that our gut is essentially our second brain. So, let’s talk about a study by Yang, et. al., published in the Journal of General Psychiatry, entitled “Effects of regulating intestinal microbiota on anxiety symptoms: a systematic review.” A systematic review is arguably the highest level of scientific evidence. Why? A systematic review will often review the available randomized control trials and summarize the findings. Everyone loves summaries! Thankfully, what Yang has concluded is that treatments for the gut can improve anxiety. Yang explains that the aim of their study was “To find evidence supporting improvements in anxiety symptoms by regulating intestinal microbiota.” Because, “More and more basic studies have indicated that gut microbiota can regulate brain function through the gut-brain axis, and dysbiosis of intestinal microbiota was related to anxiety. However, there is no specific evidence to support treatment of anxiety by regulating intestinal microbiota.” This systematic review of randomized control trials looked through 3,334 articles and only 21 were high-quality enough to be included in this analysis, with a total of about 1500 patients over the 21 studies. “14 studies chose probiotics as interventions” and “six chose non-probiotic ways”, mostly low FODMAP diet. Probiotics help to heal and rebalance the gut and can have an extensive array of positive improvements, because they treat the root cause of multiple systems. Therefore, we see probiotics show improvements in things like allergic conditions, skin conditions, and neurologic conditions. Moreover, there’s evidence showing improvements in things like depression, IBS, constipation, loose stools, bloating, gas, and diarrhea. This is the statistic that really gets me excited, “56% of studies could improve anxiety symptoms.” Yang continues, “We find that more than half of the studies included showed it was positive to treat anxiety symptoms by regulation of the intestinal microbiota.” What does this mean?! IT MEANS YOU HAVE OPTIONS! Medication is NOT the only option for anxiety relief. I cannot tell you how many patients tell me they started an anti-anxiety medication because they felt their doctor offered them no other option. I am here to tell you- there is hope. Those of you who are suffering with anxiety have some great natural, nutritional, and supplemental options.
Anxiety is a complex symptom. Anxiety relief must have guidance, please, contact us today to see how we can help! |
AuthorDr. Taryn Stittleburg, DC, CFMP, PSc.D 
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