# Adrenal Fatigue can cause ADD?



## weebeastiebaby (May 15, 2009)

Although this post isn't specifically related to social anxiety, I know that many people with social anxiety also struggle with ADD. From research on the Internet as well as my own personal experience, I believe that adrenal fatigue can cause symptoms very similar to ADD.

Since I was a young child I have always had some degree of social anxiety. I didn't start developing depression, however, until I was around 12. I think its very coincidental that I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis shortly before I was handed anti-depressants. I was coping okay with life until I got very stressed out my sophmore/junior year of highschool. I put a lot of pressure on myself to get good grades, but would inevitably end up doing EVERYTHING at the last minute. I got progressively more ill and socially withdrawn until going on independent study seemed like the only option. Of course, given an entire WEEK to get my work done, the procrastination got absolutely preposterous. I was extremely depressed and my grades went down the tube. I was fired from a job for what I believe was lack of interest/ attention and decided it was time to get some help. Long story short I ended up on adderall xr. Although it doesn't do wonders for my social anxiety, it helps dramatically with concentration. When I run out, though, all my symptoms return like 10x as bad. So yeah, I don't think people are necessarily born ADD, they can develop it through factors such as stress and illness.


----------



## ju_pa (Sep 21, 2008)

weebeastiebaby said:


> Although this post isn't specifically related to social anxiety, I know that many people with social anxiety also struggle with ADD. From research on the Internet as well as my own personal experience, I believe that adrenal fatigue can cause symptoms very similar to ADD.
> 
> Since I was a young child I have always had some degree of social anxiety. I didn't start developing depression, however, until I was around 12. I think its very coincidental that I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis shortly before I was handed anti-depressants. I was coping okay with life until I got very stressed out my sophmore/junior year of highschool. I put a lot of pressure on myself to get good grades, but would inevitably end up doing EVERYTHING at the last minute. I got progressively more ill and socially withdrawn until going on independent study seemed like the only option. Of course, given an entire WEEK to get my work done, the procrastination got absolutely preposterous. I was extremely depressed and my grades went down the tube. I was fired from a job for what I believe was lack of interest/ attention and decided it was time to get some help. Long story short I ended up on adderall xr. Although it doesn't do wonders for my social anxiety, it helps dramatically with concentration. When I run out, though, all my symptoms return like 10x as bad. So yeah, I don't think people are necessarily born ADD, they can develop it through factors such as stress and illness.


I don't know if ADD has any direct realations with adrenal fatigue. But if adrenals are fatigued, you will feel tired when trying to read the book for example. ADD is more caused by the food you consume - food that has additivies, especially Monosodium Glutamate. If you have ADD you can experience with clean food for 3-4 days. Eat nothing processed. Everything clean especially meat.


----------



## wxolue (Nov 26, 2008)

I'm pretty sure I suffered from adrenal fatigue. Two years ago during my junior year of high school I would fall asleep 2-4, sometimes even 5 times a day. I would get 6-10 hours of sleep, and stopped drinking caffeine. I would walk through the halls on my way to class and get really anxious passing kids socializing and what not. Once I got to class and let my guard down a little bit and relax, I would crash. I would try so hard not to fall asleep, but half the time would fall asleep anyway. Even if I put in as much effort as I possibly could, I would be so out of it (on the verge of sleeping) that it wouldn't have mattered if I had fallen asleep. I still missed the class material and teachers still got angry at me.

During my senior year it got better except for one occasion. I was anxious before going to school about homework I hadn't done. While driving, the adrenal fatigue kicked in and the next thing I know I'm on the other side of a double yellow line. Thank god there wasn't another car coming.


----------



## smartone (Aug 21, 2010)

The term adrenal fatigue is used many times by people trying to make a buck.
so be careful on how you use it.
more aptly it is adrenal deficiency...where your adrenal gland doesn't produce enough hormones and symptoms arise. which do include anxiety and depression if your cortisol levels are too low. which could affect ADHD.
the real way to find out is a get a cortisol stimulation test ACTH test. then you will know if u need steroid supplements to fix the problem.


----------

