Low Cortisol Symptoms
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“I am an endurance runner training for a marathon but my training has been severely compromised by ill health. I recently had to take a few weeks off with Iliotibial band syndrome, my knee is fine now but I haven't been able to get back on track since the injury.
I'd never had asthma or breathing difficulties before but went from being able to easily run 15 miles pre injury to being unable to run for 2 as I just couldn't breathe. This went on for two weeks and never got any easier. My fingernails would go light blue and my chest tight. It even caused a faint on an (ill-advised) half marathon attempt.
I went to the doctor and she gave me an inhaler to try - it's been fantastic and I went from being unable to sustain one mile before the inhaler to running 18 miles the Sunday after. However the breathlessness is getting worse the rest of the time - I am short of breath in the mornings and sometimes under very mild exertion. I feel dizzy and chronically tired. I used to get up at 5.30 get to the gym, go to work, run between 6-13 miles then sometimes on to another exercise class. For the last week I've not even been able to face going to work because I'm so tired. The house is a mess and I'm barely running and skipping the majority of workouts.
I'm petrified the marathon is less than 6 weeks away and I'm not training or even functioning. I'm so sleepy I caught myself being tempted to take a nap on an exercise mat at the gym and I haven't been getting up until at least lunchtime. After then I'm still tired and don't get anything productive done until at least 3pm. I'd been craving sugar (which is unlike me) but that seems to have lessened somewhat. (A few months ago I fainted after a heavy run and a light workout, I was a couple of hours late for lunch - the paramedics did a blood sugar reading which was 2, could this be related as I've never felt fully fit since then)
I don't know what's happening, please can you help?”
Symptoms of Addisons Disease Unmasking Asthma?
Ashleigh, your symptoms are interesting and I wonder if you have low cortisol symptoms or symptoms of Addisons disease. What is Addisons disease? It’s a condition of the Adrenal gland which normally produced the bodies steroid otherwise know as cortisol. If the levels are low, cortisol symptoms occur.
What are the symptoms of Addisons disease? Symptoms of Addisons disease include profound fatigue, weight loss, diarrhea, low sugar levels, low blood pressure, period disturbance, feeling feint, light headedness, collapse and coma. If undiagnosed, low cortisol symptoms can lead to eventual death in a comatose sufferer.
What Causes Low Cortisol Symptoms or Addisons to Occur?
There are several causes of Addisons disease. Common reasons for cortisol symptoms are due to an autoimmune form (bodies own immune system) where the immune system underlies this or drug suppression. Recent steroid use can suppress the adrenal glands and when stopped, the adrenals don’t produce the steroid the body requires. Rarer causes include conditions such as sarcoidosis, TB and malignancy.
How Are Low Cortisol Symptoms Diagnosed?
The condition is diagnosed by performing a short synacthen test. This involves injecting the adrenal stimulant called Tetracosactrin and measuring your cortisol levels in response to this. If there is no or little response then this would be consistent with Addisons disease.
How is Addisons Treated?
The low cortisol is treated with steroid replacement therapy. This is usually with a steroid called Hydrocortisone, a glucocorticoid and another called Fludrocortisone, a mineralocorticoid.
Why Is It Possible You Might Have A Low Cortisol Level?
The fact that you have a breathing problem that is reversed with an inhaler would suggest a diagnosis of Asthma. This is a very common condition and is often particularly bad in the mornings, although can be brought on by cold air and allergens. Often asthmatics are given steroids so they can potentially experience low cortisol levels when stopped, although with careful medical advice this is unlikely. However, if you have asthma and develop Addisons, the low cortisol level could potentially worsen asthma. There are other causes for your symptoms such as anemia, poorly controlled asthma and other lung conditions. I would suggest you ask your physician about all this.
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