So if you think you have adrenal insufficiency/Addison’s disease, it’s a really important test and will be life saving as AI can be fatal. I have adrenal insufficiency (caused by cancer treatment) and I was very ill when I was diagnosed. Like hadn’t eaten in a week, drifting in and out of consciousness sort of ill.
I do think the whole ‘adrenal fatigue’ sort of thing is a bit of wacky baloney. The only people I knew who thought they had it had really poor lifestyles. Too much drinking and drugs, too much coffee, not enough sleep or exercise. They didn’t have an issue with their cortisol. They were just treating their bodies like shit.
If you do think you have the signs of adrenal insufficiency (or on the flip side, high cortisol or Cushing’s disease), you can pursue getting tested. You need a morning cortisol blood test, drawn between 8-9am, not one of these saliva tests you see for sale online. You can have it done privately if you want but it does need to be a proper blood test one.
AI isn’t something I’d go out looking for if you are otherwise well though. It’s a long term condition that requires lifelong steroid replacement. I take steroids 4x a day and I have to carry an emergency injection with me everywhere and it makes doing all the usual things I used to take for granted really tricky. Even things like sex require carefully timed medication doses. You get used to it, but if you generally feel okay, I’d just feel grateful for that.