What Causes Adrenal Insufficiency?

In order to hopefully treat and prevent recurrence of adrenal insufficiency we need to understand and — if possible — remove the underlying causes and risk factors. We need to ask: "What else is going on inside the body that might allow adrenal insufficiency to develop?"

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Accurate diagnosis of the factors behind adrenal insufficiency consists of three steps:

Step 1: List the Possible Causative Factors

Identify all disease conditions, lifestyle choices and environmental risk factors that can lead to adrenal insufficiency. Here are five possibilities:

Autoimmune Tendency
Hypopituitarism
HIV/AIDS
Tuberculosis
Stress

Step 2: Build a Symptom Checklist

Identify all possible symptoms and risk factors of each possible cause, and check the ones that apply:

frequent painful axillary nodes

frequent swollen axillary nodes

frequent bizarre dreams

having HIV/AIDS

resolved atypical recent headaches

jumpiness

recent death of a loved one

rotten egg burps

frequent bowel movement changes

eyelid twitch

heart racing/palpitations

blood transfusions

... and more than 70 others

Step 3: Rule Out or Confirm each Possible Cause

A differential diagnosis of your symptoms and risk factors finds the likely cause of adrenal insufficiency:

Cause	Probability	Status
Tuberculosis	92%	Confirm
Autoimmune Tendency	12%	Unlikely
Stress	5%	Ruled out
HIV/AIDS	2%	Ruled out
Hypopituitarism	1%	Ruled out

* This is a simple example to illustrate the process

Arriving at a Correct Diagnosis

The Analyst™ is our online diagnosis tool that learns all about you through a straightforward process of multi-level questioning, providing diagnosis at the end.

In the Glandular Symptoms section of the questionnaire, The Analyst™ will ask the following question about adrenal insufficiency:

Have you suffered from Adrenal Insufficiency?

Possible responses:

→ Uncertain / don't know
→ No, lab tests have confirmed normal function
→ It is a suspected problem
→ Yes, a lab test has confirmed it
→ I have confirmed Addison's Disease

Based on your response to this question, which may indicate confirmed normal adrenal function, suspected adrenal insufficiency, adrenal insufficiency or Addison's disease, The Analyst™ will consider possibilities such as:

Autoimmune Tendency

Tuberculosis

When Dr. Thomas Addison first described this disease in London in 1855, the most common cause was tuberculosis. This remained the leading cause until the middle of the twentieth century when antibiotics progressively reduced TB's incidence. TB is nevertheless still a possible cause.

HIV/AIDS

In general, diagnosis and treatment endocrine issues in HIV patients is no different from non-HIV patients. However, HIV can cause reactive changes in pituitary and adrenal function, as can many HIV medications.

Hypopituitarism

Stress

When a person is stressed, their adrenal glands produce stress hormones. Over time, the adrenals can eventually become exhausted, causing adrenal insufficiency.

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