Adrenal Fatigue and Benzo Withdrawal.
Many of the symptoms listed on the Adrenal Fatigue sites are similar to the benzo withdrawal symptoms. The similarity of the symptoms has occasionally led people to have themselves tested for adrenal fatigue using home based saliva tests. If results come back indicating that there may be problems then concerns are raised as to whether people should take the supplements that the Adrenal Fatigue sites offer.
There are a number of issues that need to be considered.
1. Adrenal Fatigue is not an accepted medical diagnosis.
“Adrenal fatigue is a label applied to a collection of nonspecific symptoms, such as body aches, fatigue, nervousness, sleep disturbances and digestive problems. The term often shows up in popular health books and on alternative medicine Web sites, but it isn't an accepted medical diagnosis.” Todd Nippoldt, M.D. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/adrenal-fatigue/AN01583
2. “Unproven remedies for so-called "adrenal fatigue" may leave you feeling sicker.” Todd Nippoldt, M.D. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/adrenal-fatigue/AN01583
3. There are rare and serious diseases of the adrenal glands. These result from adrenal insufficiency rather than adrenal fatigue. There is some documentation of these diseases here http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/a/adrenal_disorders/articles.htm.
4. If saliva tests are worrying or someone is concerned that they may have an adrenal insufficiency then they should see an endocrinologist and have further tests and appropriate treatment as necessary.
5. We have no evidence that benzo withdrawal and adrenal fatigue are associated. Some members of the benzo group who were tested for adrenalin fatigue using the home saliva have had their results come back as showing problems and still others have had the full 24 hour urine tests from their doctors which have come back showing no problems.
6. Resorting to unneeded supplements during withdrawal may lead to an increase in withdrawal symptoms in some people. See http://www.benzosupport.org/supplements_and_withdrawal.htm
This is an interesting article about the subject of adrenal insufficiency http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/pagerender.fcgi?artid=1044180&pageindex=1#page