Stress and Fatigue

We all deal with stress, from work to family and everything in between; stress is a part of the body's natural fight-or-flight response. When you’re constantly feeling stressed, however, you have a condition known as chronic stress.

Causes of Chronic Stress

While some stress is normal and not a medical concern, chronic stress can be caused by a larger, overlying condition. As doctors and medical professionals learn more about the body’s natural fight-or-flight response, imbalanced hormones have emerged as the primary cause of chronic stress.

Effects of Chronic Stress

In addition to general discomfort and an uneasy mind, excess of the stress hormones along with the resulting chronic stress can cause debilitating medical conditions.

These include:

• Weight gain /Obesity
• Low libido
• High blood pressure / Hypertension
• Decreased bone density / Osteoporosis
• Decreased muscle mass
• Heart attack
• Stroke

If you’re seeing any combination of these conditions, you need to get help immediately. Chronic stress may seem like a side-effect of a difficult life, but it can be dangerous and even fatal if it goes untreated.

Chronic Stress Treatment

As chronic stress is largely the result of hormonal imbalance, bio-identical hormone replacement therapy, or BHRT, is the best method of treatment available. BHRT seeks to correct your body's natural stress levels.

This is done with natural hormones, such as cortisol, estrogen and testosterone, as opposed to the synthetic re-creations used in conventional hormone replacement therapy.

Your doctor will also likely recommend a number of lifestyle changes to help with your chronic stress problem.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

If you've been experiencing severe exhaustion that's lasted longer than six months, you may be suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). If left unchecked, CFS could not only leave you at a loss for energy, it could begin to diminish your quality of life.

Chronic Fatigue Symptoms

In addition to the obvious symptom from which chronic fatigue gets its name, there are other symptoms doctors look for when trying to make a diagnosis:

• Memory loss or trouble concentrating
• Sore throat
• Swollen lymph nodes in the neck or armpits
• Muscle pain
• Joint pain with no swelling or redness
• Headaches unlike any others you've previously experienced
• Sleeping without feeling rested
• Exhaustion that lasts more than 24 hours after any moderate physical activity

Causes of Chronic Fatigue

One of the leading causes of chronic fatigue is hormonal imbalance. Particularly cortisol and the hormones produced in the thyroid gland can lead to fatigue. Your doctor will likely perform a hormone level check to see if your CFS is the result of any imbalance.

Treating CFS with Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement Therapy

Bio-identical hormone replacement therapy, or BHRT, provides relief for chronic fatigue. By replenishing your body's supply of cortisol, testosterone, melatonin or thyroid gland hormones, BHRT can right your wrongs. Unlike conventional hormone therapy, BHRT uses hormones that are identical to those your glands produce naturally.