drob31
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First, the hypothalamus is mainly responsible for how fatigued we are and it works mainly through orexin, but also histamine neurons.
This is interesting because I have just been recently looking at histamines. When I feel more awake, I feel warm and my veins in my arms have increased vasodilation and I have water retention. All symptoms of high histamines.
1) Fatigue. We spoke about this. The hypothalamus controls fatigue via orexin and inflammation is the most likely source. This has nothing to do with an inability to pump cortisol.
2) Stress. If we are feeling stress then that’s a surefire sign we don’t have adrenal fatigue, because stress requires cortisol! Stress can come from a number of things: not letting go, dietary lectins, low serotonin and too much cortisol.
After I let go and stopped caring about everything I haven’t felt any anxiety or fear in two years (except once or twice). Stopping lectins even made more of a difference. No matter what happens in my life, I don’t take it seriously. Over this period I’ve also become more productive – ironically, as I stopped caring about being productive.
I’ve also spoken about how a variety of cytokines like IL-1, TNF andIL-6 can stimulate the hypothalamus to release cortisol. This was the case for me and it came from dietary lectins.
But stress is more often from situational factors and an inability or unwillingness to let go. My elevator advice: stop taking yourself and your life so seriously.
3) Cravings. The hypothalamus is actually the part of the brain that is responsible for cravings and appetite. It works via orexin and NPY.
4) Low mood and motivation. Motivation is based on epinephrine and dopamine in the hypothalamus (R) and through low orexin and melanin-concentrating hormone (R). Dopamine can activate orexin (R). Read how orexin affects our mood and motivation.
5) Gut problems.The hypothalamus controls vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) and CRH, which influence gut function. Various cytokines like IL-8, IL-6, IL-1b and TNF can cause IBS and gut problems. Serotonin is also critical for gut function.
6) Cold hands and feet.The hypothalamus controls temperature regulation. When you get inflammation like elevated TNF alpha, this suppresses orexin and therefore appetite and causes you to get fatigued. Orexin suppression also causes lower body temperature (R) and therefore you’ll feel cold. This makes sense because to keep the body in sync (eat less and therefore conserve energy). People who are cold are usually thin as well and have a decreased caloric intake. The average American eats 3900 calories.
7) Decreased/increased appetite. The hypothalamus control appetite through orexin, ghrelin, NPY, T3, leptin, norepinephrine, serotonin, MCH, FGF21+19 and GLP-1 all of which influence appetite and interact with each other (R, R2, R3, R4). Orexin, T3, ghrelin, MCH, FGF21 and NPY increase apetite, while leptin, insulin, norepinephrine, serotonin, GLP-1 and FGF19 are appetite suppressants. Orexin is activated by glutamate and suppressed by GABA. (R) Low hypothalamic serotonin leads to increased carb cravings. Low orexin leads to decreased appetite.
8) Decreased sex drive. Hypothalamic dopamine is largely responsible for sex drive. (R) See above picture where it shows the arcuate and anterior nucleus are responsible for these.
9) Fear/Anxieties/Stress/OCD/Overly Emotional. The picture below shows how the hypothalamus executes fear from the amygdala. The point is that the hypothalmus is involved with these and the adrenals carry out the commands of the hypothalamus. When I eat lectins I get all of these symptoms and it’s because of my hypothalamus, NOT MY ADRENALS.
10) Low blood pressure, Increased thirst and urination are all from too little ADH, which is released by….you guessed it! The hypothalamus.
11) Insomnia can be from hypothalamic activation and circadian disruption, which inflammation is known to cause. Again, it’s the hypothalamus, not your adrenals.
12) Hormonal issues. The hypothalamus is the center for hormonal control…It controls the thyroid, pituitary and adrenal glands, for example.
13) Blood sugar swings, shaking and hypoglycemia. The hypothalamus controls glucose balance and if it’s not functioning you can get hypoglycemic, which can cause shaking. (R)
14) Attention problems.The hypothalamus is involved in attention (R) – hence why motivational and attentional issues often to together. (R) Orexin, melanin-concentrating hormone (R), low levels of dopamine (R) and acetylcholine (R) are also involved with attention. Inflammation can lower these neurotransmitters. Orexin increases acetylcholine (R) and so inflammation will lead to lower levels of this neurotransmitter. Acetylcholine also increases orexin (R).
15) Losing weight. The hypothalamus is the most important factor in controlling our weight. Inflammation from TNF causes us to lose weight as a result of decreasing hunger. See theTNF post.
Also, guess what happens when you suppress orexin neurons? Cortisol is reduced as well because Orexin A stimulates cortisol release. (R) So if you do have low cortisol it’s more likely you have less orexin, not adrenal disfunction. And why do you have less orexin? Inflammation.
http://selfhacked.com/2014/11/23/adrenal-fatigue/