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Adrenal Fatigue and Urination

• Do fluids seem to pass straight through you?

Everyone stuck in a state of stress experiences urinary urgency / frequent urination.

Frequent urination is a fairly common symptom. The following table shows the results of a survey taken on this site:

There are several reasons for it, and they all have to do with hormones produced by your adrenal glands.

The following adrenal hormones all have an impact on fluid retention:

• Epinephrine (adrenaline)
• Cortisol
• Aldosterone

Short Term Stress and Urination

One study looked at 13 healthy men. They were injected with epinephrine.

  epinephrine also produced a transient increase in urine flow ³

So....if you experience short term stress, your adrenaline (epinephrine) will increase, which will increase the rate of urine flow.

Chronic Stress and Urination

Depending on what stage of adrenal fatigue you are in, you will likely have high cortisol. This can also cause increased urination.

As cortisol levels increases, ADH (anti diuretic hormone)decreases. As ADH levels decrease, urine flow will increase.

  Cortisol has a negative feedback effect on ADH⁵

So this is another reason for the frequent urination you may be experiencing with adrenal fatigue.

Adrenal Fatigue and Urination

Low Aldosterone is a common reason given for the connection of adrenal fatigue to frequent urination.

  If the water level in the blood is too low .... aldosterone will be released so that less water is excreted in the urine⁴.

The problem is...when you are in a state of adrenal fatigue, the capacity of your adrenal glands is reduced. Your adrenals will not be able to make as much aldosterone.

So you don't retain salt. This is why those with adrenal fatigue so often crave salt.

In a survey of 85 visitors, 63.3% said they crave salt.

It is also why it is common in advanced cases for hair analysis to indicate low sodium. Here is a Sample Hair Analysis (pdf). Note the low sodium.

Summary

There are a few reasons why those with adrenal fatigue experience frequent urination.

In 2011, after a couple of months of meditating at least once per day ...my urinary urgency went away.

The key is to reduce your stress levels. The following article covers Meditation for Adrenal Fatigue

Instead of having to stop every 30 minutes to urinate while going for a long drive, I am now able to drive for 3 or 4 hours without having to stop.

References

1. Aldosterone can be just as important as Cortisol
2. Hypoaldosteronism
3. Epinephrine produces a prolonged elevation in metabolic rate in humans
4. www.nsbri.org: Control of Urine Volume
5. Syndrome of Inappropriate Antidiuretic Hormone Secretion Differential Diagnoses
6. Curezone.com Post- Fluid Pass Straight Through Me