Watch How To Do Four At-home Adrenal Fatigue Tests

This video and accompanying summary illustrates how to perform four at-home tests for adrenal fatigue, a topic I dived into here. Watch how I test my own adrenal health, and how you can too.

4 adrenal fatigue tests

Adrenal fatigue test #1

ACCORDING TO some adrenal experts, 80% of us people creatures will experience adrenal fatigue and the physical symptoms of stress at some point in our lives.

That’s a big number.

For those of you who never took statistics in school, it means that, odds are, you’ve had or will experience adrenal fatigue in your lifetime.

But how would you know?

One data point would be that you can barely lift your head from the pillow, let alone get out of bed… guzzling that gallon of coffee doesn’t move the needle a bit.

OK, that’s pretty extreme, because most of us experience adrenal fatigue without knowing it.

The reason that 80% may have some fatigued adrenals and not know about it is that we get used to suboptimal energy and vitality.  It’s kinda like putting 15 pounds in your backpack.  This is not enough weight to notice much, but over the miles walked, 15 pounds will make a difference.

Same with adrenal fatigue.

Given the importance of these two endocrine glands sitting nicely on top of the kidneys — and how many people are impacted by  suboptimal function — I wrote an article about them called, Got Stress? Here are Four Adrenal Fatigue Tests You Can Do At Home.

In that article, I reported the details about how to go about testing if you’ve got an adrenal issue.

I thought I did a fine job.

That said, Subscribers started emailing me and wondered if I could maybe, pretty please, show them in addition to telling them how to do the tests.

So I did.

Here it is:

 Links mentioned in the video:

OK, to summarize what’s in the video, the four adrenal fatigue tests are:

  1. Iris/Pupil Contraction,
  2. Blood Pressure,
  3. Sergent’s White Line, and
  4. Dr. Rind’s Temperature Test.

For the details about each of these tests, please go read, Got Stress? Here are Four Adrenal Fatigue Tests You Can Do At Home.  Highly recommended.

For those of who want it fast, darn the details… here are the bottom-line for each of the four adrenal fatigue tests…

 

Iris/Pupil Contraction

The pupil contracts in the dark and expands in the light.

If it quickly responds to a light source, it indicates the adrenal glands may be properly functioning.

Pupil Dilation (in seconds)

Adrenal Status
0 – 4Exhaustion
5 – 10Fatigue
11 – 19Dysfunction
20+Healthy

Irrespective of whether your pupil contracted for 20 or more seconds, move onto the Blood Pressure Test described below. We want to see if there are consistent results with each test.

 

Blood Pressure Test

This measures how blood pressure reacts from the systolic reading while laying down and relaxed versus quickly standing up.

If the systolic blood pressure number goes up when standing, it indicates proper adrenal function.

Systolic ChangeAdrenal Status
Increases 6-10 mm/HgHealthy
No changeFair
Drops 1-10 mm/HgPoor
Drops more than 10 mm/HgExhausted

Don’t stop now… the next test is called, the “Sergent’s White Line”.

 

Sergent’s White Line

This test is not as accurate as the others, but it sure is simple and quick to do.

Lightly stroke your abdomen with the cap end of a ballpoint pen, about six inches long.

In a normal reaction, the mark made by the pen is initially white but reddens (or returns to normal) within a few seconds.

TimeColorAdrenal Status
Few secondsInitially white, then reddensNormal
Two minutesStays whiteFatigue

Now to the fourth and final adrenal stress test, brought to you by Dr. Rind.

 

Dr Rind’s Temperature Test

This test measures body temperature.

Three times a day, two or more days in a row, put a non-digital (the traditional kind) under your armpit.

Average each day and compare.

Results
  • If the difference between your daily average temperature reading is more than 0.2 degrees, you may need adrenal support.
  • If it is fluctuating but averaging 98.6, you just need adrenal support.
  • If it is fluctuating but overall low, you may need more adrenal support and have a thyroid issue.
  • If it is steady but low, you need more thyroid, but the adrenals are likely OK.

 

Dr. Lam’s Chart

Dr. Lam’s adrenal/hypothyroid table is a good resource to help you quickly get a sense about whether you have an adrenal or thyroid issue.

He created a table of characteristics (measurements of body weight, mental function, physical looks, etc.) that correspond to adrenal fatigue and/or hypothyroidism.

Often, one condition is mistaken for the other, and if a poorly functioning thyroid is addressed before poorly functioning adrenals, it could further compromise the adrenals.  Thus, it’s important to determine which (or both) is the problem before undergoing some protocol to fix things.

I’ve placed Dr. Lam’s Adrenal Fatigue versus Hypothyroidism chart right here (scroll down once the link opens).

Just to tease you a bit, here’s a pic of part of it:

Dr. Lam Adrenal Thyroid Chart

A small part of Dr. Lam’s Adrenal/Thyroid Symptoms Chart

 

What To Do If You Have Adrenal Fatigue?

The upshot is that:

1. The four adrenal tests shown and briefly described here are not as definitive as blood tests designed to test for adrenal health, so if you’ve failed some of these “do at home” tests, go get a blood test.

2. If you elect to go it alone (not see an endocrinologist), get your own blood test and then work to heal your adrenals by getting restful sleep, becoming mindful of what causes you stress and get it/them out of your life (meditation is a good approach) and supplementing your diet with adaptogenic herbs and vitamins.


Life Extension Blood Testing
I put a long list of blood tests and vitamin supplements in Got Stress? Here are Four Adrenal Fatigue Tests You Can Do At Home.

There’s a book you may want to read called Adrenal Fatigue by Dr. James Wilson. Just click the image below to learn more about it.

Over and out.

 

P.S.

The Videographer for this video is Kerrilyn Garma, whom you can contact here.

Last Updated on October 18, 2018 by Joe Garma

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Joe Garma
 

I help people live with more vitality and strength. I'm a big believer in sustainability, and am a bit nutty about optimizing my diet, supplements, hormones and exercise. To get exclusive Updates, tips and be on your way to a stronger, more youthful body, join my weekly Newsletter. You can also find me on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.

Click Here to Leave a Comment Below 2 comments
Kristina Wilson - May 15, 2016

Love your videos. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us. I have learned so much from you and am trying to repair my adrenals. I was on antacids for 12 years as my doctor told me that “some people just get heartburn and must take antacids to feel better”! By avoiding gluten and sugar, I don’t get heartburn (although I still cheat sometimes and then suffer for it). I haven’t been to a doctor for 6 or 7 years now and feel healthier than I did in my twenties (I am 53 now).

Reply
    Joe Garma - May 16, 2016

    Very much appreciate you saying that, Kristina.

    Reply

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