Your adrenal glands produce a variety of hormones that are essential to life. The medical term "adrenal insufficiency" refers to inadequate production of one or more of these hormones as a result of an underlying disease or surgery

Signs and symptoms of adrenal insufficiency may include:

• ● Fatigue
• ● Body aches
• ● Unexplained weight loss
• ● Low blood pressure
• ● Lightheadedness
• ● Loss of body hair
• ● Skin discoloration (hyperpigmentation)

Adrenal glands secrete several types of hormones to help maintain blood pressure, salt balance and help in times of stress. Humans cannot live without adrenal glands, so if both adrenal glands are removed (very rarely necessary), then the patient needs to take medications and supplements to provide the necessary hormones.

The adrenal cortex produces hormones that controls sex (androgens, estrogens), salt balance in the blood (aldosterone), and sugar balance (cortisol). The adrenal medulla produces hormones involved in the fight-or-flight response (catecholamines, or adrenaline type hormones such as epinephrine and norepinephrine).

A range of medical conditions can affect the adrenal glands. The most common conditions related to the adrenal glands that we see are Adrenal Tumors, Conn’s Syndrome, Cushing Syndrome, Pheochromocytoma, Adrenal Metastasis and Adrenal Cancer.