What happens if your cortisol levels are low

You may have to take them for the rest of your life. You may also need to take other medicines fludrocortisones. These can help keep your body's sodium and potassium levels normal. You may have sudden severe symptoms. This is called acute adrenal insufficiency, or Addisonian crisis.

This can occur when your body is stressed. That can happen for many reasons, such as an illness, fever, surgery, or dehydration. You may also have a crisis if you stop taking your steroids or lower the amount of your steroids suddenly. But if an Addisonian crisis is not treated, it can lead to:. Take your medicine exactly as prescribed. You should also carry a medical alert card or tag at all times. This can make sure you get proper treatment if there is an emergency. When traveling always carry an emergency kit with a shot of cortisol.

Any condition that stresses your body can affect how much medicine you need. Call your healthcare provider if:. It is rare. Mild symptoms may be seen only when a person is under physical stress. Other symptoms may include weakness, fatigue, and weight loss. Health Home Conditions and Diseases.

Adrenal insufficiency can be primary or secondary: Primary adrenal insufficiency. What causes adrenal insufficiency? Other causes may include: Cancer Fungal infections Tuberculosis infection of the adrenal glands Inherited disorders of the endocrine glands A lack of the hormone ACTH leads to secondary adrenal insufficiency. Sometimes symptoms appear for the first time during adrenal crisis.

If you always feel tired, weak, or are losing weight, ask your health care professional if you might have adrenal insufficiency. Early treatment can help avoid an adrenal crisis. Different types of adrenal insufficiency have different causes. The most common cause of adrenal insufficiency overall is suddenly stopping corticosteroids after taking them for a long time. As treatment improved over the years, TB became a much less common cause.

The most common cause of tertiary adrenal insufficiency is suddenly stopping corticosteroids after taking them for a long time. In many species cortisol is also responsible for triggering the processes involved in giving birth. A similar version of this hormone, known as corticosterone , is produced by rodents, birds and reptiles. Blood levels of cortisol vary throughout the day, but generally are higher in the morning when we wake up, and then fall throughout the day.

This is called a diurnal rhythm. In people that work at night, this pattern is reversed, so the timing of cortisol release is clearly linked to daily activity patterns. In addition, in response to stress, extra cortisol is released to help the body to respond appropriately. The secretion of cortisol is mainly controlled by three inter-communicating regions of the body; the hypothalamus in the brain, the pituitary gland and the adrenal gland.

This is called the hypothalamic—pituitary—adrenal axis. When cortisol levels in the blood are low, a group of cells in a region of the brain called the hypothalamus releases corticotrophin-releasing hormone , which causes the pituitary gland to secrete another hormone, adrenocorticotropic hormone , into the bloodstream. High levels of adrenocorticotropic hormone are detected in the adrenal glands and stimulate the secretion of cortisol, causing blood levels of cortisol to rise. As the cortisol levels rise, they start to block the release of corticotrophin-releasing hormone from the hypothalamus and adrenocorticotropic hormone from the pituitary.

As a result, the adrenocorticotropic hormone levels start to drop, which then leads to a drop in cortisol levels. This is called a negative feedback loop. Too much cortisol over a prolonged period of time can lead to a condition called Cushing's syndrome. This can be caused by a wide range of factors, such as a tumour that produces adrenocorticotropic hormone and therefore increases cortisol secretion , or taking certain types of drugs.

The symptoms include:.