What Causes Adrenal Disorder?

Posted on Mon, 27 Jan 2014

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Mon, 27 Jan 2014 Answered on

Fri, 14 Feb 2014 Last reviewed on

Question : Hello, I am recently suffering of some sort of adrenaline rush, tachycardia, anxiety, low potassium, I dont think it is pshycological. I did many test, so far they were all negative. Actually I suspect to have some sort of adenoma on my adrenals. I attached my last ultrasound, can you please have a look and tell me if You can see anything? Thank you very much, another point of view is needed.

Answered by Dr. Ravi Bansal (1 hour later)

Brief Answer: adrenal problems Detailed Answer: Hi XXXX, The symptoms you describe do refer to an adrenal disorder. But you have to understand that ultrasound is not the modality of choice to identify the problem. Symptoms like this can also occur in hyperthyroid- can be identified by FT3 , FT4, TSH tests. Adrenal disorders occur due to change in the pattern of hormones secreted by adrenal gland. the symptoms you describe are of exess of these hormones. While the gland is working more it does not mean that it will increase in size also. So patients with excess hormones may or maynot have any detectable abnormailitiy in Ultrasound. More over ultrasound is very less sensitive for pickup of adrenal mass until the size is large. So i would suggest. - Go for CT Scan for adrenal glands under guidance of your treating Doctor. - Hormonal work-up for excess glucocorticoid , minerelocorticoid, and catacholamines and metanephrines can be done. Do you have hypertension ( High Bp)- that is very important to note if suspecting adrenal problems. I have seen your ultrasound But it is difficult to comment on the frames provided Best wishes , please write , in case any furthur query.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Ravi Bansal (35 hours later)

Hello, Thanks you give me good suggestions. Anyway my thyroid is in normal range. Yes i have slighty high blood pressure. 150/90 i will consult my doctor to have a ct scan of my adrenals. If there will be no adenoma, what can I do and why my adrenals are not working as normal? Thanks .

Answered by Dr. Ravi Bansal (8 hours later)

Brief Answer: adrenal problems Detailed Answer: Hi, If you have blood pressure then we can suspect hyper functioning of adrenal glands. 150/90 is high and you need medication to bring it below 140/90. at the same time we need to identify the cause. if ct scan is normal then also the adrenal gland can be hyperfunctioning. we have to measure the hormones produced by the adrenal gland. these are some blood tests which can detect hyperfunctioning of the gland. let us first identify if there is any abnormality in the structure and functioning of the adrenal gland before we come to the causes. best wishes.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar