What Causes Extreme Fatigue When Diagnosed With Addison's Disease?

Posted on Tue, 21 Mar 2017

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

Tue, 21 Mar 2017 Answered on

Fri, 7 Apr 2017 Last reviewed on

Question : I have Addison's disease as well as a pituitary tumour. I have been on Cortisone for 22 years. In the last 2 months, I have been experiencing extreme fatigue, sometimes sleeping 16 hours a day. When I stand, I feel dizzy and faint. I am constantly nauseous and my appetite is very poor. The worst symptom I have been having is that I always feel like I am burning up inside, yet my temperature is usually about 96.8-97.5 degrees Fahrenheit. I have been seeing spots before my eyes and I get sudden, but brief painful headaches (usually in the evening). The only thing that I can think of is anemia. Could this be a possibility?

Answered by Dr. Mirjeta Guni (21 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
About XXXXXXX crisis;

Detailed Answer:
Hello dear,
I have gone carefully through your concern.

The symptoms you reported may be due to under active thyroid (hypothyroidism), anemia or XXXXXXX crisis.

Under certain circumstances, an adrenal crisis may occur with low blood pressure, vomiting, lower back pain, and loss of consciousness. An adrenal crisis can be triggered by stress, such as from an injury, surgery, or infection.

I would recommend to check the blood pressure, if it is low, you need to increase the dose of hydrocortisone.

Otherwise, a full blood count TSH level and electrolytes should be checked.

Hope the information will help. Feel free to ask further.
Kind regards,
Dr.Mirjeta

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Arnab Banerjee