Can You Detect Addison's Disease On An HTMA?
What Is Addison’s Disease?
Addison’s disease, sometimes called primary adrenal gland problem, is rare but serious. It happens when the adrenal glands, which sit just above the kidneys, do not make enough of the important hormones. The two main hormones are cortisol and, for many people, aldosterone.
Cortisol helps you deal with stress. It keeps your blood pressure steady and controls how your body uses energy. Aldosterone helps your body keep the right amount of salt and potassium. It also helps with your blood pressure.
Symptoms and Misdiagnosis
Symptoms of Addison’s disease often show up over time. A person can feel tired all the time, have weak muscles, lose weight, have low blood pressure, get dark patches on their skin, want more salt, and have issues with their stomach such as feeling sick, throwing up, and pain in the belly. These signs can be the same as other health problems, so the disease is often not caught right away. Many times, people find out they have it only during an Addisonian crisis. In this crisis, a person may feel very bad pain, throw up, have bad diarrhea, very low blood pressure, or even pass out. This can be life-threatening.
Common Causes of Addison’s Disease
Addison’s disease happens when the adrenal glands get damaged. This makes the body not make enough hormones like cortisol and sometimes aldosterone. In most cases, this is because the body's own immune system attacks the outside part of the adrenal glands by mistake. This kind of attack is the main reason people get Addison’s disease in developed countries. It causes about 70–90% of all cases there.
Other Causes Include:
Infections – Tuberculosis is one of the main causes in many developing countries. It can infect and hurt the adrenal glands. Other infections, like HIV, some fungal infections, and some kinds of bacterial infections, can also cause problems with the adrenal glands. This can lead to adrenal gland failure.
Adrenal bleeding or lack of blood flow – There can be bleeding in the adrenal glands from things like injury, severe infection, or blood clotting problems like Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome. This can hurt the glands and lead to Addison’s disease.
Genetic disorders – Some health problems you get from your parents, like congenital adrenal hyperplasia or autoimmune polyendocrine syndromes, can change how the adrenal glands work.
Cancer – Metastatic cancer can spread to the adrenal glands, often from the lungs, breasts, or kidneys. When this happens, the cancer may destroy the adrenal tissue.
Surgical removal – When both adrenal glands are taken out in surgery because of tumors or other reasons, the body will not make enough hormones. This causes adrenal problems.
Certain medicines – Drugs like ketoconazole, which is used for fungal infections, or etomidate, which is often used when people are put to sleep for surgery, can get in the way of how the adrenal hormones are made.
Detecting Addison’s Disease with Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA)
When looking to spot Addison’s disease with a hair tissue mineral analysis (HTMA), there are some signs that show low adrenal output, as well as low levels of cortisol and aldosterone.
1. Low Sodium/Potassium (Na/K) Ratio
Normal Range: ~2.4 to 2.5
A low Na/K ratio, less than 1.5, can show that there is chronic stress in the body. It also means the adrenal glands are not working well.
This is one of the best ways on HTMA to see if you have adrenal burnout. It checks the electrical charge between cells. If the level is low, it can mean there is burnout.
2. Low Sodium/Magnesium (Na/Mg) Ratio
Normal Range: ~4.17
Low Na/Mg could mean that there is less adrenal work happening (hypoadrenia).
Sodium shows how much aldosterone comes out, which is one part of adrenal function. Magnesium is about how the body answers stress. This ratio is a way to see how the adrenal glands work.
3. Low Sodium and Potassium Levels
When you have low sodium and potassium, it can show that your adrenal glands are not working well. The adrenal glands help control these by making aldosterone and cortisol.
4. Low Calcium/Potassium (Ca/K) Ratio
This may show slow oxidation. Slow oxidation is often linked to low activity in the adrenals and thyroid.
Note: This mostly shows how the body’s metabolism and energy production work. It also helps show if the thyroid is working well.
Additional Signs:
High calcium and magnesium, with low sodium and potassium, is called a "slow oxidizer" pattern. This is often seen in people who have low adrenal and low thyroid activity.
Copper imbalance (high copper): This is often connected to adrenal fatigue. It can change how the body uses neurotransmitters and reacts to stress.
If you want to know about your mineral levels and see where you stand, especially if you have symptoms of Addison's disease, you can get an HTMA test with us.
Conclusion
Addison’s disease is a serious health problem. The signs can be hard to notice, so many people do not find out they have it until things get worse. It is important to know why this happens and how hormones in the body can be out of balance. This helps find the problem early and take care of it. Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA) is a simple test that does not hurt. It checks the amount of minerals in your body to show how well your adrenal glands work. This test can help spot problems early. If you feel very tired, have low blood pressure, or feel other changes that might come from weak adrenal glands, it may be a good idea to try HTMA. This can help point out what is wrong sooner and help you feel better.