Addison’s disease will cause your adrenal glands to become underactive which causes a deficiency within your adrenal hormones. The cause of Addison’s disease can be due to an autoimmune reaction, certain cancers, an infection, or a variety of other diseases. If an individual is dealing with this disease they may feel extremely weak and tired, they may become dizzy when they try to stand after they have been sitting or lying down for a prolonged amount of time, and they also may have dark patches on their body. In order to make the diagnosis that an individual has Addison’s disease doctors will measure your blood’s sodium and potassium levels along with the levels of the hormones cortisol and corticotrophin.
An individual can develop Addison’s disease at any age and the disease affects both males and females, this disease do not occur at a higher rate within one specific sex. Some 70 percent of the individuals who have been diagnosed with Addison’s disease are unaware of the exact cause, but an autoimmune reaction does affect their adrenal glands. The reaction causes your immune system to attack and destroy your adrenal cortex. The remaining 30 percent of the individuals who are diagnosed with Addison’s disease have their adrenal glands destroyed by cancer, suffer from infections like tuberculosis, or suffer from other diseases that are able to be identified. If an infant or child is diagnosed with Addison’s disease it may be due to a genetic abnormality within their adrenal glands.
A disorder that is similar to Addison’s disease is called a secondary adrenal insufficiency. Within this particular disorder the pituitary glands do not appropriately stimulate the adrenal glands, which makes them under active. When dealing with under active adrenal glands the body does not produce enough adrenal hormones. Therefore, the Addison’s disease has an effect on your body’s balance of water, sodium, and potassium; it also effects the ability that your body has to control your blood pressure and with handling stress.
If an individual with Addison’s disease does not get treated they may develop severe pain in the abdomen, become extremely weak, suffer from kidney failure, and a variety of other issues may develop so it is important to get the proper treatment if diagnosed with this disease.