Addison’s disease is a rare illness that occurs when the body doesn’t produce enough adrenal hormones. It is also known as adrenal insufficiency, where the adrenal glands produce too little cortisol and sometimes insufficient aldosterone. This endocrine disorder is a long-term condition. This disease can affect anyone and can also be life-threatening. The frequency of occurrence of Addison’s disease is estimated as 1 in 100,000 individuals. Read on to learn more about this condition.

Symptoms of Addison’s disease
The symptoms of this disease arise slowly and take months to appear. Hence, people who have this condition cannot identify the symptoms at first. The condition gets worse due to some other illness or injury. The symptoms include:

• Extreme fatigue
• Salt craving
• Loss of appetite
• Low BMI
• Areas of darkened skin
• Pain in the abdomen, muscles, and joints
• Depression
• Irritability
• Loss of body hair
• Lack of sexual desires
• Low blood pressure which can even cause fainting
• Nausea, diarrhea, and vomit

Causes of Addison’s disease
Addison’s disease occurs when the immune system mistakenly mounts an attack on the adrenal glands and destroys the adrenal cortex. If 90% of the area is destroyed, they lose their ability to produce enough corticosteroid hormones. Given below are the causes of the disease:

Genes
As research suggests, people with certain kinds of gene mutations are more likely to develop autoimmune disorders. It is not clear how this can cause Addison’s disease, but it is observed that if any close member of a person’s family has some other autoimmune condition, then there are chances for him to develop this disorder. It can be type 1 diabetes, vitiligo, and an underactive thyroid.

Tuberculosis (TB)
This is one of the most common causes of Addison’s disease. TB is a bacterial infection that affects the lungs and can spread to other body parts.

Infections
Infections associated with AIDS or fungus can cause Addison’s Disease.

Cancer
If cancer cells spread in the body, it may also affect the adrenal glands.

Amyloidosis
This is a disease where amyloid builds up and damages the adrenal glands. It is a protein that is produced by bone marrow cells.

Adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD)
It is a rare inherited condition that affects the adrenal glands and nervous system.

Other causes

• When both the adrenal glands are removed by surgery
• Removing a tumor from the adrenal gland.
• A hemorrhage
• Heavy bleeding in the adrenal glands that is sometimes associated with sepsis or meningitis

Who is more at risk of getting this disease?
An individual is at a higher risk if he/she –

• has cancer
• suffers from an autoimmune disease like Graves’s disease or type 1 diabetes
• has recently undergone surgery to remove any part of the adrenal glands
• takes blood thinners
• has chronic infections like TB

What treatment is followed for Addison’s disease?
To treat Addison’s disease, the missing hormones, aldosterone and cortisol, are replaced with their synthetic versions. In this chronic condition, you are bound to take treatments throughout your life. However, the dosages for formulations can be different for different people. The doctor might increase the quantity if you are experiencing trauma, infection, surgery, or any other stressful situation. When you are taking a particular substitute hormone, you might be asked to increase your salt intake, especially after heavy exercises and in humid weather.

• To improve health – The patients may need to go for a combination of substitute formulations. They can’t miss even a single dosage. One must consult a doctor before opting for such treatment option.
• Home care- you should keep an emergency kit ready. You can even ask your doctor to give you a written prescription for emergencies.
• Other therapies- In case you are suffering from Addison’s disease, you should keep your stress level down. Sometimes, a major life event can raise your mental strain and affect how you react to your treatments. You can talk to your doctor about alternative ways to reduce your stress levels.

Since Addison’s disease needs lifelong therapies, one should have a treatment plan given by a licensed doctor that can help one live a productive life. Also, one should always strictly follow the doctor’s advice. The patients might also need to get their treatment plan re-evaluated and changed as per their condition. So, one should visit the doctor regularly and get checked occasionally to rule out any scare of a relapse. Keep in mind that getting diagnosed with a chronic condition, Addison’s disease, can be overwhelming and stressful, but the good news is that with the help of timely diagnosis and prompt treatment, one can fight this disorder.