HPA Dysfunction

In my previous post I explained that the CFS/ME sufferer is usually in a persistent state of ‘fight or flight’, even though most like me in the early days would argue that I don’t actually feel stressed - sure, I am concerned that I don’t feel very well and my anxiety has increased because none of the medical professionals I have consulted seem to know why?

But clearly my body and my subconscious mind had a different take on things, maintaining the sympathetic nervous system in control state, unwilling to change until the perceived threat had gone.

The longer we spend in this state the more the condition evolves (see my earlier post), adding layers to the symptom onion.

With the continuous pressure of inflammation in the brain stem, the ‘amygdala’ (stress signal control) is activated. This in turn affects the ‘hypothalamus’ (which regulates the nervous system stability or homeostasis), the ‘pituitary gland’ (which regulates growth and metabolism) and the ‘adrenal glands’ (which controls hormone release to regulate immune system & stress response) – collectively known as the HPA axis.

Human Brain - Hypothalamus and Pituitary Gland

Over time persistently in this state, the HPA axis function is impacted and becomes ‘dysfunctional’ with a number of additional symptoms for the sufferer to endure e.g. any one or all of the following:

•       Hormonal imbalance

•       Mood swings/anxiety

•       Immunity system compromise

•       Poor digestion

•       Leaky gut

The last two of these i.e. ‘poor digestion’ and ‘leaky gut’ are worthy of special attention. The walls of the gut are intentionally permeable, the gaps opening up temporarily when we digest food to allow fuel and nutrients into the blood stream. When the HPA axis is not functioning correctly, not only do we not fully digest the food that we eat but also the gut wall remains permeable, allowing much larger particles of incompletely digested food into the blood stream.

Without getting into the chemistry too deep here, the body does not recognise these larger particles and perceives them as harmful, so naturally produces antibodies to deal with the threat. These antibodies generate inflammation, and hence the stiffness, muscular and joint pain so familiar to CFS/ME sufferers.

But the onion layers don’t end there, the longer the HPA axis is out of whack, the deeper the impact becomes, potentially affecting the normal function of every cell in the body leading to oxidative stress and with it significant longer term health impacts.