Recurring illness is one of the more frustrating patterns that shows up with Adrenal Fatigue.
You may feel like you catch everything that goes around. Or you get through one illness, only to have something else return shortly after. In some cases, symptoms never fully resolve before the next one begins.
This pattern is not random.
It reflects a change in how the immune system is functioning under ongoing stress. When the stress response remains active, the body shifts how it detects, responds to, and recovers from illness.
This page walks through why recurring illness develops in Adrenal Fatigue, how the immune system changes under stress, and what needs to shift for that pattern to stabilize.
How Recurring Illness Shows Up in Adrenal Fatigue
We are all different. We are all unique biochemical individuals, and as such, we will all develop our own idiosyncratic immune system symptoms.
Some of us get frequent illnesses and are repeatedly diagnosed with various viruses. Epstein Barr Virus (EBV), mono, and (chronic) Lyme disease are a few examples. Others of us simply catch each and every cold or flu bug that comes through our family. While even others of us develop allergies and sensitivities to substances (both environmental and food based).
Another subsection of patients tells me they “never get sick.” This may seem like a good thing on the surface, but the reality is more complex. Never getting sick is actually a red flag. This tells us the underlying Adrenal Dysfunction may have weakened the immune system so severely. In these instances, the person simply cannot generate any degree of the immune response at all.
“But I never catch a cold!”
The signs and symptoms of an illness such as a cold are a result of the fight between the virus, bacteria, yeast, fungus, etc. (let’s call whatever it is a “bug”) and your immune system. The runny nose, sore throat, congestion, cough, fever, and aches are not caused by the bug. These symptoms are a result of the body’s attempt to rid itself of the bug. The symptoms are actually a good thing. They are uncomfortable and inconvenient, yes, but good nonetheless.
When a patient reports never getting sick or catching a cold, I am somewhat cautious. The bugs to which they are exposed never stimulate an immune response, and thus, they never “get sick.” That’s a compromised immune system.
Why You May Keep Getting Sick
I want you to understand why you may get sick all the time. You may have developed an allergy to your cat (even though you were raised with cats and were never allergic before). And fully understand why that simple injury has developed into a chronic, nagging one. Adrenal Fatigue causes a loss of control of the immune system. To understand the lack of control, one must first understand a bit about the system itself. Don’t get caught up in the details if you don’t want to. Just stick to the basics, which are the three main arms of the immune system.
The First Layer of Immune Response
The first arm is the “innate” immune system. This is the first response system of immunity (the Marines, if you will). This part of the immune system is made up of some basic white blood cells (WBCs on your CBC blood work), something called natural killer cells (NK cells), and a complicated part of the immune system called “complement.”
The innate part of the immune system immediately goes to the area of infection or trauma, such as a wound. Its primary responsibility is damage control (anti-inflammation). After its assessment, the innate immune system then takes care of the decision-making process. Which parts of the immune system should be called in for reinforcements.
When researchers investigate the immune systems of patients with Adrenal Dysfunction, CFS, and Fibromyalgia, they find numerous biochemical abnormalities in these immune cells and processes. A fully functional, balanced innate immune response generates a controlled, well-orchestrated, well-strategized defense.
Contrast this with what actually happens in the immune system in these affected patients during infection or injury. It will appear more like sending a bunch of circus clowns out into battle. The result is an imbalanced, disorganized defense, created with no plan whatsoever. Also resulting in out of control inflammation and antibody production, poor infection fighting, and poor wound healing.
How the Immune System Divides Its Work
The other two arms of the immune system work in concert. They are referred to as Th1 and Th2. The “Th” part of the name stands for “T-helper.” This is a type of immune cell generated in the thymus gland. You can think of Th1 as the part of the immune system that fights problems inside cells (viruses, parasites, intracellular infections such as Lyme). Th2 fights problems outside of cells (creating antibodies that search for other pathogens).
Antibodies are a “memory” cell that, in the case of infections, can be manufactured in great numbers with efficiency. The purpose of this immune amplification is to provide immunity and generate a rapid response the next time that particular infection/bug comes our way. Antibodies are highly specific and operate in a “lock and key fashion.” These cells work together in the body to generate a balanced attack on an infection or an injury.
What Happens to the Immune System Under Stress
The immune system undergoes a purposeful, predictable, and well-documented shift when the body is exposed to stress. We want the immune system to shift exactly the way it does because it’s lifesaving. Here’s how.
The first shift to take place occurs in the innate immune system, as I wrote above. Parts of the innate immune system actually become upregulated, whereas other parts get suppressed. This initiates the inflammatory process in response to injury. Acute, short-term inflammation is necessary to heal. It’s when the immune system gets stuck that it’s a problem because that leads to chronic inflammation, which prevents healing.
The Th1–Th2 Shift in Adrenal Fatigue
The other part of the immune system that shifts have to do with the T helper cells. Depending on the general physiologic state of the body (i.e. a restful state or a stressed state) these T cells will “differentiate” down one pathway or another. Differentiation here means maturation. The stress hormones, cortisol and adrenaline, primarily decide whether these young, naïve cells will mature into Th1 or Th2 cells.
When the body is in a restful state (think of “rest and digest” here; normal cortisol levels) these cells will more likely mature into Th1 cells. On the other hand, when the body is in a stressed state (think of fight or flight; high cortisol) these cells will mature primarily into Th2 cells. During chronic stress, the immune system enters into what we call a Th1 to Th2 shift. The following are two results of this shift.
Why You Become More Susceptible to Infection
The first result of this Th1 to Th2 shift of the immune system is a weakening on the Th1 side. This is why the majority of patients with Adrenal Fatigue experience frequent illness. They tell me that they catch every virus that comes around, or that they’re just sick all the time. They complain of chronic sore throats, chronic congestion, flu-like symptoms, and low-grade fevers.
These symptoms are caused by the weakening of cellular immunity. This makes people with Adrenal Fatigue more susceptible to injury that occurs inside the cells. This primarily refers to increased susceptibility to bugs that attack the body from within cells.
By definition, viruses attack by entering a cell, hijacking the cell, and then replicating and ramping up the infection. This includes viruses (like EBV, CMV, HHV6, and other herpes family viruses, Parvovirus, and more). It also includes certain bacteria (like mycoplasma, and Lyme), yeast (like candida albicans), and fungi. A weakness or susceptibility to these bugs generally means more frequent infection.
This issue is profound and powerful, and many doctors simply treat it as an immune system disorder. This means they are entirely missing that the immune system is suppressed on purpose. This is exactly why the patient keeps getting these infections in the first place.
Why Allergies and Autoimmune Patterns Increase
The second result of this Th1 to Th2 shift occurs in response to chronic stress and Adrenal Dysfunction by causing a strengthening, or overactivity, on the Th2 side. The result of this overactivity is increased antibody production.
Often patients complain of adult-onset allergies, exacerbation of their current environmental allergies or asthma, or the development of food allergies. This shift is also one of the most common underlying causes of the development of many autoimmune diseases. All of these conditions are the result of increased antibody production. Adrenal Fatigue causes an overactivation of the Th2 side of the immune system.
How These Patterns Fit Together
My typical patient will have frequent and recurrent illness, colds, cases of flu, and catch every bug that comes around. Along with this, symptoms such as chronic congestion, post-nasal drip, runny nose, environmental allergies, food sensitivities, and histamine-related reactions begin to show up. These patients are often inflamed, which can include chronic pain, arthritis, and wounds that take longer to heal. In some cases, autoimmune conditions develop.
These patterns tend to occur alongside other symptoms of Adrenal Fatigue that affect energy, sleep, and stress tolerance → Adrenal Fatigue Symptoms
The immune dysfunction behind these symptoms develops over time as a result of chronic stress and Adrenal Fatigue. It is not the root problem. It is a downstream effect of a stress response system that has lost its ability to regulate.
As that system stabilizes, the immune system begins to regain balance. This is where meaningful change begins. You recover more consistently. You stop cycling through illness the same way. Inflammation settles, and the body is better able to repair.
This process does not come from addressing symptoms one at a time. It comes from working with the stress response system directly and in the right sequence → How Adrenal Fatigue Is Treated
All of this may feel difficult to believe if you have been told that allergies, chronic infections, or immune conditions are something you simply have to manage long-term. These conditions are real, and they can be severe, but they are often part of a larger pattern that has not yet been fully addressed.
When the underlying stress response begins to stabilize, the pattern of recurrence changes. That is where this work is focused.
