Adrenalpause: The Midlife Energy Crash No One Talks About

adrenalpause fatigue menopause metabolism weight-loss Oct 12, 2025

You may have blamed your exhaustion on stress, age, or even “just getting older.” But what if the fatigue, stubborn belly weight, sleep struggles, or mood changes you’re experiencing are actually part of a specific hormonal transition called adrenalpause?

Most people have heard of menopause, but few know about adrenalpause—a stage where your adrenal glands step in to pick up the slack as your ovaries reduce estrogen and progesterone production. If your adrenals are already taxed from years of stress, this transition can feel like hitting a wall.

This blog will help you understand what adrenalpause is, why it matters, and what you can do to support your body through it.

What Is Adrenalpause?

Adrenalpause is not a medical diagnosis—it’s a term used to describe a physiological shift in midlife when the adrenal glands must take on greater responsibility for hormone production.

Before menopause: Your ovaries are the primary producers of estrogen and progesterone.
During and after menopause: Ovarian output declines, and the adrenal glands must help make sex hormone precursors (like DHEA).
If adrenals are overworked: From chronic stress, poor sleep, or inflammation, they struggle to keep up—leading to symptoms that overlap with both menopause and adrenal dysfunction.

Common Signs of Adrenalpause

If you’re in your 40s, 50s, or beyond and experiencing these, adrenalpause could be part of the picture:

Persistent fatigue—not relieved by rest
Increased belly fat despite eating well
Sleep disruption (especially waking between 2–4 AM)
Brain fog or memory lapses
Mood swings, anxiety, or irritability
Reduced stress tolerance
Low libido

These aren’t “just aging”—they’re signals your stress and sex hormone systems need support.

Why Does Adrenalpause Matter?

The adrenal glands produce more than stress hormones (like cortisol). They also help produce DHEA, a precursor to estrogen and testosterone. If your adrenals are depleted:

Cortisol can become dysregulated, leading to energy crashes or feeling wired but tired.
DHEA levels may plummet, affecting muscle mass, bone density, mood, and sexual health.
Weight gain becomes more likely, especially around the waistline, due to cortisol’s impact on insulin and fat storage.

In short, adrenalpause affects not just energy, but also metabolism, brain health, and resilience.

What Contributes to a Difficult Adrenalpause?

Not everyone experiences adrenalpause the same way. These factors often worsen symptoms:

Chronic stress load (work, family, caregiving, finances)
Inflammatory diet (processed foods, excess sugar, alcohol)
Sleep deprivation
Gut issues (imbalanced microbiome, poor nutrient absorption)
Thyroid imbalances
Unresolved trauma or long-term emotional stress

The good news? Even small shifts in daily habits can dramatically improve how your body weathers this transition.

How to Thrive Through Adrenalpause

1. Reset Your Stress Hormone Rhythm

Prioritize morning light exposure to anchor circadian rhythm.
Practice daily deep breathing or meditation (5–10 minutes).
Build in “white space” breaks instead of back-to-back schedules.

2. Optimize Nutrition for Adrenal Support

Aim for 30–40g protein per meal to stabilize blood sugar and support hormone signaling.
Include colorful vegetables and fruits for antioxidants.
Add magnesium, vitamin C, and B vitamins—all depleted under stress.
Reduce caffeine and alcohol, which push adrenals harder.

3. Move, But Don’t Overdo It

Gentle strength training improves muscle and bone health.
Walking, yoga, or Pilates enhance resilience without spiking cortisol.
Skip excessive high-intensity workouts if you’re already exhausted.

4. Support Sleep and Recovery

Set a consistent bedtime and reduce blue light at night.
Magnesium glycinate or L-theanine may help relaxation.
Keep blood sugar steady with a protein-rich dinner and light snack if needed.

5. Lab Testing & Guidance: See How Adrenalpause Shows Up in Your Labs

When you’re in adrenalpause, your adrenal glands become the hormonal “backup system” for the ovaries—so any imbalance in stress, thyroid, or sex hormones can ripple through your entire body. Lab testing helps you pinpoint where that ripple begins and how to restore balance.

A comprehensive adrenalpause-focused hormone panel should include:

Cortisol – Measures how well your adrenals are adapting to stress. In adrenalpause, cortisol may be high from chronic demand or low from burnout—both cause fatigue, sleep disruption, and midsection weight gain.
DHEA-S – Reflects your adrenal reserve and how much precursor hormone your body can still make post-menopause. Low DHEA-S often signals adrenal depletion.
Estradiol – As ovarian estrogen declines, adrenals help convert DHEA to estrogen. Low levels can amplify cortisol’s effects on mood, sleep, and metabolism.
FSH and LH – These rise as the ovaries slow down, marking the transition that pushes adrenal glands to take over hormone production.
Progesterone – Often drops first in adrenalpause, increasing anxiety, poor sleep, and cortisol dominance.
Prolactin – Chronic stress can elevate prolactin, further suppressing thyroid and sex hormone activity, worsening adrenal fatigue symptoms.
Free T3 and Free T4 – When cortisol is out of balance, thyroid conversion (T4 → T3) slows, leading to fatigue, cold intolerance, and weight gain.
TSH – Reflects how stress and cortisol feedback affect thyroid signaling; high TSH can appear when adrenals and thyroid are both struggling.
Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies (TPO) – Ongoing stress and cortisol dysregulation can increase immune activity, contributing to autoimmune thyroiditis in midlife women.
Total Testosterone – As ovarian production declines, adrenal testosterone becomes key for drive, focus, and lean muscle. Low levels here often trace back to exhausted adrenals.

All of these labs are HSA and FSA eligible and can be ordered easily through The Everyday Upgrade partner link to review with your practitioner.

**Order Your Adrenalpause & Hormone Health Panel

These results reveal whether your fatigue, mood shifts, or weight changes are driven primarily by adrenal fatigue, thyroid slowdown, or hormone decline—so you can support your adrenals first and rebuild energy from the ground up.

The Overlap with Menopause and Beyond

Adrenalpause doesn’t replace menopause—it overlaps with it. Many women feel the difference between a smooth menopause and a rocky one lies in how well their adrenals can adapt.

By nurturing your adrenal health now, you can not only ease midlife symptoms but also build resilience for healthy aging.

What Comes First: Adrenals, Thyroid, or Hormone Therapy? The Order Matters More Than You Think

If you’ve ever started hormone replacement or thyroid medication and still felt exhausted, anxious, or unable to lose weight, there’s a reason. The sequence of hormone support matters—and it starts with the adrenals.

Your adrenals are the body’s first responders. They decide how much cortisol (your primary stress hormone) to release when you’re under pressure. Cortisol isn’t the enemy—it’s essential for blood sugar balance, inflammation control, and even thyroid hormone activation. But when it’s chronically high—or eventually depleted—your entire endocrine symphony falls out of tune.

Here’s how it works:

When cortisol is elevated, it slows thyroid conversion (T4 → T3) and blunts cellular sensitivity to both thyroid and sex hormones.
When cortisol is too low, your body prioritizes survival over reproduction or metabolism—meaning HRT and thyroid meds may not feel effective.
Only when cortisol is balanced can thyroid and sex hormones work the way they’re meant to.

That’s why the order of care typically looks like this:

Support adrenals → Optimize thyroid → Fine-tune HRT.

Think of it as building a house: the adrenals are your foundation, the thyroid is your wiring, and HRT is the décor that only works once the structure is stable.

If you skip the foundation, the rest can’t hold.

Key Takeaways

Adrenalpause is the hidden hormonal transition when adrenals compensate for ovarian hormone decline.
It often shows up as fatigue, weight changes, poor stress tolerance, and mood swings.
Supporting adrenal health with stress management, nutrition, gentle movement, and good sleep can dramatically improve symptoms.
Testing and individualized guidance ensures you’re targeting the right root causes.

Ready to Upgrade Your Energy?

If you’ve been nodding along, thinking, “This is me,” you don’t have to push through alone. Inside The Everyday Upgrade Coaching Bundle, you’ll learn how to build the resilience your body craves.

Take the first step today → Join the Everyday Upgrade Coaching Bundle.

References

Labrie F. Adrenal androgens and intracrinology. Semin Reprod Med. 2004.
Lovallo WR. Stress and health: biological and psychological interactions. Sage Publications. 2015.
Campbell J, Ehlert U. Acute psychosocial stress: does the emotional stress response correspond with physiological responses? Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2012.