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Addison's Disease
When the body needs a dependable cortisol back-up
Clinical review September 2026
The missing stress response
Addison’s disease is a form of primary adrenal insufficiency: the adrenal glands do not make enough cortisol and, in many people, aldosterone. Cortisol is not a “stress hormone” in the everyday sense of being caused by a busy week. It helps maintain blood pressure, glucose and the body’s response to illness. Aldosterone helps the kidneys hold on to salt and water.
Symptoms often arrive gradually: fatigue, weight loss, dizziness on standing, nausea, abdominal discomfort, salt craving or darker skin can occur. They are common symptoms with many possible causes, which is why the diagnosis asks for a pattern, not a single dramatic clue.
Addison's disease treatment is a plan, not a cure in a bottle
Treatment replaces the hormones the body cannot make, usually with glucocorticoid medication and, when needed, fludrocortisone. Doses and timing are individual. During fever, significant injury, vomiting, diarrhoea or an operation, the body normally asks for more cortisol; people with adrenal insufficiency need a written sick-day plan so replacement can be adjusted safely.
A steroid emergency card and an emergency hydrocortisone injection kit are practical safety tools, not signs that life has become an emergency drill. Your endocrine team should teach you and people close to you when and how to use the plan. Do not change regular steroid treatment without medical advice.
Know the urgent pattern
An adrenal crisis can cause severe weakness, vomiting, abdominal pain, low blood pressure, confusion or collapse and needs urgent treatment. If vomiting prevents tablets being kept down, use the emergency plan and seek urgent medical help. With preparation, people can travel, exercise and live fully; the important thing is to respect illness days rather than trying to out-stubborn a missing hormone.
Important safety note
This page is general education, not personal medical advice. Seek urgent help for collapse, confusion, severe vomiting or diarrhoea with adrenal insufficiency, severe chest pain, severe breathlessness, new weakness or neurological symptoms, or acute severe illness. Follow individual instructions from your endocrine team for medicines and investigations.
Further reading
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