Free guide · Scarlet Beast En español →
Adrenal insufficiency and Addison’s disease: the signs, adrenal crisis, and staying safe
For anyone who is always tired and weak and losing weight and wondering why; for anyone who has taken steroid pills such as prednisone for a long time; for anyone just told they have Addison’s disease or adrenal insufficiency; and for the people who love them. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK, part of the NIH) says adrenal insufficiency happens when the adrenal glands do not make enough of certain hormones, among them cortisol, which is essential for life; that adrenal crisis is an emergency; and that with treatment most people with it can have a normal, active life. This page passes on, by name, what NIDDK says: the signs, adrenal crisis and when to get help, the three kinds and their causes, the tests, the medicines and the extra doses when your body is under stress, and the emergency shot, the card, salt, calcium and vitamin D. It builds the words to say to a doctor, and prints a card to carry.
Right now
- Someone with adrenal insufficiency has sudden, severe pain in the lower back, belly or legs, vomiting and diarrhea, weakness, confusion, or has passed out? NIDDK says these are signs of adrenal crisis and need emergency medical treatment. Call 911 (ours). If a doctor gave them an emergency shot, use it the way you were shown, and still call 911 (ours).
- You have adrenal insufficiency and are vomiting and cannot keep your pills down, or have severe diarrhea or a severe infection? NIDDK says you need medical help right away, in an emergency room if needed.
- It is all too much, or you are thinking of ending your life? Call or text 988, any hour (ours).
More help
- Hormones, on this site: Underactive thyroid · Overactive thyroid · Diabetes · Heart, blood and hormones: find the right page.
- Conditions treated with steroid medicines, and causes NIDDK names: Asthma · Lupus · Tuberculosis · HIV.
- Bones and mood: Osteoporosis · Depression.
- Day to day: Emergency card · My medicines list · Symptom diary · Get ready for your appointment · Pregnant or a new baby.
- Care and costs: When you can’t afford your medicine · When you need a doctor and can’t pay · When a medical bill is too much.
- In a crisis: Help right now (988, 911). All our free tools.
Your heart, blood pressure, blood sugar, thyroid or blood, and not sure this is the right page? The pages on this site for a heart attack or stroke, blood pressure, AFib, heart failure, cholesterol, diabetes and prediabetes, the thyroid, anemia, sickle cell and menopause, on one list.
This page and its wording were written with AI (Claude) for Scarlet Beast (our AI policy). No doctor or nurse has reviewed it. The facts were read on October 17, 2026 on NIDDK’s Adrenal Insufficiency & Addison’s Disease pages (NIH): the overview, Definition & Facts, Symptoms & Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment and Eating, Diet, & Nutrition, and their Spanish versions; all were last reviewed in September 2018 and say the same things. Ours: 911 for the signs of adrenal crisis and for fainting, confusion or someone who cannot be woken; using an emergency shot the way you were shown and still calling 911; not stopping a steroid medicine on your own; calling your doctor the day you get sick and a written sick-day plan; telling every surgeon, dentist and anesthesia team; asking before adding salt or starting a supplement; 988 when it is too much; health centers when money is tight; and the order of the steps. What we left out: brand names, doses, research studies, and clinical pages for providers. This page saves nothing and loads no trackers.