[solome]

So what's the treatment, then? What can one do about it all?

hi bb. here's some of the subheadings ..and, under each is a lot of information:

Treatment for Low Metabolic Energy

Adrenal Repair Basics

Adrenal Support

A healthy whole foods diet 
B-complex vitamins: 
Vitamin C and antioxidants: 
Amino acids: 
Healthy fats: 
Unrefined sea salt: 
Restoring Thyroid Function

Estrogen Dominance Support (For Women)

Metabolic Therapy™ Healing

this one's interesting:

Adrenal Support

Providing the body with proper support in the form of good nutrition is critical to repair. The minimal nutritional requirements for healthier adrenals are:

A healthy whole foods diet that is organic, contains an adequate amount of protein and healthy fat (oil is liquid in room temperature while fat is solid in room temperature) and adequate fat-soluble vitamins, while omitting anything you are allergic to, such as wheat, dairy or other specific foods.

B-complex vitamins: A very complete B-complex with lots of vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid) may be necessary. Remember that fermented foods are rich in B vitamins.

Vitamin C and antioxidants: Vitamin C is critical to adrenal function. The buffered powder form of vitamin C is often most easily tolerated as part of a drink sipped throughout the day. It is important to take bioflavonoids with vitamin C as these help recycle and sustain the antioxidant activity.

Amino acids: Individuals with weak adrenals often cannot digest meat or proteins into amino acids very well. The adrenals thrive on amino acids. As with the vitamin C, amino acids are best taken as part of a drink sipped throughout the day.

Healthy fats: Animal fat is the best source of healthy fat but it must be organic. If dairy or meat, the animal should, if possible, be grassfed. Eggs are also healthy. Free-range hens are the best source. Cod liver oil provides vitamin A, essential for the production of adrenal and thyroid hormones.

Unrefined sea salt: This helps the adrenals by raising low blood pressure and ensuring the body retains water. Plain table salt (sodium chloride) does not contain the same minerals and some people feel poorly when using it.

here's another little bit:

The Estrogen Dominance-Adrenal Fatigue Connection

In summary, fixing adrenal function and estrogen dominance go hand-in-hand and it is therefore difficult to fix one while ignoring the other. ED can also be caused by excessive estrogenic stimulation. Typical sources of estrogenic effect are:

Excessive fatty tissue: Fat cells make estrogen and estrogen causes fatty tissue growth. This is a vicious cycle we’d like to avoid.

Exposure to chemicals that mimic estrogen such as many plastics (e.g. microwaving food in plastic dishes or using plastic wraps and containers) or from eating soy products or non-organic food. Feedlot livestock are typically given potent estrogenic substances (“super-estrogens”) to make them more productive. Our produce is often laced with these substances and soy foods are very high in estrogen-like compounds.

Correcting ED involves more than just correcting the estrogen-progesterone balance and supporting the adrenals. It is important to eliminate the causative factors as much as possible. Excessive exercise, insufficient sleep, toxic exposure, poor nutrition (high intake of carbohydrates, low intake of fat and protein, low intake of nutrients), and stress are some common causes.
Direct help to the adrenals indirectly helps improve the ED (estrogen-progesterone balance) by allowing more progesterone to be available to offset the estrogen. Direct help to the estrogen-progesterone balance indirectly supports the adrenals by making more progesterone available for cortisol production.

it's a long article, lot of this doctor's experience treating these conditions in his patients  ..but i'm glad i waded through it. it give you a strong message of this delicate endocrine balance and how stress and the way we conduct daily life can get them weakened and out of balance and then some doctor is fueling up your thyroid with meds when you might have weak adrenals due to other reasons and then it soon overwhelms the adrenals and then you just want to sit on a park bench eating ice cream and staring mindlessly at the ocean until some nice person calls the authorities.
http://www.westonaprice.org/modern-diseases/low-metabolic-energy-therapies/