Kidney Yin Deficiency is adrenal fatigue?

The reason that "adrenal fatigue" or "adrenal insufficiency" is not acknowledged by western medicine is largely because it is not a meaningful diagnosis. It is in some ways a name for any number of symptoms indicating a trend towards something that may be far more serious and most of the blood work is not sensitive enough to show anything wrong until it is -really- wrong. And not to entirely knock the concept, but it is largely continued because it&#39s a great marketing term for alternative health people because (a) it has some validity and (b) the symptoms are so broad that nearly anyone could say they have it. From a Chinese Medicine perspective this is why we avoid terms like this. Instead we largely rely on true TCM patterns which do a better job, in my opinion, of accounting for the range of symptoms people present with.

In your case you may very well have Kidney Yin deficiency - but you can have kidney yin deficiency and simply have nightsweats and some insomnia but I would never call any of that adrenal fatigue - or you can have kidney yin deficiency with libido problems, low energy, poor sleep, restlessness, etc. - this is closer.

Many practitioners, if they were to draw an similarity between the term and a tcm diagnosis, would probably lean more towards kidney yang deficiency - which has more elements of fatigue, aches, swelling, coldness, etc.

Again, however, the term adrenal fatigue itself is largely irrelevant in the face of tcm diagnoses because it can be used to describe so many symptoms. If you have been diagnosed with Kidney Yin Deficiency then any number of herbal formulas can be helpful. The most standard is Liu Wei Di Huang Wan which also has a number of modified versions (the same base, but other herbs to handle specific symptoms corresponding with the overall yin deficient pattern) - such as Ming Mu Di Huang Wan which aids vision issues. With more heat signs, Zhi Bai Di Huang Wan is a modified version which handles heat better. Da Bu Yin Wan, the "great yin builder" is also another standard - generally when more heat signs are better.

If, however, you are on the other side of the equation, that is, kidney yang deficiency (more cold than heat, more fatigue than restlessness/wired, etc.), Jin Gui Shen Qi Wan (warm, but protects the yin) and You Gui Wan strongly warms.

I agree with the marketing theory. There are a number of doctors online who sell their own adrenal fatigue products but when you look at the ingredients, you can buy most of them off the shelf at your local grocery or health store!