Needing Medical Supplies and Treatment for Addison’s Disease

Addison’s disease is a rare disorder that affects men and women of all ages. Addison’s disease is also referred to as primary adrenal insufficiency. Adrenal insufficiency develops when your adrenal glands do not produce enough of the hormone cortisol. This can be due to a problem within the adrenals (called Addison’s disease or primary adrenal insufficiency) or due to a problem with the signal the brain sends to the adrenals instructing them to make cortisol (called secondary adrenal insufficiency).

An important distinction for patients is that people with primary adrenal insufficiency (Addison’s disease) usually don’t make enough of the hormone aldosterone; so in addition to taking cortisol replacement, they also need aldosterone replacement. People with secondary adrenal insufficiency are only low on cortisol. Cortisol and aldosterone are just two of the more than 50 hormones the adrenal glands generate. One adrenal gland sits directly above each kidney.