Patient education: Adrenal crisis – Discharge instructions (The Basics)

What are discharge instructions? — 

Discharge instructions are information about how to take care of yourself after getting medical care for a health problem.

What is adrenal crisis? — 

This is a serious problem that happens when the adrenal glands are not working right. Adrenal crisis is a life-threatening emergency.

Adrenal crisis usually happens in people who already have a condition that affects the adrenal glands. For example, it can happen in people who have:

●Adrenal insufficiency, including a condition called "Addison disease"

●Congenital adrenal hyperplasia, or "CAH"

Adrenal crisis is treated in the hospital.

How do I care for myself at home? — 

Ask the doctor or nurse what you should do when you go home. Make sure that you understand exactly what you need to do to care for yourself. Ask questions if there is anything you do not understand.

You should also do the following:

●Take all of your medicines as instructed. If your adrenal glands do not make enough hormones, you need to take daily hormone medicines to replace what is missing. If you are sick or having surgery, you will need to adjust your medicine doses.

●Drink plenty of fluids.

●If your doctor prescribed emergency medicine to treat adrenal crisis, keep it with you at all times. This medicine comes as a shot. Make sure that you know when and how to use it.

●Know the symptoms of adrenal crisis. This way, you can get help right away if it happens again.

●If you have a condition that can cause adrenal crisis, it's a good idea to wear a medical alert bracelet and carry an emergency medical card. This way, other people will know about your condition in case of an emergency.

What follow-up care do I need? — 

Your doctor or nurse will probably want to see you 1 to 2 weeks after going home. They will talk to you about how to take care of yourself and lower the risk of having adrenal crisis again. They might also do tests if it's not clear what caused your adrenal crisis.

It's important to see your doctor regularly. They can make sure that your treatment is working.

When should I call the doctor? — 

If you think that you are having adrenal crisis, use your emergency medicine if you have it. Then, call for emergency help right away (in the US and Canada, call 9-1-1).

Adrenal crisis can happen if your body is under stress, like if you get sick or are injured. Your doctor will talk to you about when to use your emergency medicine. They might recommend using it if you:

●Get very sick with a high fever

●Have a major injury, for example, if you break a bone or lose a lot of blood

●Pass out, or feel very dizzy or confused

●Can't keep your daily medicine down due to vomiting

Call your doctor or nurse for advice if you:

●Have questions about how or when to take your medicine

●Feel lightheaded when you stand up

●Have changes in appetite

●Have any illness that causes fever

●Feel very tired

●Have nausea

●Lose or gain weight

●Have muscle or joint pain

●Have cravings for salt

More on this topic

Patient education: Adrenal crisis (The Basics)
Patient education: Addison disease (The Basics)
Patient education: Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (The Basics)
Patient education: Cortisol test (The Basics)

Patient education: Adrenal insufficiency (Beyond the Basics)