Too Much Norepinephrine? Symptoms & Factors that Lower It

Too much norepinephrine can cause unpleasant symptoms and lead to health complications over time. Read on to learn the possible causes and complications of this dysfunction and what factors restore the balance. You may have just landed here from one of our previous articles on the function and effects of norepinephrine. If so, then you know that norepinephrine is a catecholamine neurotransmitter involved in the fight or flight response. If not, you may want to brush up on the basics of norepinephrine before you read on. High Levels of Norepinephrine Very high norepinephrine usually results from an underlying health problem. Rare tumors may uncontrollably produce catecholamines, and norepinephrine can rise during the process of drug withdrawal . Chronic kidney disease , in which high blood pressure is very common, also presents with high norepinephrine [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]. The list of symptoms below is not necessarily exhaustive, nor do they necessarily indicate high norepinephrine specifically. If you suffer from these symptoms, seek medical attention immediately. High blood pressure is often the first sign of elevated norepinephrine. However, over time, extreme levels of this neurotransmitter can produce the following symptoms and complications: Post-traumatic stress disorder , or PTSD, is a mental disorder that develops when a person is exposed to extreme stress. People with PTSD appear to have a hyperactive norepinephrine system; their brains produce a fear response with relatively little prompting. Treatments for PTSD often focus on reducing norepinephrine [ 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ]. Chronic stress—or, stress that is maintained for a long period of time—can cause extensive damage to many parts of the body. Norepinephrine directs resources away from maintenance , regeneration , and reproduction and toward systems that are required for active movement; as a result, many organ […]

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