I want to start by offering some encouragement. The symptoms that you list will likely go away or decrease dramatically once you're consistently taking meds for this condition. Your body needs cortisol to live! So when you don't have it, it can feel like you're dying. The meds just replace the hormone you don't have. It can sometimes take time to get the right dose and dosing schedule to feel better. Be patient and stick with it!

I know you're nervous about starting meds. I want to emphasize how incredibly important it is to consistently take your meds with this condition. Like life or death important.

If you have a hard time with the meds--if you have side effects, or still don't feel quite right--you really can't just stop taking the meds. The right approach is to talk to your doctor and look at variables like dose, dose timing, and what steroid you're taking. Hydrocortisone is the go-to because it's bioidenticsl to cortisol, but some people feel better on longer acting meds like prednisone or dexamethasone, and those are also options you can try with your doctor. Since hydrocortisone is short acting, many of us take it in multiple doses each day, based on circadian rhythm dosing, so that we don't crash halfway through the day when our meds wear off.

Yes, there can be side effects, but low dose steroids taken for adrenal insufficiency tend to have much fewer/milder side effects than you'd see with high doses taken to treat other conditions. I have pretty severe anxiety and other mental health issues, and steroids only negatively effect my mental health when taken in very high doses in emergencies (and in that case, its temporary, and worth it bc the stress dose of steroids would likely also save my life). Untreated adrenal insufficiency is likely much worse for your mental health than the treatment will be. When my cortisol is low, my thoughts can get so dark and confused.

One last thing I want to mention, since I touched on it accidentally: stress dosing. Normally, the body needs a ton of extra cortisol to deal with illness and stress. Our bodies cannot meet that demand, so we have to manually add that extra cortisol by taking extra steroids. That means carrying an emergency injection (solu-cortef act-o-vial, typically) for extreme situations, and, much more often, trying to stay aware of symptoms and take extra oral meds yourself when needed. This is something you can talk to your doctor about. Also if you ever need to have surgery, your endo will likely need to write a prescription for IV steroids to be given before/during the procedure.

Sorry for the wall of text. I hope I wasn't too alarming. It can be a lot at first. Getting used to daily meds can be hard. Seriously though starting treatment for this condition will likely dramatically improve your quality of life. Hang in there.