My first endocrinologist visit

[sferios]

Hi everyone,

On the 27th I have my first appointment with an endo. He ordered blood tests for me before he even spoke to me or knew what dose of pred I was taking. (I'm taking 7 mg a day now. Was doing 6.5 for a week but decided better to go back to 7 and stay for a while as I was feeling so bad with AI symptoms).

In any case, I would like to know what I should ask him, and what I should say to him, and also know why he ordered the following tests...

Comprehensive metabolic panel

Aldosterone

Renin

Cortisol (baseline)

ACTH (baseline)

DHEA

Will these tests even reveal anything if I'm on 7 mg pred? Was he correct in ordering them?

Any advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated, as I'm a bit worried he doesn't know what he's doing.

Thank you.

[piglette]

I would have thought the cortisol test was a bit of a waste of time.

[SnazzyD]

well, be prepared for the cortisol test to be a bit on lacklustre. 7mg is quite enough to suppress the adrenal glands, as to how much in you, remains to be seen. If it is low, don’t be too discouraged as it just means you need to reduce further so the brain gets more low dose feedback.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

The cortisol test will probably be low - but he is getting a baseline so he can follow what transpires over time. If you don't know where you started you can't see what has changed.

I think you need to trust that he knows something about endocrinology - after all, it is what he has trained to do. Pred doesn't stop everything being meaningful and negative results can be as meaningful as positive ones. Almost everything has a standard battery of tests that you start with and then you work from there.

And to be very honest and blunt - start by listening to him and accepting he is the one who is doing the detective work in an area you know nothing about - even if you have done a lot of reading. Don't condemn him as not knowing what he is doing before even meeting the guy,

[montebello in reply to PMRpro]

Great advice, PMRpro!