Adrenal test results: Finally got an Adrenal test... - Thyroid UK

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Adrenal test results

suez profile image
suez
10 Replies

Finally got an Adrenal test done with Genova and received the results.

Cortisol

1. 7.1 (12-22)

2. 3.2.(5-9)

3. 1.9 (3-7)

4. 1.4 (1-3) - Explains why I want to stay up late, the only time I'm normal!

Daily Cortisol 13.6 (21-41)

DHEA

a.m. 0.17

pm 0.14

mean 0.16 (0.2-0.7)

ratio 1.14 norma (0.6-3.0)

Adrenal Exhaustion stage.

I thought I'd have fatigue, but these explain why the Thyroxine hasn't helped.

Will post these to Dr P and make an appointment asap

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suez profile image
suez
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10 Replies

Hi, i'm sorry i can't help you. I posted similar results to yours 2 days ago. I just wanted to say i can't sleep usually before 3 am and i know how exhausting this can be. Do you get so hungry you get woken up by symptoms of hypoglycemia sp? I have no hope of any sleep until i munch some wholemeal toast or oatibix. Doesn't help my weight eating at 2am! Also do you have anxiety so bad you sometimes shake? I've also noticed my nausea is getting so bad i'm close to vomitting in the evening. Do you get this?

I haven't absorbed levo much, the same goes for ndt.

I will be reading the advice given with interest.

Hugs. X

suez profile image
suez in reply to

Hi

I'm permanently hungry - and overweight. Need to eat late at night too. I do find that any sugar in my diet makes everything much worse. I've managed to control the anxiety except get sort of palpitations. No nausea but IBS for years. Just waiting for results of food intolerance test - its all so expensive but not expecting much help from NHS!!

Best wishes

xx

in reply to suez

Hi again! I have months of diarrhea at a time since 1999, never found out why despite the usual investigations.

Re hunger i'm ok during the day but after my dinner within 20 mins i'm starving. I crave sugar but if i indulge in some chocolate i feel so much worse, i can get really shaky. I don't tollerate caffeine either my anxiety is much worse, then i get a lot of sweating.

It's really helpful to read your symptoms. It's really unpleasant and very worrying.

Have you tried T3 yet?

I've just delivered my results to my surgery, more to wind them up if anything. Expecting zero help.

Hugs, Helen. Xx

suez profile image
suez in reply to

I really feel like I'm grinding to a halt. The food intolerance results came back and there isn't a lot there to suggest the IBS is connected to it. It all seems to point to the adrenals, so will make an appointment to see dr P. I'm fed up trying to work it all out myself!

I'd be interested to see what your surgery has to say about your results.

Best wishes

xx

in reply to suez

Have you tried T3? I'm hoping to go on it when i see dr S next week. I'm taking out sugar and trying to rest more. As for stress with any chronic disease there's stress so it's hard to escape. I hope you're lucky and have a supportive partner.

I'll let you know the outcome of my appt with the GP on the 29th May. Xx

Pinklily profile image
Pinklily

As well as seeing Dr P who will address adrenals, I also bought Dr Wilsons Adrenal Fatigue book which is full of really useful information to help heal adrenals. I recommend it to anyone who is suffering with adrenal exhaustion as have found it of great benefit.

in reply to Pinklily

That's so helpful, i'll definitely get Dr Wilson's book. Have you had your adrenals tested again and found an improvement? My total cortisol is only 13, do you think this is beyond self help measures? Sorry to put you on the spot :-)

Pinklily profile image
Pinklily in reply to

No I haven’t had my adrenals tested again, well not recently. I had them tested last August and I was at Cyclic Stage then by the time I got to see Dr P in December ‘12 they had got much worse. He did look at my August results which he said weren’t great but then went on to do a full clinical examination and basically said they were completely shot down and much worse than my August results. My balance was terrible and my blood pressure though high, crashed on standing and my pupil response test wasn’t great either. I knew that would be the case as I have been diagnosed with ME by the NHS and left to deteriorate for a couple of years until meeting Dr P.

He did wonder if I would have enough cortisol but sorry I don’t have any figures for that time so can’t really comment in relation to your current cortisol level though self help measures will be of benefit to helping your adrenals heal even if you end up taking glandulars or hydrocortisone. He said to take up to 6 NAX a day and possibly top up with NA (hydrocortisone as a back up plan) and to start straight on 25 mcg T3 and after 10 days up to 50mcg. Well things didn’t quite work out that way!

I saw Dr P again in March and although I had ASI results from February with me which showed exhaustion stage, after his clinical examination he said they were a little better than they where in December. I also felt a little better. I was sleeping a bit better and I am no longer feeling hypoglycaemic, especially in the middle of the night, though do eat healthy well balanced snacks inbetween meals. We also realised I was going to have to take very tiny baby steps and now 5 months on from my original appointment, I am now managing to take 4 nutri adrenals and a full 25mcg tablet split throughout the day. This is huge progress for me :-)

?

I notice you say you haven’t had much luck with either Levo or NDT and I’m wondering if like me you have receptor resistance and with the right vitamins and adrenal support, you will eventually bring things online again. However I’m sure Dr S will point you in the right direction and Dr Wilson’s book will ensure you are doing everything within your control to look after your adrenals. Dr P told me to crush just a quarter of a T3 tablet and put it in a glass of water and sip slowly throughout the day and see how I go. I am going to write a little blog about my journey so far as I have seen some progress and hope it will offer some encouragement to others (I have been housebound for a few years and a lot of that time bedbound). As you know, to help the adrenals heal we have to avoid or reduce stress which is hard given the illness we are dealing with.

Personally I have found introducing things very slowly and not putting additional pressure and stress on the body (I did last year when I saw a naturopath and my sleep and hypoglycaemia got really bad), going gluten and dairy free, increasing protein and healthy fat intake, using at least a teaspoon a day of Himalayan sea salt, avoiding any type of stimulants, lying down in the day in a darkened room to rest in silence, going to bed before 10pm, not watching tv or using a computer too late in the day…. amongst other things of great help. You will find lots of information on Dr Wilson’s website while you are waiting for his book. Oh and Dr Michael Lam also has some good information on his website. You may also find Dr Rinds metabolic temperature graph of use as that way you can see what’s happening day to day

drrind.com/therapies/metabo...

Gosh I seem to have typed quite a lot! I hope some of this helps you and I wish you continued luck on your journey to better health

Pink lily x

in reply to Pinklily

I'm sorry it's taken so long to reply. Do you think it's worth seeing Dr P then? I see Dr S but he was quite dismissive about the low cortisol. I do intend to add in some tiny doses of T3 throughout the day, when they arrive!

I have increased my protein and fat intake, and I'm trying to get more sleep, which isn't easy for me. My BP is a bit high, and I worry about the possibility of it getting higher. I had some steroids by mouth a few years back and my bp shot up so much I was ordered to bed rest. I couldn't sleep at all either. I've had nearly 8 years of steroid injections into various joints. i don't think that has helped my adrenals one bit :-(

We moved house 6 months ago, not everything is unpacked, my thermometer is missing. I'll get a new one and start taking my temps.

Thank you so much for your help! X

Pinklily profile image
Pinklily in reply to

Gosh somehow I missed your reply. Too many unopened emails or maybe a big cloud of brain fog which took a while to pass by! Not sure it has! lol! For me it was worth seeing Dr P even though it hasn't been plain sailing with his protocol as I was diagnosed by the NHS as having ME and basically left. Dr P is lovely but the downside for me is the length of time it can sometimes take for a response from him with him being naturally in such high demand but his secretary is very helpful. I too have high blood pressure which fluctuates so I understand your concerns. Dr P told me that is the least of my worries and believes once correctly medicated it will quietly settle. I hope he's right! I did have an appt with Dr Skinner but couldn't make it so ended up with Dr P. Your adrenals sound like they have been through it but I do Hope you are showing some signs of travelling in the right direction to better health x

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