Should I look at DHEA or DHEA-S levels?

[vkg1]

My blood tests consistently show DHEA a bit above normal range and DHEA-S toward the bottom of normal range. So looking at one implies one strategy of treatment, and looking at the other basically implies the opposite.

Can anyone tell me which of them to look at when assessing the behavior of my adrenals? Any insight into why the two would have opposing results would be appreciated as well. I have had the majority of symptoms of both hypothyroidism and "adrenal fatigue" for several years now but have only recently learned about the possible diagnoses.

Here's an example of my two scores in latest test:

DHEA-sulfate 6.32 | |*| | 5.10-9.00 umol/l

DHEA unconjugated 27.39 | | |+ | 5.60-23.00 nmol/l

[Howard39]

Hi

If you google urmc.rochester.edu it gives you the basics. It's the dhea s that determines if you need medication.

Usually these tests for adrenals are done via Geneva and are saliva tests. You test cortisol 4/5 times a day and have a mean dhea.

If you search drmthill.co.uk under adrenals you will see the combinations. These and the tests are v easy to understand.

I could comment more if I knew your cortisol results. As it stands you are low( within guidelines). Have they mentioned any meds like pregnenelone?

If I find the better link between the two I will send it to you.

[vkg1 in reply to Howard39]

Thank you very much for your reply. I guess I should ignore that my DHEA is out of range then? I wonder why the tests measure it then if no one pays any attention to it. I have thought about taking pregnenolone and DHEA but thought since I am already "too high" in DHEA then perhaps I shouldn't take more, though that leaves me with low DHEA-S. I wonder if the fact one is low and the other "too high" implies there might be an issue with my liver or something in the conversion between the two.

[humanbean]

You might find these links of interest :

coreonehealth.com/the-3-sta...

hormonerestoration.com/Cort...

functionalmedicine.net/pdf/...

[jacrjacr]

there is also something called 7-keto that doesn't raise hormones you can google about

[Howard39]

Hi

Your doctor should explain the differences as they appear unusual.

The function medicine link is v good and that's what the saliva tests come back looking like.