Cortisol

[palberts01]

Had labs done and my AM cortisol level was low PM level was normal range what dies this mean with complete thyroidectomy

AM. 5.9. (6.2-19.4)

PM. 6.2. (2.3 - 11.9)

[Heloise]

Hi Albert, did you test in between am and pm? Is this a saliva test or blood test? Saliva checks out your active cortisol which is better to know. Your adrenal gland produces cortisol and starts revving up around 4 am I think, so your highest level should be in the morning. It slowly goes down and prepares you for sleep at night and will be at the lowest level.

The adrenal gland works closely with the thyroid gland but since you have none, it will have to work with the hormone supplement you take. If you are too low with that, your adrenals attempt to keep your metabolism going using cortisol and adrenaline. It's not good for the adrenals to do both jobs. As you can see, they are struggling to produce cortisol.

Are your thyroid hormones high enough? TSH, FT4, FT3 should be tested.

[palberts01 in reply to Heloise]

Blood test here are my recent labs

TRILODOTHYRONINE,(T3) FREE SERUM 3.3 (2.0-4.4)

TSH 0.196 (0.450-4.500)

T4 FREE DIRECT 1.69 (0.82-1.77)

THYROID PERIDOXIDASE TPO 12 (0-34)

FERRIIN SERUM 139 (15-150)

VITAMIN D 26.4 (30.0-100)

VITAMIN B12 364 (211-946)

CREATININE, SERUM 1.03 (0.57-1.00)

[Olissima in reply to palberts01]

Beside low Vit D, your B12 is low too - should be>500, do u take vit b/b12 supplements?

You should take B12 as methylcobalamin. Don't see your iron / TIBC results (ferritin only is not enough to tell the iron levels). Also folate, Mg, Zn and selenium would be helpful.

[palberts01 in reply to Olissima]

Take B12 with folic acid and B6 1000mg daily eith 5000mg But D3

[Olissima in reply to palberts01]

Folate is preferred over folic acid (they are not the same). Are you taking B12 as methylcobalamin or cyancobalamin - better to take methylcobalamin lozenges. Take vit D3 with K2

[palberts01 in reply to Heloise]

I'm worried about pituitary tumor had thyroid cancer that's why thyroid removed

[Heloise in reply to palberts01]

Your vitamin D is very low and if you are worried about cancer, you should try supplementing D3/K2. Your ferritin looks high but often that is due to inflammation and not iron storage. But you need iron to convert your T4. I'm guessing you are levothyroxine (T4) since that is fairly high but your FT3 is pretty low. This suggests you aren't converting T4 very well. This explains many of the tests. stopthethyroidmadness.com/l...

[palberts01 in reply to Heloise]

I was taking 50000 units D2 prescription forv5 weeks that MD put me on..level,increasedmaybe 8 points. She has me on sublingual D3 5000 a day, 1000 my B12 with folic acid and B6. On generic T4 levothyroxine 125 mcg. I've tried iron but makes my tummy very upset.

[Heloise in reply to palberts01]

There were free interviews online called The Thyroid Secret and I recall one by Dr. Kharrazian who is doing research at Harvard. If people cannot absorb iron from their food, they have the same problem with the iron supplement and this is why you have the upset. It seems almost all problems begin in the gut with some sort of inflammation and the lining of the stomach becomes inflamed and can't breakdown nutrients. You might start by using digestive enzymes and HCL which is necessary for minerals and amino acids. This is why the functional doctor can be helpful unlike conventional doctors who only seem to know how to dispense drugs.

[Olissima in reply to palberts01]

What form of iron you take? Fe sulfate is poorly absorbed and only can give u constipation and upset stomach. Try helated iron, take it with vit C for better absorption. Vit C will also help rebuild your adrenals.

[palberts01 in reply to Olissima]

I don't take iron at the present

[Olissima in reply to palberts01]

What makes you think / worry about pituitary tumor? Do you have any symptoms?

[palberts01 in reply to Olissima]

Weight gain fluid retention headache unable to get up in the mornings low cortisol level and my thyroid was removed due to cancer so I just automatically assume I probably shouldn't

[satu55555]

To me it sounds like adrenal fatigue, which is what I've gone through. I had a low cortisol in the morning and afternoon. Afternoon cortisol is meant to be about half of the morning one. You need a functional doctor and a functional nutritionist to work with. Often digestive issues are an important part of this and a longterm stress. With a good functional doctor you can work through the issues that lie behind the problem. As we are unable to fix the cortisol directly we need to work everything else in the body to fix them. Lots of stress and gut issues can cause this. I had a crash because of this 1.5 years ago and I have had a wonderful functional doctor and nutritionist. My cortisol was back to normal already almost half a year ago and I'm now starting to be able to slowly have a normal life.

[gillykins2 in reply to satu55555]

Please could you PM me with the details of you functional doctor. Thanks

[satu55555 in reply to gillykins2]

My functional doctor is in Finland. She's a medical doctor who's moved into functional medicine after serving as a conventional doctor for a couple of decades. She covers the whole of Finland.

[gillykins2 in reply to satu55555]

How wonderful to have such a doctor available, thank you for replying.

[Olissima in reply to satu55555]

Can u pls PM your functional doctor and nutritionist info. Thx

[satu55555 in reply to Olissima]

My functional doctor is in Finland. She's a medical doctor who's moved into functional medicine after serving as a conventional doctor for a couple of decades. She covers the whole of Finland.

[Olissima in reply to satu55555]

Thx

[palberts01]

I recently fired endocrinologist because she lacked the ability to return,my,phone calls when medication dose was off , now just go to general MD and she referred me to endocrinologist for the low cortisol,level

[dawnuk]

On the cortisol. Are these things we can take to lower/higher? As my cortisol is very high

[hels333 in reply to dawnuk]

I joined an adrenal forum when I was nearly flat lined in cortisol and dhea. There, I learned how to self medicate with dhea and hydrocortisone cream, though initially I had the input of a private dr who advised me on my initial dose.

My last adrenal saliva test showed I had very low dhea and high off-the-scale cortisol after some serious life stressors, so now I'm taking dhea to lower my cortisol, plus practising mindfulness daily, and other relaxation techniques.

I have also learned to say *no* much more efficiently! And I cut back on the strong caffeinated coffee I lived on.

This has all helped me feel better and, I suspect, lower my cortisol levels as I am less jumpy/stressed, and feel 'smoother'. I am due another adrenal saliva test [privately through Blue Horizon I think it is] soon.

[Heloise in reply to dawnuk]

It's better to support your adrenals or your thyroid levels if they are too low. Read about cortisol here: stopthethyroidmadness.com/l...