Blue Horizons Salivary Cortisol Results

[OwenO]

Hi, I'm new here and was hoping someone could help me make sense of salivary cortisol test results. I got the kit from Blue Horizon, after reading about them here.

The doctor that interpreted the results wrote that my waking salivary cortisol level is high, and suggested that I might take the test again (to check if it's consistent), and also take a blood serum test.

So, here are the results from my *first* saliva tests (units are nmol/L):

08:00: 24.5 (normal range 6.0 - 21.0) HIGH

12:00: 7.10 (normal range 1.5 - 7.6)

16:00: <1.5 (normal range 0 - 5.5)

22:00: <1.5 (normal range 0 - 2.0)

And here are the results from my *second* test:

08:00: 25.5 (normal range 6.0 - 21.0) HIGH

12:00: <1.5 (normal range 1.5 - 7.6)

LOW

16:00: <1.5 (normal range 0 - 5.5)

22:00: <1.5 (normal range 0 - 2.0)

My serum coritsol level was 374 (normal range 166 - 507)

Anyone had similar results, or can tell me what on earth these could indicate? (BTW, I'm not taking any supplements)

Thanks!

[Hidden]

What time was the serum cortisol done? Levels vary throughout the day but is usually the highest first thing in the morning.

[SilverAvocado]

I had a somewhat similar result, with an over range morning reading, and the rest low. My serum cortisol was also over range.

Unfortunately I can't give you much of a success story. I've treated it on and off since the years I had that result. At the time I was seeing a private doctor from the ThyroidUK list. Who gave me a big cocktail of treatments.

I hope you get some good advice, as I am now thinking this is the next thing I need to seriously look at. I find there is not much information on the forum about cortisol, even though it's always recommended.

[SilverAvocado in reply to SilverAvocado]

Here are a couple of pages I've got bookmarked to study:

rt3-adrenals.org/before_you...

drmyhill.co.uk/wiki/Categor...

recoveringwitht3.com/techni...

Unfortunately nearly everyone talks about low cortisol, and with these results you're in the confusing position of having both low and high at the same time. I was initially treated with mine as low, and at the moment mine is high at every measurement. I was kind of thinking that high is good-ish - it indicates that your adrenals are under stress (I'm very hypo, so that's a given), but that they are making the cortisol.

Whereas low indicates that they aren't capable of making anymore. I was told the high morning readibg indicates that they are making a last ditch attempt to get us going at the start of the day, and then giving up. It also may be that healing the low also heals the high, because it gives them a chance to relax.

I'm just throwing ideas at you because I'm pretty confused about where to go. I'm struggling to even find the right things to read