Not a question just need to off load and what better place than here
Went to GP today to request a cortisol test to be honest I knew it would be like trying to get blood out of a stone but tried anyway ...
GP .... Do you have 2 humps either side of your shoulders like fat deposits...
Me .... erm nope but I have plenty of other symptoms related to high levels of cortisol
Gp ..
Well I doubt its necessary as the main symptoms are humps on your back ...
Medichecks it is then 😂
Obviously I know fat deposits can lodge between your shoulders but seriously ??? Is that the only symptom that warrants a cortisol test? This is the problem with isolated village bumpkin they live in a time warp ... rant over thankyou for reading 😁
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Jodiedebs55
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If you want to do a private 24 hour adrenal saliva test, then do one that tests both cortisol plus DHEA, you need both as if there is a problem it tells you what stage adrenal fatigue is at.
Medichecks only tests cortisol alone.
Regenerus and Genova Diagnostics both include cortisol plus DHEA.
And just to add to SeasideSusie 's comment above. If you do a saliva Cortisol and DHEA test, carry out the test on a normal day or a stressful day. Don't do it on a day when you are really relaxed - that won't tell you if your cortisol rockets when you are under stress.
Thankyou seasidesusie. My symptoms are rapid weight gain, 3st in a year and a half , headaches, craving carbs and sugar , frequently need to wee , fatty deposit on face and neck plus iv suffered chronic stress in my life which can send stress gland into overdrive . I'm expecting the levels to be high it would explain how just over a year ago I was 8st size 8 and now im 11 st and size 14 / 16
High and low cortisol symptoms can overlap except that low cortisol is generally associated with low blood pressure and high cortisol with high blood pressure.
And low cortisol can also be Addisons disease and I definitely don't have that . My blood pressure has been high for weeks now so GP has been monitoring it on a 3 weekly basis and today it was 152 over 80. High blood pressure is defo a sign of high cortisol levels
I'm not trying to suggest you have Addisons merely pointing out low bp is associated with low cortisol, etc.
I have had very low cortisol on all 4 samples with low bp and I also did not have Addisons. I have also had the opposite with high bp and I did not have Cushings.
Absolutely. But I can't say you don't have Cushings only that high cortisol levels does not necessarily mean Cushings. My daytime levels were way over range - very high. I think night time levels have to be high too = mine weren't. I recognise all your symptoms including constipation, headaches, sweating profusely, anxiety and terrible fatigue and I didn't have humps!
To rule out Cushings you really need at least a 9 a.m. blood test for cortisol but a cortisol saliva test will show your levels at 4 different points through the course of a day which is far more helpful.
My GP would not even look at my cortisol saliva test. I had to see a private doctor who was happy to look at them and advised me of cortisol lowering supplements which I took and had frequent cortisol saliva tests to see how I was doing.
At the time I was under a great deal of stress and that had to be tackled first and foremost. There is no point to taking supplements if the cause of the high levels aren't dealt with. For me, that meant removing all stresses completely from my life and I found that very difficult at first. Also taking up mindfulness, meditation, yoga anything that calms the mind but being vigilant everyday until it becomes as regular as eating - so, so important. It is time just for you - a quiet space - begin with 10 minutes a day and build up gradually.
I've also had bad experiences with the Blue Horizon test, which doesn't include DHEA
The ranges and reading sensitivity for the afternoon and evening readings don't match up. My final sample came back as <1.5 (0-2), so it's impossible to show evidence of low cortisol!
There is something called a Buffalo Hump - which is at the base of the neck or top of the spine - which can indicate an adrenal issue ... cannot be the only symptom surely ?
Yes I read that but lucky for me i dont have a single stretch mark even after giving birth to 6 children , saying that I can't see my behind these days so there may be some lurking around lol
😂😂😁 i hoped you would comment I needed a giggle . Considering this being the same GP that told me T3 is unaccessary and admitted he had never heard of selenium when I asked him if I should supplement with it 😂😂
OMG!! Seriously - what the heck do these doctors learn in medical school??
This is why confidence in the medical profession is more and more eroded, as you can probably diagnose yourself these days better by using 'Dr Google'!
Perhaps they should start at the very beginning when people enter medical school, I suggest the very first lessen should be:
I enjoyed your rant and fully understand the reasons that provoked it. Humps on your back FFS! Stuff a tennis ball and a beach ball down the back of your jumper and go back next week and see what he says then. T3 unnecessary? Doesn’t know what selenium is? Was he sitting in the right chair? Maybe you should have swapped! Perhaps he is one of those imposters - like the fake doctor who swanned around a hospital in a white coat for months and even got into the operating theatre!
😂😂 i did wonder 🤔 he actually asked why I source my own thyroid meds , that alone made me laugh , considering they took me off levo for 4 months then wondered why I suffered a stroke , and the hospital said it was due to the sudden loss of 150mg levo . I now buy my own and self medicate with armour and that caused him to announce T3 is unecessary and " old fashioned " I kid you not ... he is a country bumpkin . Plain and simple but no other surgery around and the next one is 35 miles away i live in a remote coastal village and I think its in its own time warp bubble .😁
T3 is old-fashioned? OMG, I’d have split my sides! Doesn’t he realise that he uses T3 every day too? He may be able to make his own, but he still uses it. Oh dear, my doctor’s beginning to look quite good in comparison!
This is the 60 year old doctor i sometimes see a different doc but he's not much better i usually tell him what tests i need and tell him what the results mean as he doesn't have a clue. The only advice he ever gave me was .... don't eat cheese iv heard thats the only food that "annoys" the thyroid 😂😂 i was a virgin hypothyroid then so i thought that was the only thing I needed to be aware of and he gave me my levo and said there you go that will cure you but you may need to take it for a while before you feel better and here's a prescription for Prozac this will help with the depression ... And no ... I didn't take it .. I knew enough to know i didn't need that lol
Interesting ,that the hospital said that the stroke was connected with losing 150mcg Levo. My GP reduced my Levo from 150 to 100 and eight weeks later I started having a series of TIAs (mini strokes). I saw a new endo recently and he asked me for my life story. He got it alright! The first and almost only comment he made was, I don’t think the mini strokes had anything whatsoever to do with the change of dose.
Wow I knew I couldn't be alone in this .. the consultant at A&E basically told me he was absolutely convinced my TIA then stroke was a direct result of sudden withdrawal of T4... That's easy for an endo to say when you consider half of them don't even know their a@@ from their elbow and instead of T3 they offer Prozac.. cos Prozac solves everything eh 😁😂
I would feel loads better if a doctor actually admitted he didn't know the answer to my question but told me to rebook in two weeks and then did his research and got it right! But being fobbed off or ignored doesn't help anyone!
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Oh dear !!
Oh dear 😤
