Hi could any of you knowledgeable people help with interpreting a cortisol test from medichecks please. I have recently been diagnosed with "mild" central hypo and I am still awaiting results of pituitary scan - been told I have to wait until May for the results unless it shows something serious!
Anyway, I decided to do a cortisol test myself and medichecks blood test came back today saying it was out of range at 564 nmol L reference range is 113 -456
How far out of range is this - should I be worried by this result or is it only slightly out of range... medichecks doesn't really give much guidance - just see your doctor
I did the test at 8am
very grateful for any guidance, thanks in advance
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Lambyla1
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Is this a 9am result. Normally people with Addison’s have very low cortisol results at 9 am. Below 150 and you should have a synacthen test.
High cortisol can be a sign of Cushings Disease. Or it maybe that you were overly stressed at the time if the test. I’d get it done again and see if it’s too high again.
I have low cortisol but I don’t have Addison’s I’ve been told. As my synacthen test was normal. Still trying to find out why it’s so low.
Your cortisol result is not very high, it all depends on the assay used by the lab & although this one reports it high, Prof Hindmarsh (GOSH Endo- a expert of cortisol) would say that it is within normal range for 8am when it is the highest of the day. Do you have any other signs & symptoms? Such as high BP, insomnia, rapid weight gain especially around the tummy but arms & legs remain thin, acne, easy bruising, thin skin. excess facial hair, stretch marks? If you do then it could point to Cushing's disease or syndrome. Did you have an MRI of your pituitary & was it done with contrast? If there is a pituitary benign adenoma producing excess hormones then it could be so small it can't be seen.
You need to test dhea and cortisol by a saliva test say through Regenerus or Genova. ( the second needs signing by a doctor or you can go through thyroid uk).
It’s v important to know the results of both.
If you read Drmyhill.co.uk and in the search engine type in adrenal it comes up with the adrenal gland the gear box. That tells you all you need to know really on adrenal issues. You can monitor any issues with 4 daily temp readings. ( on the same web page type in orchestra and there is a great article written by a top doctor and endo with 16 books under her belt)
The blood test is fairly unreliable. Also no dhea which is critical.
Once you have the test results we can help further.
High cortisol and low dhea is the most common group followed by low and low. Obviously a high reading is trickier but still there are options to help you.
My cortisol is v v high and I’ve used ashwaganda and tulsi. Both help.
For low dhea pregnenelone is a good condsideration.
Hi everyone thanks for your help with this. I have central hypo and as always endo is useless so got cortisol done privately. Waiting for the results of pituitary scan but won't get these for a while. will go to gp for further testing. Just wanted to know when medichecks said it was high if it was really high or just slightly over. I do have some cushings symptoms but not all and quite mild by comparison to some. Doc has offered to do the test for diabetes insipidous and bp which is always quite high.
My medichecks am cortisol was 544 which was flagged high by medichecks but 2 endos have said it's normal.
I've just done a 24hr urine cortisol through medichecks and waiting for the results.
I was told not many dr's/endos listen to saliva test results so I went for urine.
Someone with Cushing's told me he always reads lower on medichecks tests because their method is different which is why the range is lower but NHS drs don't really consider this and base it off the usual range.
Perfect thank you. That's what I suspected. my doc has offered to do some further tests that the endo should have requested so will work with him. Just didnt want to go in all guns blazing only to be told they weren't too bad. Thanks for your help
That's how I felt which is why I've done the urine test for extra back up or to put my mind at rest that it is actually normal. I think from all the thyroid stuff I'm suspicious of being told everything is "normal" now.
It's good your gp is doing the tests for you good luck!
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good luck!
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