Hi all,
I'm really finding it hard to take in all the info on here - esp the technical stuff. The brain fog doesn't help, of course.
I need blood tests for another condition and wanted to ask what else I should ask for to try and pin down things like B12, ferritin levels, and that kind of thing?
Dr P diagnosed adrenal insufficiency about 20 months ago and put me on Adrenavive for 2 weeks then introduced Metavive (smallest doses). I responded very well until the DWP began a punitive round of assessments that have stretched to 18 months of harassment. This wiped out all progress.
I last spoke to Dr P about 15 months ago (I am on a very low income, so couldn't see him more often) and he told me to increase the dose and monitor how I felt, to take cortisol in the form of 5mg prednisone, and drink salt water up to 2 tsp Himalayan rock salt per day.
My GP is useless - nice, but the standard fare others on here have experienced.
Forward to now and I don't know if stress affects the adrenals after the fact, because when I survived the worst of the DWP (stopping my benefits over the summer last year) I wasn't too bad. It seems like the worst has hit me since about December last year. Has anyone else experienced that? That the effects of massive stress present much later on?
Anyway, I have an appointment to see an NHS endo in June. I feel so ill I need to make this really count. Aside from my question about what else to ask for on my GP blood test, what else should I have tested with limited funds? The saliva cortisol test seems to come up on here quite a lot. I take it that is the most important one?
I really struggle with hydration - I currently cannot hydrate to a decent level no matter what I do. As the result of getting it wrong is a severe migraine, I don't like to change my salt intake too much, but worry things have changed since I spoke to Dr P and as many of you probably know now, he is no longer working.
I have seen mention of a hair mineral test on this site. Could this help with identifying a mineral imbalance? I am concerned I may not have a good balance of potassium and magnesium (another thing I picked up from this life-saver of a site).
If you could only afford a couple of private tests, which 2 would you go for in my situation?
Do you guys have a preference between Genova and Blue Horizon?
Thank you so much for the help.