Addisons/ adrenal dysfunction advice please

[Gasmanga]

Hi all

I have been trying to get to the bottom of an ongoing problem for the Past few years and was initially diagnosed by dr peatfield with adrenal exhaustion and have been taking adrenavive 2 once a day, however still really struggling with constant exhaustion aswell as all the other typical symptoms

Unfortunately dr peatfield as clinic is no longer operating from what I can find and I am unaware of anything else similar

I have now had recent results showing signs of stage one adrenal insufficiency and a drop in cortisol throughout the early to main part of the day along with very high dhea levels

The normal doctor and hospital have reviewed my recent private tests and want to test for Addisons however this is almost impossible for me with the severe needle phobia I have which leads to seizures although it does seem to add up and all make sense that this is definitely what could be causing all my problems

Is anyone able to advise on a specialist in this area or anything I may be able to do to help please

[Hidden]

It's good that the hospital want to test you to see if you have adrenal insufficiency (Addisons is primary & usually an auto immune condition) secondary is from other causes. The usual test is the short synacthen test, where they put a cannula in, take blood & then inject you with artificial ACTH to see how your adrenal glands respond. They should also do an ACTH blood test as this shows if the issues is with your pituitary gland, this needs to go on ice straight away. I'm not sure that there is any other way unless they go by the blood tests you have already had done & trial you on some steroids, usually Hydrocortisone to wee how you feel on it. You do need to find out if you have this or not as it can be a life threatening condition is your cortisol levels are very low. Cortisol is used in every cell of our body so it's an essential hormone. You do need to see an Endo who is conversant in pituitary/adrenal issues as not all of them are. I hope this helps?

[Hidden]

Depending on where you love I can help advise who to see.

[Gasmanga in reply to Hidden]

Thanks Pauline

Yes I am aware of what the testing would be, however because I have such a severe needle phobia and white coat syndrome which leads to seizures this is just not possible for me even though I feel so unwell

I would be more than willing to trial the medication required and pay for it if needs be, but am worried in case it causes further issues if it is not correct

I am based in Cambridgeshire but don’t mind travelling to see the right person if you have someone you can recommend

Many thanks

Lee