Personal Cortisol Meter/ app - Too good to be true?

[Rhsana]

selfsci.io/

tomsfinds.com/personal-cort...

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

Think you are wise to be sceptical.

What is SelfSci’s cortisol meter?

Our cortisol meter is a non-invasive, low-risk wellness product designed for users to measure and monitor their real-time cortisol levels. The meter is not a medical device and should not be used for the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, prevention, or treatment of a disease or condition. This wellness product should not be used to measure adrenal cortical function to screen for Cushing’s and Addison’s Disease.

What does the starter kit include?

The starter kit includes our collection device (for saliva collection), 10 test strips, and access to the SelfSci mobile app.

How do I sign up?

Our kickstarter is launching in mid-September. Our backers will receive access to the product first. Click here to get a reminder.

I couldn't find anything like an FDA approval. Whilst we might not be that impressed by some aspects of the FDA, I do think it important to see that such devices have some sort of FDA approval. Even as a "wellness" device rather than "clinical" - however that is determined.

Anyway, interesting, there is hope, but be careful!

[humanbean]

Just a comment that might be of interest...

Astronauts on the International Space Station get their cortisol and some other hormones measured using saliva. I don't know how it is done, but clearly they have no access to a standard fully functioning laboratory. (But they probably have equipment the average person wouldn't have access to or couldn't afford.)

NASA has also done testing on the ground on how accurate this kind of testing is. I've found NASA reports going back to the 90s that mention using saliva for hormone testing, and it is still mentioned as of the last few years so it obviously worked well enough for NASA to continue, so they obviously trust saliva testing.

If you do a web search for "nasa saliva cortisol" you might find something of interest. You can also search the NASA website itself for references to "cortisol" or "saliva" or "salivary":

nasa.gov/

None of this changes the answer to your question though. I would want more info on testing and approval of the device you've linked to before I trusted it.

[Hidden]

There have been several attempts to create a home cortisol testing kit, so far no one has been able to get an accurate one. Researchers at Sheffield Hallamshire are working on this at the moment: sheffield.ac.uk/news/nr/new...

There were reports of a meter that you could use with an I-phone but I don't think it ever took off.

I for one, being adrenal insufficient would love a way to test my cortisol levels to see if I am taking enough steroids. At the moment the only way I can tell if my cortisol is low is by my low cortisol symptoms which sometimes hard to judge!

[Serendipitious]

Perhaps I’m missing something, but why would anyone need this? I’d understand if the person had an adrenal disease like Addison’s or Cushings but anybody else with thyroid disease I’m not convinced.

[Cooper27 in reply to Serendipitious]

I'd be interested if it cost around the same as a postal test. I think the benefits would be for those who have found they have out of range results and wish to check the steps they're taking are working. Possibly for those who are simply curious to monitor over a few different days, to see how different exercises influence it, or during periods of symptom flares.

I suspect this would be an item you'd use for about a month, and stop once your results were optimised though, which is why I think price would be important.

[Hidden]

I like this idea, I might sign up for it to try, because Adrenal test does cost me through the roof anyway (I don't live in the UK, so have to pay for a courier etc.), and with the discount they offer, this would be equivalent to one adrenal test. This is a backing campaign at the moment. Re: how it would help. When I overdosed on thyroid hormones, my cortisol shot up and was high all day. I also suffer from insomnia as my hormones are not balanced yet. Good way to understand the whole endocrine system.

[Cooper27]

I saw this in an ad yesterday, and it was tempting. It was yet another one you had to enter your email address to see the price though, and I am trying not to sign up to them anymore.

Does anyone know how much it costs?

[Hidden in reply to Cooper27]

They charged me $1 right now as a deposit, once released I will pay $128 or thereabouts. That is with 28% discount. They are MIT students, their work is mentioned on MIT web. They have launched a Kickstarter campaign for it in September from what I see.

[humanbean in reply to Hidden]

Why on earth does any company hide the cost of their product(s)? I've never understood the logic of that. I just assume that the product will be out of my price range and ignore it.

[Hidden in reply to humanbean]

They want your email so they can email you about their product in case you don't buy. I worked for 8 years in Tech industry, same principal. Unfortunately! Same as, subscribe, and get 10% discount and then they email you endlessly lol

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Hidden]

I agree that is the typical technique. Not convinced, though, as I know my take is almost always to refuse and forget all about it. The very odd occasion I have gone further, the price is always higher even than feared. Hence I assume that will always be the case.

[Hidden in reply to helvella]

Just noticed that their price is visible on their page: selfsci.io/ this is their regular price. You need to click on Launch button to get a discount. So overall they are transparent with their regular price.

SelfSci

[Cooper27 in reply to Hidden]

That's not too bad. I was thinking £100 would be about the acceptable price tag, I'll watch to see reviews for how reliable it is

[Hidden in reply to Cooper27]

That's what I thought and I love testing products like that I will report on here once it's launched and I'm in a possession of this self-hacking device it might be a good idea to order Regenerus saliva test and take readings at the same time to compare.