Hi how do you get tested for this? I have an under active thyroid plus pcos but I keep getting purple hard circular lumps on my body and when I googled cushing came up.
I had a little search and i have very similar symptoms where do I go with this? My gp is less than useless to be fair so private testing as? as a side note im now not tolerating my levothyroxine very well at the moment either I feel awful at the moment 😞
Any advice would be great
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nettiboo1982
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I think you have to see an endo for this. You can privately do a 24 hour saliva cortisol test, which will tell you if your cortisol is high all day, but I don't think that actually diagnoses Cushings. However, on the basis of that, your GP might be willing to refer you to an endo for further investigation.
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The aim of levothyroxine is to increase dose upwards in 25mcg steps until TSH is ALWAYS under 2
When adequately treated, TSH will often be well below one.
Most important results are ALWAYS Ft3 followed by Ft4. When adequately treated Ft4 is usually in top third of range and Ft3 at least 60% through range (regardless of how low TSH is)
Extremely important to have optimal vitamin levels too as this helps reduce symptoms and improve how levothyroxine works
Hi I run the FB group for Cushing's. It's not a quick process to get diagnosed. You need to ask your Gp to do an early morning blood cortisol, however it can be in normal range but then drops through the day but with Cushing's this doesn't happen. You need to get the results as GP's don't understand them. Your GP can also do a 24 hour urine test, if you want to pay for a private test this is the one to do as it's much more accurate than saliva ones. If these come back high then you need to ask to be referred to an Endocrinologist who understands pituitary/adrenal issues as not all of them do. I can help you find one as I hold the list of Endo's who understand Cushing's. The Endo should a Dexamethasone suppression test. Test will be repeated before they move on to any scans. if you are on the oestrogen contraceptive pill, HRT or Biotin you will need to stop them before testing as they can give an elevated result. If you look on the Pituitary foundation website you will find a description of Cushing's. It can be caused by long term steroid use, or a benign tumour in either the pituitary or adrenal glands.
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