9am Cortisol blood test

[Wired123]

hi all

I’m due for my regular bloods today including 9am Cortisol - ie test to be done around 9am.

however today I’ve been up since 5am whilst normally I wake up around 6.30-7am.

Will my cortisol be higher today by 9am as I woke c2 hours earlier than usual?

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Wired123

My reply is too late as you say you were due bloods at 9am, so maybe you've already had this done. Was it an NHS test?

Some private testing companies offer "Cortisol Awakening Response" test as well as the 4 other samples when doing a saliva cortisl test. A sample is done on waking and then another one 30 minutes later, this shows the cortisol awakening response which should show a sharp rise in level between the waking result and the 30 minute result, then the level gradually falls throughout the day.

But that is for a saliva test and I assume you're having a blood test and I don't know much about those.

[Wired123 in reply to SeasideSusie]

Yes I’ve had the bloods already this morning, I always wake early on blood test days - the excitement!

My private Endo does not believe in the saliva tests

[humanbean in reply to Wired123]

Yes, doctors rarely believe in anything that might be inconvenient and make their job harder. 🙄

[wellness1]

[...] Typically, a blood sample will be taken by a syringe with needle from a vein in the arm, but sometimes urine or saliva may be tested. Blood should ideally be collected between 8-9am when blood cortisol concentrations should be near their nocturnal peak [...]

labtestsonline.org.uk/tests...

I've seen posts from members who have had it done between 8 and 9 am. I think it's only the saliva CAR test SeasideSusie refers to that is based on waking time. You should be fine.

[Wired123]

Well I was trying to understand if 9am is considered the peak, does this change when a person has woken up earlier or later than usual.

Perhaps it’s not materially different, I’ll ask the Endo, hopefully he should know.