Got these results back this afternoon - the notes provided not very helpful as just say everything looks fine, no need to worry as morning and bedtime levels all good. 😏
What does <1.5 mean given all three apart from waking are at this level? Do I have low cortisol levels?
Getting all the usual tests in advance of private consultation, but I'm wanting an understanding of things before i go. So not on any thyroid meds yet, vitamins etc all at good levels (only thing going right with me it seems lol!)
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weedee41
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Your results are not helpful and this is why we don't recommend the Medichecks saliva cortisol test. Please always ask for opinions of any test you are considering getting (for anything not just saliva cortisol!) before buying it, to reduce the chances of you wasting money. We would have steered you away from the Medichecks saliva cortisol test.
All those less than signs show how imprecise their testing machine, their test protocol, and their reference ranges are. They almost always tell people their cortisol is fine no matter how low their levels are.
For saliva cortisol tests with sensible ranges the optimal results are given in Example 1 on this link :
Your first result is not too bad but ideally it would be at the top of the range. But the stupid reference range of < 20.3 nmol/L suggests that zero would be a good result as well. And that is nonsense.
Your second result is actually under range but it is impossible to tell how much under range it actually is. And Medichecks haven't even pointed it out.
The other peculiar thing is the ranges for the last two results. The last result of the day should be the lowest of the entire day. But their reference ranges suggest it could go up slightly compared to the 4pm result.
And again there is no way to know how low your results actually were. Note that having zero cortisol at any time is something I would only expect from a corpse.
The Regenerus Labs saliva cortisol test is much better than the Medichecks one, but sadly it has recently shot up in price. Genova Diagnostics UK also has a better test but they are an awkward company to deal with.
Thanks humanbean, I'm really annoyed at myself now for not thinking to check, it wasn't a cheap test to begin with and I can't believe this is the standard of the results. I am also having to redo my advanced thyroid one so I'm really not impressed at all with them so far. I've already went back to medichecks expressing how disappointed I am with the ranges and results given, those ranges are completely useless. Unfortunately I really can't afford yet another test, so will contact the clinic I'm attending to see if these results are at least sufficient for that appointment. Thanks for those suggestions, if I need another test i will use them. And lesson learnt to check here first going forward to avoid any more expensive mistakes!
I really can't believe how little it tells you. It's put me off using them, two useless tests out of two. Just sent a cancellation request for my hormone check and i'll just get the nurse I use for my draws. She has her own testing clinic.That was a great suggestion as they also offer klarna....so I have ordered just now and can pay it on my next payday. So should hopefully have real results in time for the appointment. Thank you so much for posting the link 😊
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