Hello, I recently had cortisol tested via medichecks.
I don’t know how to read these results and would be grateful if anyone could share their thoughts.
The medichecks doctor has commented stating I don’t have any issues apart from the midday test which shows slightly elevated cortisol and that I am possibly suffering some stress or anxiety.
Thanks.
Cortisol waking 13.40 nmol/L (Range: < 20.3)
Cortisol - 12:00 6.12 nmol/L (Range: 1.6 - 5.6)
Cortisol - 16:00 <1.50 nmol/L (Range: < 6.94)
Cortisol - Before Bed <1.50 nmol/L (Range: < 7.56)
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MsWhistledown
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They don't look bad but I don't know anything about Medichecks test for this other than they don't test DHEA (and no lower limit in their cortisol range so waking 0 would be fine??) which is more useful as you want cortisol and DHEA in the right ratio
Were you stressed middle of the day or have caffeine, exercise?
I don’t know anything about DHEA so had no idea I should test this as well.
I don’t believe I was stressed. I was doing things around the house like hoovering and I know I am still not tolerating exercise particularly well so maybe that bit of activity raised it?
I get stressed just at the thought of doing the housework, if you actually get on and do it I would imagine it would raise your levels a fair bit as it's quite a workout
I’m quite surprised by the results. The reason I did the test is because I’m a poor sleeper and on the nights I do sleep pretty well I still wake up feeling awful in the mornings. I am slow to get going first thing and feel tired and groggy most days until around noon. Then start to wake up and have more energy as the day goes on. Then slump again early evening then feel awake before bedtime. Although since starting T3 only these are improving a bit.
That's kinda/sorta what I thought you'd say. To me, (what do I know) your morning is low and the proof of that is your noon is to high. Then your body compensates from those extremes to dropping to low @/by 4:00. The T3 will help but it doesn't cure any adrenal problems it will 'mask' (cover them up) those (I.E. hypoadrenia). You may want to research some ACE (adrenal cortex extract) type supplements (please don't use google). I used them to help my struggling adrenals. Had to start slow and build up just like thyroid. Good for you for realizing the role the adrenals play most want to blame all of their symptoms on the thyroid. Doctors don't have a clue about this/these problems...
Thanks so much dealsgap. My private Doc suggested I do the test due to my sleep issues and fatigue/brain fog. I don’t see them until November so will start doing some research and look into ACE.
I'll be really interested to hear what your Dr says MsWhistledown - if you find out anything interesting please share?
Seems like adrenals are even less well understood than thyroid and it's harder to get good guidance. Opinions range from "it's a myth", through "they'll sort themselves out", then there's even several camps amongst those who believe they need treating. Dr Peatfield's book suggests using ACE if that's a route you want to explore, Wentz' looks more at "food as medicine" and root causes including the gut/SIBO connection, and Robinson's books give a really good explanation of how stuff works which I liked, and suggests changing the timing of your T3 to mimic natural production and trigger/feed cortisol production.
From what I gather, it's a bit of a vicious circle. Adrenals need T3 to function but cortisol is required for us to be able to make proper use of the T3...There seems to be a recognised pattern where some patients start on NDT or similar and feel great for a couple of months but can't seem to maintain this, and adrenals/lack of cortisol seems to be a potential culprit
Thanks for the tips I will look into them. Just started following Wentz. I will certainly let you know what the doc says. Appointment is in November. Will get back to you then 🙂
I'm no expert but this looks low all day except lunchtime to me, though worst in the afternoon. Easier to see on a graph though and agree with TiggerMe 's points about awakening response, and maybe the housework exercise could account for the high midday result.
From what I understand, half an hour or an hour after waking should be near top of range and they should taper off through the day down to low in range at bedtime (which helps you fall asleep); "<1.5" isn't that helpful a measurement fit bedtime particularly.
I find it very hard to get going in the morning when cortisol is low.
You might find Izabella Wentz' newish book about Adrenals of interest, it seems to be helping me (tentatively). Also I believe you are T3 only? So you could consider trying circadian T3 dosing, this seemed to help my low cortisol levels (as per Paul Robinson; I know his methods aren't well regarded by all on here, but if you are already T3 only then no harm I think?)
Yeah, I've no experience of the medichecks test and the fact they don't do one 30mins after the first makes it hard to tell really, this is a graph of my last result, though of course labs use different ranges... it should be higher 30mins after waking to really get you moving and then lower but with only a slightly raised noon result we can only assume MsW had that rise 🤷♀️
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