Adrenal Labs

jdub1980

New member
I had my 24hr adrenal function test done a while back and my doctor said that cortisol levels were a little low but within the reference range. Just wanted to post results and get some opinions. My morning levels are at the low end of the reference range. DHEA looks a little low too.

7am-9am - 0.39 mcg/dl (reference 0.27-1.18 mcg/dL)
11am-1pm - 0.18 mcg/dl (reference 0.10-0.41 mcg/dL)
3pm-5pm - 0.17 mcg/dl (reference 0.05-0.27 mcg/dL)
10pm-12am - 0.06 mcg/dl (reference 0.03-0.14 mcg/dL)

DHEA 7am-9am - 182pg/ml (reference 71-640 pg/mL)
DHEA: Cortisol Ration/10,000 - 467 (reference 115-1,188)

Any input would be appreciated.
 
your morning level is low period, afternoon also not great

you could benefit from some hydrocortisone i think
 
jdub1980 said:
What about a supplement like Isocort?
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isocort is good i know someone who has taken it and his levels increased on next saliva test which is good proof

you could try this morning high dose and afternoon medium dose see how it works out for you
 
Something is affecting your immune system.low dhea is commonly found in some type of chronic infection and viral load. Look for the source of stresses of biological physical mental environmentof then you will have the answers. Hc is heavily over prescribe. Reduce source of stress and inflammation Cortisol is not needed. In mant case dealing with inflammed gi tract when the gut is properly healed and repaired. A lot of people were able to discontinue Cortisol and be fine. Cortiosl unless you arr hypopituitary is a must but other wise in majority of cases is.not need long term but temporary to help symptoms till the root cause is found
 
Thanks for responding Matrix. Could hypothyroidism be causing low cortisol/dhea? My TSH was 10.69 a while back and doc prescribed synthroid before checking FT4, FT3, and thyroid antibodies. I have not been taking it because I want to see what my levels are without medication. Will get the thyroid results back next week. If they are low, I am going to ask for natural desiccated thyroid. I am tired of my doctor dragging his feet on ordering tests and he doesn't seem to be very knowledgable about a lot of things. I might need your help Matrix in finding a good doctor in or around Mississippi.
 
jdub1980 said:
Thanks for responding Matrix. Could hypothyroidism be causing low cortisol/dhea? My TSH was 10.69 a while back and doc prescribed synthroid before checking FT4, FT3, and thyroid antibodies. I have not been taking it because I want to see what my levels are without medication. Will get the thyroid results back next week. If they are low, I am going to ask for natural desiccated thyroid. I am tired of my doctor dragging his feet on ordering tests and he doesn't seem to be very knowledgable about a lot of things. I might need your help Matrix in finding a good doctor in or around Mississippi.
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Here is the key about understanding adrenal testing. If the body immune system is optimal then low normal cortisol levels may not give the person symptoms. When the immune system is compromised by excessive inflammation then the low normal cortisol levels are not enough to deal with every day stress on top of extra inflammation. Your body could care less about how you feel and its primary mode is to deal with the infection or other immune response at hand.

In research it has shown that low thyroid can cause low DHEA, Its the stress of the low thyroid over prolong period of time having the adrenals to work over time to compensate for it. There may also be autoimmune disorder involved here as possible hashimoto's which needs to be further explored. Please reference my post about labs I suggest to run to look further into why you having adrenal issues. Some times when the thyroid is properly supported then adrenals can kick back in on their own. Other times adrenals and thyroid are low then adrenal support and thyroid support need to be done together. Again we can go deeper and ask "What was the trigger or what is still the under lying stress" With out knowing detailed information of the person it is impossible to know where to begin. Asking the right question when the person provides the information will save years of chasing their tail. Just 2 weeks ago I had a person I was working with who had severe health issues for a few years, depression, home bound, out of work, 20 different dr's no resolution and labeled hypochondriac. Within 15 minutes of reading their bio and asking a few question, I was pretty sure what it was. She had to literally plead to get the test done. REsults came back positive for lyme. If your dr is willing to learn then he should get in contact with me. They have to be gun ho and serious about this because its a lot to take in, but the benefits are well worth it. When working side by side with the Dr looking at things out the normal scope they are going to get better patient compliance and also therapeutic out come.
 
I don't think my doctor would be willing to work with an outside consultant. He seems to be set in his ways. But all of the advice that I get on this forum from guys like you Matrix really helps out when I go in for a visit. Doc is impressed with the knowledge that I come armed with. Will definitely start looking into all of the other labs you recently posted on other thread.
 
See if he can run nutraeval since its free and has helped shed alot of light on unanswered questions in dr witt patients I have consulted with. Once done then contact me..
 
The NutrEval tests are from Genova Diagnostics. That is the same lab my doc used for the 24 hour saliva test and DHEA sulfate, SHBG, Estradiol, Free Test, DHT, IGF-1 and PSA serum. These tests weren't free though, I had to pay some out of pocket. $79 for the saliva test and $149 for the other labs. How can I get the Nutraval done for free? Would be very interested in this and I know that my doc would go for it since he already uses Genova for several tests.

I forgot to ad my DHEA Sulfate (serum) from tests done in March.
DHEA Sulfate (serum): 343 mcg/dL (120-520 mcg/dL)

The results from first post were from May.
 
jdub1980 said:
The NutrEval tests are from Genova Diagnostics. That is the same lab my doc used for the 24 hour saliva test and DHEA sulfate, SHBG, Estradiol, Free Test, DHT, IGF-1 and PSA serum. These tests weren't free though, I had to pay some out of pocket. $79 for the saliva test and $149 for the other labs. How can I get the Nutraval done for free? Would be very interested in this and I know that my doc would go for it since he already uses Genova for several tests.

I forgot to ad my DHEA Sulfate (serum) from tests done in March.
DHEA Sulfate (serum): 343 mcg/dL (120-520 mcg/dL)

The results from first post were from May.
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ask him to call his rep and see if he has used his free educational kit. If not he could use it on you.
 
I know people who have sent two samples from the same person to some labs and have had different results come back.

Genova is a quality lab with a good reputation.
 
jdub1980,

Like Matrix says you do need to find out it anything is wrong with you that can be eating up your Cortisol levels and you are low your Dr. is a labs range junky to many Dr.'s look for us to be in range and tell us we are fine. They don't listen to use when we tell them how bad we feel they just say your in the normal range your fine.

Them kind of Dr.'s are not anygood and to many of them do this. If you can find a better Dr. run more tests and if some thing is wrong stressing your Adrenals lowering your Cortisol levels and you fix this your going to get better levels.

People that don't need HC meds going on them it only shuts down your Adreanls even more so you will need more HC meds. I get people going on HC meds that don't need them and they feel worse. Why because the HC is slowing down there Adreanls from making Cortisol.

If you find nothing wrong and need to go on HC meds or Isocort you need to be on enough of it to support your body so your Adrenals can rest and heal then in about 6 to 8 months try coming off the HC meds to see how your Adrenals are working. You need to be off HC meds of Isocot a good 2 weeks to do labs.

We do labs for Cortisol on HC meds to only tell if your taking to much and shutting down your Adrenals the levels you get are not so much true levels but show the Dr. your Adrenals are not shut down and still working. The following is a good link about this and in this is a FAQ's about Adrenals that I helped make full of get info.
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Going on HC meds if you need them is safe and you should treat your Adrenals first then after your body is supported go on Thyroid meds you can tell when your supported by taking your temps avg. and when this avg. stops going up and down more then 2 tenths your supported. It's best to start on Thyroid if doing NTH meds low and go up slow so as not to stress your Adrenals even more.

Read this link on how to take your temps and chart them to get your Adrenals supported and how to go on Thyroid meds and how to up the dose.
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Taking HC meds is very safe if you need them read this link about the best parts from the book "Safe Uses of Cortisol".
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Finding a good doctor in Mississippi will probably be impossible. Maybe a DO would be more knowledgeable about these issues than a MD.

I don't want to have to get on HC unless it is necessary. I started taking Isocort again and have been taking 4 in the morning when I wake up and 3 in early afternoon. I can tell that I have more energy throughout the day. Does this sound like a reasonable amount of Isocort based on labs above? Will Isocort have same therapeutic value as HC meds?
 
We use to start low like on pill of Isocort every day then in 3 days t going up one more pill working your way up to 8 pills / day = 20 mgs of Cortisol now things have changed read this link.
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From this link.
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jdub1980 said:
Finding a good doctor in Mississippi will probably be impossible. Maybe a DO would be more knowledgeable about these issues than a MD.

I don't want to have to get on HC unless it is necessary. I started taking Isocort again and have been taking 4 in the morning when I wake up and 3 in early afternoon. I can tell that I have more energy throughout the day. Does this sound like a reasonable amount of Isocort based on labs above? Will Isocort have same therapeutic value as HC meds?
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may want to contact me for another approach to this.

pmgamer18 said:
We use to start low like on pill of Isocort every day then in 3 days t going up one more pill working your way up to 8 pills / day = 20 mgs of Cortisol now things have changed read this link.
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From this link.
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