Aa
Cortisol Test Results can anyone help me?
I am Hypothyroid...I have been having all sorts of issues and trying to get to the bottom of it. Saw ND last night and she gave me results of my Adrenal Stress Index and has recommended that I see my MD to get a referral to an Endo that specializes in Diabetes for a full work up. These are my results...can anyone tell me what they think?
Free Cortisol Rythm Ref. Values
AM 11 depressed 13-24nM
Noon 4 depressed 5-10nM
PM 3 Normal 3-8nM
Midnight 1 Normal 1-4nM
Cortisol Burden 19 23-42
DHEA Pooled Value 3 Borderline 3-10ng/ml
Zone 4 - Malapapted Phase II Cortisol-DHEA correlation
INSULIN
Fasting 21 Hyperinsulinic 3-12 uIU/mL
Non Fasting 44 Elevated 5-20uIU/mL
17-OH Progesterone <15 22-100pg/ml
Total Salivary SIgA <5 Depressed 25-60mg/dl
Gliadin Ab, SIgA 7 Negative - so this is good! YAY
Thanks for any insight.
Free Cortisol Rythm Ref. Values
AM 11 depressed 13-24nM
Noon 4 depressed 5-10nM
PM 3 Normal 3-8nM
Midnight 1 Normal 1-4nM
Cortisol Burden 19 23-42
DHEA Pooled Value 3 Borderline 3-10ng/ml
Zone 4 - Malapapted Phase II Cortisol-DHEA correlation
INSULIN
Fasting 21 Hyperinsulinic 3-12 uIU/mL
Non Fasting 44 Elevated 5-20uIU/mL
17-OH Progesterone <15 22-100pg/ml
Total Salivary SIgA <5 Depressed 25-60mg/dl
Gliadin Ab, SIgA 7 Negative - so this is good! YAY
Thanks for any insight.
I have friends and me with it - and in the entire group, I can tell you, not everyone has the stretch marks. I did not have diabetes. I only had a small hump. In other words - not everyone has every symptom.
But we all have or had Cushing's.
I went on metformin because they said all my problems were PCOS. It would change my life. It did actually. I spent the time on metformin running, screaming, for any toilet I could find.
Cushing's is not one test - it is many. And if you are me, you fail most of them.:) I was cyclical so it took forever to get diagnosed. Urinary free cortisols. Saliva cortisols. Serum cortisols. ACTH, renin, aldosterone, dhea sulfate - and then get thryoids, pituitary and comprehensive hormone panel that they normally do... androgens... you really have to get a good doc.
But we all have or had Cushing's.
I went on metformin because they said all my problems were PCOS. It would change my life. It did actually. I spent the time on metformin running, screaming, for any toilet I could find.
Cushing's is not one test - it is many. And if you are me, you fail most of them.:) I was cyclical so it took forever to get diagnosed. Urinary free cortisols. Saliva cortisols. Serum cortisols. ACTH, renin, aldosterone, dhea sulfate - and then get thryoids, pituitary and comprehensive hormone panel that they normally do... androgens... you really have to get a good doc.
Ok you've got me thinking about Cushings now. I really don't think I have diabetes it makes no sense for me to have Diabetes, I have no family history of it at all and my eating habits are really better than average. There needs to be an underlying cause for my "Insulin Resistance".
I have been reading about Cushings now and I think I need to be tested. What if I have a Pituitary Tumor or something?
I have been complaining for at least 7yrs years now about my intermittent blurry vision and the fact that my head feels like a Seashell. This is the best way I can describe it. Its like my brain is too small for my skull and it is always pounding. Every morning when I awake, I do not even have to lift my head up off my pillow and I can hear and feel my brain quietly pounding on the inside of my skull. Like when you put your ear up to a Seashell and you hear the ocean inside it. This is what my head feels like to me, Sometimes when I go into a store that is bright I have to cover my ears with my hands just to muffle the sudden pounding in my head because it can get very loud when aggravated it seems. Of course this does not work but its just my natural instinct to do this. I have had a dull headache now for about a month kinda above the bridge of my nose and to the slight left of my left eye. I thought this was sinus related but I am not stuffed up. I really think I need to have Cushings ruled out/in and get my head checked too. When the ND first saw me she said my pupils were not dilating with the light and this concerned her too. I was thinking maybe I had a problem with my dental work and this could be causing this however I have no tooth pain at all.
Well, I do not want to be on the merry go round of treating one thing after another and never really solving my problem.
If you were me - what tests would you ask for? Thanks for your help Rumpled. C
I have been reading about Cushings now and I think I need to be tested. What if I have a Pituitary Tumor or something?
I have been complaining for at least 7yrs years now about my intermittent blurry vision and the fact that my head feels like a Seashell. This is the best way I can describe it. Its like my brain is too small for my skull and it is always pounding. Every morning when I awake, I do not even have to lift my head up off my pillow and I can hear and feel my brain quietly pounding on the inside of my skull. Like when you put your ear up to a Seashell and you hear the ocean inside it. This is what my head feels like to me, Sometimes when I go into a store that is bright I have to cover my ears with my hands just to muffle the sudden pounding in my head because it can get very loud when aggravated it seems. Of course this does not work but its just my natural instinct to do this. I have had a dull headache now for about a month kinda above the bridge of my nose and to the slight left of my left eye. I thought this was sinus related but I am not stuffed up. I really think I need to have Cushings ruled out/in and get my head checked too. When the ND first saw me she said my pupils were not dilating with the light and this concerned her too. I was thinking maybe I had a problem with my dental work and this could be causing this however I have no tooth pain at all.
Well, I do not want to be on the merry go round of treating one thing after another and never really solving my problem.
If you were me - what tests would you ask for? Thanks for your help Rumpled. C
Hmmm...Cushings was brought up, but I guess cause I didn't have any pink or purple marks on me so they ruled it out even though I have so many other of the symptoms. Maybe we should look at that again.
I do not have the lab sheet with me...I'm at work ;) but I seem to recall there was a Glucose Tolerance Test, a hbA1C, then my TSH, T4, T3 again ...there may be more on there.
How do they tell if you have Cushings - is there a certain test that can be done?
How did you do on the Metformin?
I do not have the lab sheet with me...I'm at work ;) but I seem to recall there was a Glucose Tolerance Test, a hbA1C, then my TSH, T4, T3 again ...there may be more on there.
How do they tell if you have Cushings - is there a certain test that can be done?
How did you do on the Metformin?
Ooops! Sorry about the mis-read. But yes, estrogen in any form would bind cortisol.
To me though, you have a lot of Cushing's symptoms. You sound like me - and I had it - I was cyclical and pretty similar to you. The whole insulin thing can be Cushing's too. I was put on metformin as well. One does not have to have all the symptoms on the list to have Cushing's.
What tests are you going for?
To me though, you have a lot of Cushing's symptoms. You sound like me - and I had it - I was cyclical and pretty similar to you. The whole insulin thing can be Cushing's too. I was put on metformin as well. One does not have to have all the symptoms on the list to have Cushing's.
What tests are you going for?
Hi Rumpled -
You must have misunderstood me, I have NOT been on Birth control for over 17yrs. They took me off when I was 27 because I got a blood clot. So there is no way BCP can be affecting my tests.
I do think I am having an Estrogen issue though which is most likely why I have the fibroids...I was told they can be caused by excess Estrogen....I am almost finished my Female Hormone Saliva Test. So I guess I will find out soon enough.
We looked at Cushings but ruled that out as I did not have many of the symptoms
I saw my regular doctor Mar 5 and he has ordered a whole new series of tests. Now I am waiting to get into the lab as some of them require an "appt"
It makes sense to me that the Insulin Resistance is the cause of my weight gain. They have already ruled out my eating habits so there has to be an underlying cause if its not diet created. I am trying to narrow it down and thought perhaps all my gyno issues could be the underlying cause....I guess time will tell.
You must have misunderstood me, I have NOT been on Birth control for over 17yrs. They took me off when I was 27 because I got a blood clot. So there is no way BCP can be affecting my tests.
I do think I am having an Estrogen issue though which is most likely why I have the fibroids...I was told they can be caused by excess Estrogen....I am almost finished my Female Hormone Saliva Test. So I guess I will find out soon enough.
We looked at Cushings but ruled that out as I did not have many of the symptoms
I saw my regular doctor Mar 5 and he has ordered a whole new series of tests. Now I am waiting to get into the lab as some of them require an "appt"
It makes sense to me that the Insulin Resistance is the cause of my weight gain. They have already ruled out my eating habits so there has to be an underlying cause if its not diet created. I am trying to narrow it down and thought perhaps all my gyno issues could be the underlying cause....I guess time will tell.
The birth control pills would interfere with the saliva cortisol tests - estrogen binds to free cortisol and lowers the result, that would make you look lower than you are.
Thyroid problems run in my family too - cancer, Hashimotos, goiters etc. I got the goiters and Hashimoto's - mine is gone too.
I have pretty much all the same gyne issues except mine was pre-cancer and I had endometriosis really bad. I finally got a hyst.
Usually the PCOS symptoms, diabetes etc. - is high cortisol, not low - it also adds into the thyroid mess. BCP means urine and saliva tests will not be accurate due to cortisol binding globulin being high. You will have to use blood testing.
Have you looked at Cushing's at all?
Thyroid problems run in my family too - cancer, Hashimotos, goiters etc. I got the goiters and Hashimoto's - mine is gone too.
I have pretty much all the same gyne issues except mine was pre-cancer and I had endometriosis really bad. I finally got a hyst.
Usually the PCOS symptoms, diabetes etc. - is high cortisol, not low - it also adds into the thyroid mess. BCP means urine and saliva tests will not be accurate due to cortisol binding globulin being high. You will have to use blood testing.
Have you looked at Cushing's at all?
Hi rumpled -
Well, I have been hypo for years. I am 44 no kids. I have not been on birth control since I was 27. I had a bad waterski wipeout and I developed a bloodclot in my leg so I was taken off Birth Control. Unfortunately, thyroid problems run in my family. My mom has Graves, My sister had Thyroid cancer and had thyroidectomy and my brother is Hyper. I was talking to Stella on the thyroid board last week about those issues....
Heres the short version...I thought I had my hypo all under control. Then I began to feel awful again a couple of years ago. I gained all the weight back I had lost for no reason and I was feeling so crummy and bitchy. My periods were sporadic & very painful, I had bad acne on my neck, weight gain, I was depressed, tired, angry, cold, my hair and skin changed for the worse...For the past few years I have been having heart palps, intermittent blurred vision, dizzy spells and the arches of my feet are killing me and the tops of my feet are hurting in my sleep so bad it will wake me. My ankles have been swelling up then my entire calfs until I cannot even bend my knees. For months, I cannot sleep. I am so tired so I fall asleep early then wake up a couple hours later to spend the rest of the night looking at the clock. All sorts of things have not been right.
So my doc tested me and ordered an ultrasound found I had fibroid tumours and a polyp. He sent me to a specialist and the Specialist was a complete jerk, he told me I was not 20 anymore, I was perimenopausal and to get over myself. He said the tumours and polyp were probably caused by excess estrogen but since I was getting older my estrogen levels would drop on their own and I would be fine. No treatment would be necessary. Meanwhile at the same time my doctor let me switch Thyroid meds, from 200 Eltroxin to 125 Natural dessicated thryoid. After another year of feeling crappy I finally just stopped taking my Thyroid meds end of Nov 09.
That brings is to now, in Jan 2010 I hired an ND. It took awhile to get in. Jan 23rd we did bloodwork and a Cortisol test. I just got results back. ( I am in the middle of a FHST too.) My exact thyroid info is all over on my other posts in the Thryoid Forum but basically, my TSH was 66.00 and my T3 and my T4 were in the hole too. By the time I got new meds, my entire body was cramping up so badly I could barely move a muscle or get dressed, I was writhing in pain and on the floor. Not good at all but I am back on meds and that is improving. So the other night I get into see my ND and she gives me the other test results that I posted above.
Now I have been having issues with my ovaries and cervix for years. I have had cysts, I have been treated for cervical cancer, I have had a polyp removed and now I have Fibroids and another polyp. I am wondering if PCOS could be my underlying cause of all of this? I am being treated for one thing at a time but never all of it at once. Interestingly enough, I became Hypo after being treated for Cervical Cancer. Now that my insulin is high I can see why I cannot lose this weight. I see my MD tomorrow morning to get referred to endo about the insulin issue. What do you make of this all? I am trying to put all the pieces together. I think diabetes is unlikely. But looks like I am insulin resistant for sure, which would explain why I am gaining weight and not losing any. Would I benefit from Metformin? Thanks for your time. Connie
Well, I have been hypo for years. I am 44 no kids. I have not been on birth control since I was 27. I had a bad waterski wipeout and I developed a bloodclot in my leg so I was taken off Birth Control. Unfortunately, thyroid problems run in my family. My mom has Graves, My sister had Thyroid cancer and had thyroidectomy and my brother is Hyper. I was talking to Stella on the thyroid board last week about those issues....
Heres the short version...I thought I had my hypo all under control. Then I began to feel awful again a couple of years ago. I gained all the weight back I had lost for no reason and I was feeling so crummy and bitchy. My periods were sporadic & very painful, I had bad acne on my neck, weight gain, I was depressed, tired, angry, cold, my hair and skin changed for the worse...For the past few years I have been having heart palps, intermittent blurred vision, dizzy spells and the arches of my feet are killing me and the tops of my feet are hurting in my sleep so bad it will wake me. My ankles have been swelling up then my entire calfs until I cannot even bend my knees. For months, I cannot sleep. I am so tired so I fall asleep early then wake up a couple hours later to spend the rest of the night looking at the clock. All sorts of things have not been right.
So my doc tested me and ordered an ultrasound found I had fibroid tumours and a polyp. He sent me to a specialist and the Specialist was a complete jerk, he told me I was not 20 anymore, I was perimenopausal and to get over myself. He said the tumours and polyp were probably caused by excess estrogen but since I was getting older my estrogen levels would drop on their own and I would be fine. No treatment would be necessary. Meanwhile at the same time my doctor let me switch Thyroid meds, from 200 Eltroxin to 125 Natural dessicated thryoid. After another year of feeling crappy I finally just stopped taking my Thyroid meds end of Nov 09.
That brings is to now, in Jan 2010 I hired an ND. It took awhile to get in. Jan 23rd we did bloodwork and a Cortisol test. I just got results back. ( I am in the middle of a FHST too.) My exact thyroid info is all over on my other posts in the Thryoid Forum but basically, my TSH was 66.00 and my T3 and my T4 were in the hole too. By the time I got new meds, my entire body was cramping up so badly I could barely move a muscle or get dressed, I was writhing in pain and on the floor. Not good at all but I am back on meds and that is improving. So the other night I get into see my ND and she gives me the other test results that I posted above.
Now I have been having issues with my ovaries and cervix for years. I have had cysts, I have been treated for cervical cancer, I have had a polyp removed and now I have Fibroids and another polyp. I am wondering if PCOS could be my underlying cause of all of this? I am being treated for one thing at a time but never all of it at once. Interestingly enough, I became Hypo after being treated for Cervical Cancer. Now that my insulin is high I can see why I cannot lose this weight. I see my MD tomorrow morning to get referred to endo about the insulin issue. What do you make of this all? I am trying to put all the pieces together. I think diabetes is unlikely. But looks like I am insulin resistant for sure, which would explain why I am gaining weight and not losing any. Would I benefit from Metformin? Thanks for your time. Connie
Have an Answer?
You are reading content posted in the Adrenal Insufficiency Community
We tapped the CDC for information on what you need to know about radiation exposure
Endocrinologist Mark Lupo, MD, answers 10 questions about thyroid disorders and how to treat them
A list of national and international resources and hotlines to help connect you to needed health and medical services.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.
