Help with blood work level

[Bri941]

My 8 am blood cortisol was 0.6 ug . Is this bad??

[rumpled]

It just may take a bit to get to the bottom of the mystery...

[Bri941]

I thank u all for your help:) I guess it's back for more testing yah ....

[rumpled]

That set was fine - but alas, cortisol testing takes time - and should be done in several sets over time as it can vary quite a bit. Plus the symptoms can overlap with other things - so you would need a good endocrine check. But the normal sodium and potassium pretty much means low cortisol may not be the issue as Addison's is a salt wasting disease and those would be off if you had low cortisol - they would be at the low end (or K at the high end).

Fatigue is a difficult symptom as it can be endocrine, auto-immune (see a rheumy?) vitamin deficiencies, low iron, etc etc etc...

[Bri941]

Yes I kept it in frige the whole time, I am still feeling so weak and still very low blood pressure. My doc said test results were fine, and threw me some anti depressants So typical.. I dont know what to do anymore I am very tired of feeling so blahhhhh. Is there any other test I should ask for?

[rumpled]

They run the creatinine to make sure that you are not over-sampling (as in save more than 24 hours worth of pee... because it is so so much fun)...

I am not sure why that is low. "Low blood levels of creatinine are not common, but they are also not usually a cause for concern. They can be seen with conditions that result in decreased muscle mass."

The cortisol is on the lowish side - did you keep it cold the entire time?

Your ACTH is fine. All the other tests fine as well...

How are you feeling?

[Bri941]

okay got my test results back.

Creatinine serum= 0.70 mg [0.57-1.00]
creatinine 24 hour urine 668.0 LOW [800-1800]
Creatinine urine clearance 66 LOW [88-128]
Cortisol 24 hour urine 9 [0-50]
DHEA 274 [31-701
ACTH plasma 21.5 [7.2-63.3]
Cortisol AM serum 18.5[6.2-19.4]
Sodium 139 [134-144]
potassium 4.4 [3.5-5.2]

What do u guys think???

[rumpled]

Weird that they have not done a CMP - comprehensive metabolic panel at least for electrolytes to get sodium and potassium. That would tell a lot. Headache is so difficult - hard to determine a source when it could be so many things!

Odd they are focusing on sugar though. To me anyway.

[Bri941]

Well they want a DHEA , 5 hour glucose that's all so far. Should I ask for different ones? I still have this headache and it won't go away....

[rumpled]

Low blood pressure is another symptom consistent with AI. That goes along with the sodium and potassium readings - did they do any? The 24 hour test will help as well.
The aches can come from the cortisol changes. Cortisol is a natural anti-inflammatory so when it is low, things hurt a lot.
Are they doing any other testing like renin, aldosterone, dhea sulfate, antibodies and ACTH?

[Bri941]

Lab ranges say <5 . I have to take another one plus 24 hour urine also.. I just feel so like I got hit by a bus I am so tired and body aches like back and legs and a headache that will not go away. I also have really low blood pressure and get dizzy all the time .

[rumpled]

What is the lab range? Every lab differs. The time done is good.

Also, was this the only test done, and the only time cortisol was done? Cortisol can vary - and testing only once... it should be done several times - and if consistently low, a stim test should be done.

Sodium and potassium needs to be looked at as well.