confused on lab tests

[sea2swim]

Hi!  I am beyond desperate.... for the past 4 years I have been on a quest to find out the reason I can't loose weight.  Recently I went back on Weight Watchers & I have gained 2 lbs.  I have done every weight loss program under the sun. I am a extremely active person, I work 50+ hours a week, keep a daily food intake journal so I don't exceed 1000 calories per day.  When I went to the doctor today & because my right side hurts (dr thinks Kidney infection) & saw I put on 2 lbs... I cried.  Soooo, I came home & pulled out my lab tests.  The 1 thing that strikes me is that my Cortisol PM is normal, but my test from 8/5/11  - CORTISOL AM 0.6L  test from:  2/14/13 - CORTISOL 0.8 LOW, but endocrinologist said that was OK?  Could this be the crux of my problem?  I once was put on steroids & I'll never forget how great I felt, mind was clicking (fog was gone) my faced thinned.  I even went back to the doctor & asked for more!  He thought I was nuts & said NO!  I don't like going to the doctor, so much wasted time waiting, I have a really busy life, so for me to go back to him & ask is a big deal for me.  I have been reading about Licorice supplement, does anyone use that?  What to do?  Advice would be appreciated

[rumpled]

Your symptoms may be more consistent with elevated cortisol than low - look up Cushing's syndrome. Cushing's can mess with other hormones - and lower testosterone, raise blood sugar and all. I had it myself and I did not have the elevated blood sugar and some other *classic* symptoms but I had  the cyclical pituitary form.

DHEA is a precursor hormone that will convert to either estrogen or testosterone. I had high T and low E (I never was normal lol) and when I took DHEA, I simply kept raising my T! So keep an eye out on your levels - you cannot pick how you convert. If your skin gets greasy or your acne gets worse or you get acne, scale back.

Good thing you get copies! Push for more testing - one set does not diagnose anything. Make sure the time is correct - 8am fasting.

[sea2swim]

Thanks for the information!  At 1 time I did have low DHEA, so when I asked the doctor she said she didn't know why they where low, so I started taking a DHEA supplement.  I had my test results wrong... my Cortisol AM is 33.0 HIGH... normal- 6.2-19.4.  I am just so tired of doctors telling me that there is nothing wrong, when the test results are showing there is.  So depressing

[Red_Star]

My reasons for weight gain/difficulty losing weight are severe insulin resistance and hypothyroidism. My hip to waist ratio is 0.96 due to high insulin. Insulin is a powerful fat storing hormone. This is the number one cause of high hip to waist ratio.

Causes of abdominal fat:

High insulin
High cortisol
High estrogen
Low testosterone
Low DHEA