Catecholomines

Firs, I would like to ask if there is a search engine for medhelp?  I was going to search out catecholomines and post my question there but could not find a search engine for this site.

My question is what is the acceptable range for catecholomines.  I had the test and the number I got was 324 which my doctor says is normal.

I have started asking for copies of all my blood tests but can't read them well enough to know what is happening.  The catecholomine and norepinephrine numbers were both 324 so is that the catecholomine and rorepinephreine the same thing.  Also, beside both it said "no range found."  What does that mean>

The test said microalbumin/CR (I assume creatine ) ... latest range 0-29 mg/g and my number was 70 which I know is abnormal.

[AireScottie]

There is a search function for MedHelp.  You can either search a particular forum (box above recent activity) or search everywhere (top right corner).  
A full catecholamine panel will include dopamine, epinephrine, and norepinephrine.  My doctor said a lot of places only do norepinephrine though.  Here are the ranges from the National Institute of Health for epinephrine and norepinephrine: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003561.htm
Were these tests done for your dysautonomia/POTS?  If so, did your doctor draw blood and test these levels during a tilt?  That can be very informative.  If it helps at all, my levels were, pre-tilt: Dopamine - less than 20, Epinephrine - 25, Norepinephrine - 316; during tilt: Dopamine - less than 20, Epinephrine - less than 10, Norepinephrine - 258.  These were all normal, and also showed that my syncope was not at all related to anxiety or other chemical imbalance, because the amounts were normal and actually went down during tilt.  
Good luck interpreting your numbers.  You might want to call your doctor's office to see if they can give you a more thorough explanation

[shannonkim]

You should get a copy of your labs from your doctor as each lab has its own normal ranges. Also the type of testing matters. I was tested for cats supine for 30 min than upright for 10 mins and my values were norephinephrine 2965 upright (normal 70-750) and 1364 supine; dopamine 131 upright (normal <30) and 61 supine and normal epinephrine (range 0-110). This testing done at autonomic function lab at Mayo in Rochester. Hope this info helps, good luck!

[netthetics]

Thanks for your response.  I don't know how I ever missed the search engine!  LOL!  I didn't know about drawing blood while have the tilt table test.  I went in for the test yesterday but dure to error by the person who took my registration info was unable to take the test my weight being over the weight of the table allowance.  I was pretty upset due to the fact that I had told them on the phone how much I weighed and they could have saved me a trip.  If your 316 level was normal then my 324 is probably normal as well.  Certainly not anything like the 2965 level that shannokim got!  I imagine that would not be normal?  I do know that when the dentist gives me ephinephrin my heart freaks out and so do I.  Perhaps, without the added epinephrin I am ok.  On the other hand, there is only a minuscle amount of epinephrin in the the dentist's drug. My doctor doesn't know anything about dysautonomia ... we are learning together.  In my state they are doing all kind of studies about dysautonomia in animals but no one that does anything with people!  They are real concerned about the dogs and cats.  Perhaps iI should see a Vet.  Just kidding!  

[Heiferly]

There is a procedure to do a "poor man's tilt" test without using a tilt table.  Because they can't do a regular tilt table test, you may want to discuss with your doctor the possibility of him/her performing this procedure instead.  If you want more information on this, look for it in our Health Pages links (top right of page) under Further Reading on Dysautonomia ... I believe it says in the description of one of the links that it's the one for the poor man's tilt description.  Not to belabor the point, but do note the warning that this is best done under a doctor's supervision.  

[AireScottie]

Dealing with medical staff can be so frustrating!  I once had two medical files opened on me - they could never find my info because it was in the other file.  The nurses still think I'm a lying little brat, because they could NEVER have screwed up, and I had to go through hospital admin to get their mistake fixed.  I never went back there again!  I hope you get back in soon for your testing.  As for the catecholamine levels, the only places I know of that draw blood during the tilt are Mayo and Cleveland Clinic.  Maybe someone here has been treated the same elsewhere?  You're right that your level is in the normal range.  Some people are normal unless their body is stressed, which is why it's good to check both ways.  Unfortunately, Mayo and CC aren't that close to you.  There's also a method to do a seated tilt, so if you're having trouble getting the standing tilt, maybe your doctor could do that.

[netthetics]

Thanks, I am not in mood to try to do the tilt table again so will copy info about the poor man's tilt and give to my doctor.  I noticed they had a bigger table in the room I was in but it was sitting up.  I wonder if that was the seated tilt table.  Perhaps they could have done that instead right then and there.