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1257808 tn?1322762215

diagnosis of adrinal fatigue

Hello ,

Can you help me?
Can you tell me other test to diagnose adrinal fatigue rather than 24 adrinal hormone saliva test?
I need another test to give me difinitve and absuluote diagnosis for this problem .

Thanks
29 Responses
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757137 tn?1347196453
I have had no luck at all with endocrinologists. Here is one ridiculous example. I went for one of those 5 or 6 hour blood sugar tests. After drinking the horrible goop they give you my flood sugar level dropped instead of rising and kept dropping. My idiot MD told me I did not have diabetes. Well that was not exactly a shocker. So I went out and bought Carlton Fredericks's book on low blood sugar so I could treat myself. I think hypoglycemia is not in fashion. Nor is low blood pressure. I am bed up to the eyeballs with medical fads.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Most conventional endos treat diabetes and the thyroid (and the thyroid is debatable). Few understand well how to test and then how to interpret the tests properly. So it can take many doctors to find the right one.

A neuro-endo has more training and treats pituitary disorders.
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757137 tn?1347196453
The only help I got was through alternative medicine. Traditional medicine doesn't have a clue. And, by the way, adrenal fatigue is a separate dysfunction and is not Cushings. Adrenal fatigue is caused by prednisone and inhaled steroid use. You may well have Cushings rather than adrenal fatigue.

I misunderstood your original post, thinking that you had already had the urine and saliva tests.  You don't have to live near a lab for the test. My samples were sent by mail to NeuroScience.  
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1257808 tn?1322762215
until find good doctor, what test can I do?

why may I need neuro-endo dr not endocrinologist dr only?
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Avatar universal
There are effective tests! You just have to find the right doctor. Cortisol in all forms, acth, other hormones, other testing, stim testing etc. and the correct interpretation will get you there. You need baseline testing to get you to a neuro-endo and the neuro-endo should get you to diagnosis and treatment.

Ally-M, Cushings varys greatly in symptoms and I have met people of all weights (people don't always gain) and no one gets all any or all symptoms. Fatigue is the biggie and that happens with low cortisol too.
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757137 tn?1347196453
I have adrenal fatigue and virtually none of the symptoms of Cushing's, the only exception being high cortisol which results in insomnia and, if untreated, panic attacks. No other physical signs are present.
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1257808 tn?1322762215
Sadly, doctors think Cushing's is rare due to what they are taught and will not test for it or test effectively for it


how can test it effectively?
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Avatar universal
Abnormal elevations, that is.
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Avatar universal
All elevations of cortisol is Cushing's syndrome, sadly. It should fall in the evening, not rise - that is a loss of diurnal or circadian rhythm - and that is Cushing's.
Sadly, doctors think Cushing's is rare due to what they are taught and will not test for it or test effectively for it - and people go undiagnosed so people look for explanations elsewhere but the syndrome/disease is still Cushing's.
Helpful - 0
757137 tn?1347196453
In the early stages of adrenal fatigue,cortisol is elevated. It is usually normal or low in the morning and continues to rise during the day and evening, rather than falling. Adrenal fatigue is not to be confused with Cushing's Syndrome or Addison's Disease.
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Avatar universal
The hormone cortisol control the metabolism or breakdown of the carbohydrates, fats and proteins.

I dont remember the detailed mechanism right now but in AF your body is still producing cortisol not in sufficient quantities to breakdown the all carbos for energy then the body with the help of insulin take the not used remaining carbos and convert it into fat to store it in your body.

In adrenal insufficiently the body cant breakdown the carbos, so the body tend to take the fat for energy.

Usually is recomended to have a diet in low complex carbos. Avoid foods in high potassium because it can aggaravate muscle pain. Try to increase food with high sodium. Some people say that this can erradicate the pain related to tendon muscle. I never try it so i dont know if is true.

Cortisol have a lot of important roles in your body even some studies show that it help the thyroid hormone to enter the cell, it control too with the hormone adredaline the precipitation of the hormone insulin, etc
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1257808 tn?1322762215
I read these qeutions on this web site
http://www.*************************/adrenal-info/


DISCOVERY STEP ONE: Here are exploratory questions, and if you answer yes to any of these, you may have struggling adrenal function (the revised STTM book has more questions in Chapter 5):

1) Do you have a hard time falling asleep at night?
2) Do you wake up frequently during the night?
3) Do you have a hard time waking up in the morning early, or feeling refreshed?
4) Do bright lights bother you more than they should?
5) Do you startle easily due to noise?
6) When standing from sitting or from lying down, do you feel lightheaded or dizzy?
7) Do you take things too seriously, and are easily defensive?
8 ) Do you feel you don’t cope well with certain people or events in your life?

************

the answer for all these questions: yes .
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1257808 tn?1322762215
why In my condition mainly I gain weight not loss it? now my weight more than 180 kg. nothing help me to reduce or control it.
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1257808 tn?1322762215
may I have problem with 2 hormones or more.

**********
one more symptom is tingling in feet or hand fingers
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1257808 tn?1322762215
I read that you did a adrenal urine test with blood at the same time, What are the results? I did not find them.

yes I did it few year ago. I don't know exact result but the doctor said it was normal & ok.

*****************************

To locate the adrenal pain you will feel a inside pain not muscular or superficial is inside your body in the middle of your back but inside your body not the column lumbar part(low back).


may I have pain similar to it.


*******************

Are you having severe hyploglicemia?
No

***********************


Are your muscle burning?
yes I have musle pain, weakness &spasm. but not all the time. but when it attack the pain impossible.

************************

I didn't do AM blood cortisol or PM once.

I remember I did blood cortisol at night.

**************************

http://www.*************************/adrenal-info/symptoms-low-cortisol/

its not work. can you post it again.

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Avatar universal
AM cortisol blood is a test for know the cortisol levels in your blood during the 8am clock not like the urine test that only check average level during the day. This blood test usually check 8:00AM and the PM test that is for 4:00PM.

Saliva test is the same but you do a 8am, 11am, 4pm and 10pm. It is more accurate but a Cortisol AM is a better low cost test less accurate but i was Dx with this test.

To locate the adrenal pain you will feel a inside pain not muscular or superficial is inside your body in the middle of your back but inside your body not the column lumbar part(low back). Usually this pain is more severe on adrenaline situations, during the mornings or having high T3 thyroid medications(this was my experience).

This is list of symptoms from people that experince AF:
http://www.*************************/adrenal-info/symptoms-low-cortisol/

Other questions:
Are you having severe hyploglicemia?
Are your muscle burning?
I read that you did a adrenal urine test with blood at the same time, What are the results? I did not find them.
Helpful - 0
1257808 tn?1322762215
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1257808 tn?1322762215
I did blood cortisl when I did 24hr adrinal urine but I Don't know is it AM or not?
WHAT is AM cortisl level?

yes, amy symptoms are cyclic. some of it appear other disappear. Just few symptoms are continues like headache, weight change (mainly gain), emotinal, psychologiacal & behavioral disturbances, change mode.


in more detail please read my problem here
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Thyroid-Disorders/HORMONES-CAUSE-WEIGHT-GAIN-/show/1598128

**************

Are your constipation usually with dearrea?

yes
severe to moderate abdominal pain with or without stools.
my you mean with soft stools .... this present.

***************

Is very important the inner pain in the adrenal area in your back. I read your symptoms and 80% of the symptoms are from LONG time adrenal fatigue.

I'm not sure. I have back pain specially after wake up. sometimes I feel more worm inside my low back area.  before few years I feel special pain like pressure in lower part of my back near the column.

can you tell me more about this pain to I can give you accurate answer.

but I can say that during all these year I had back pain in different way & figure.

****************

.I forgot did you have salt craving? .

I cannot say yes or not because I'm confuse about that. I'm not sure. may I'm may I'm not. It's not clear sign.
for example, I can say I don't like or I don't prefer drink water. I prefer drink cola or any other things . drink water in the bottom of the list. this clear sign for me. salt craving not. yes there is somethieg strange about salt but I'm not sure.

I like sleep but it not help me to feel relax.
I can't eat in the early morning.

my symptoms like symptoms of many diseases or endocrine problems... thats confuse me.

thank you
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Avatar universal
I forgot did you have salt craving?
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Avatar universal
Have you  test your AM cortisol levels from blood? Dont trust on the actual cortisol range.That range only point for adrenal insufficiency or high cortisol like Cushings. If your levels are mid-low or low may be an indication of adrenal fatigue but you can know if your adrenals are burnout when you feel a inner pain in your back (adrenal area). Saliva test tends to be the more accurate for Dx adrenal fatigue (or adrenocortical deficiency) and AM cortisol is useful.


Another questions:
Are your symptoms cyclics?
Are your constipation usually with dearrea?

Is very important the inner pain in the adrenal area in your back. I read your symptoms and 80% of the symptoms are from LONG time adrenal fatigue.

I too have adrenal fatigue I had the 65% of your symptoms. Im on treatment.
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1257808 tn?1322762215
Did you keep the urine cold the entire time?
I keep it under room temperature.


What should I do now? concentart on thyroid or adrinal or other hormone or what?
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
One (1) test is not sufficient to diagnose Cushing's. There could have been lab error (it is not a common test. You could have been fine that day as people cycle up and down with cortisol - there is an episodic or cyclical form. Did you keep the urine cold the entire time? That would have impacted the test as well. Were there multiple jugs and did the lab mix them before taking the sample - that would impact the result.

You have many of the symptoms - and while doctors think it is very rare and impossible to have, you need to get tested for it. The current protocol calls for at least three different tests and more if there is clinical suspicion.

I had it - I know it is not easy to get diagnosed. Make sure you get copies of all your tests as well - some doctors will overlook abnormal results as they have read you need to have 2x or 3x the abnormal limit which is bunk.
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1257808 tn?1322762215
I did 24 hr adrinal urine cortisol the result was ok.  I did it before few years.
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1257808 tn?1322762215
the problem is that I did meet too maney doctors during last 11-12 years but no result . I did 24 hr adrinal urine cortisol the result was ok. so, I'm now so hopeless about found the causes of my all symptoms.
Any idea may help me will be fine.
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