Aa
I am confused
I have blurry vision, nausea, diarrhea, unstable fluctuating blood pressure, panic attacks and fatigue. My doctor wants me to get a cosyntrupia (sp?) stimulus test. He thinks I might have Dysautonomia. What is it????? I am concerned because the internet makes it sound terrible. Is there really no cure? Will I be like this forever? What is that test he wants me to take? Any info would be great!
A cosyntropin stimulation test is an injection of ACTH, the pituitary hormone that tells your adrenal glands to release cortisol into the blood. My son had one, to check his adrenal cortisol function before being put on thyroxine. (His adrenals were fine, but he could not produce his own ACTH, due to a pituitary tumor).
My son had all of your symptoms, but it was due to adrenal insufficiency and hypothyroidism, from the pituitary damage. Interestingly, no one ever mentioned autonomic dysfunction the whole time he was having symptoms, but he did develop severe orthostatic intolerance and POTS-like symptoms several months before the tumor was removed. He still has severe OI, but the root cause has not been diagnosed.
It sounds like you are in the beginning stages of finding a more accurate diagnosis of your symptoms. I hope your doctor finds a treatable cause sooner, rather than later. Don't worry about the cosyn stim test. It's only an injection followed by a blood draw, to check cortisol release.
Why does your doc think you have dysautonomia, instead of adrenal insufficiency?
My son had all of your symptoms, but it was due to adrenal insufficiency and hypothyroidism, from the pituitary damage. Interestingly, no one ever mentioned autonomic dysfunction the whole time he was having symptoms, but he did develop severe orthostatic intolerance and POTS-like symptoms several months before the tumor was removed. He still has severe OI, but the root cause has not been diagnosed.
It sounds like you are in the beginning stages of finding a more accurate diagnosis of your symptoms. I hope your doctor finds a treatable cause sooner, rather than later. Don't worry about the cosyn stim test. It's only an injection followed by a blood draw, to check cortisol release.
Why does your doc think you have dysautonomia, instead of adrenal insufficiency?
Hello, Welcome to the Forum :)
I think the test you are referring to is the ACTH (cosyntropin) stimulation test.
This test measures how well the adrenal glands respond to the hormone ACTH which is produced in the pituitary gland that stimulates the adrenal glands to release cortisol.
From what I have read, this test is used to see that your adrenal and pituitary glands are normal. The test is done by having an injection of ACTH and blood will be drawn 2 times.....Once before the injection and the second about an hour after the injection. Are you also doing a 24 hour urine collection to go along w/ this test?
Are you seeing an Electrophysiologist, Cardiologist, or Endocrinologist for you Sx and referred testing? Have you had a Tilt Table Test done? I am guessing they are doing some ruling out other possibilities. No Worries...waiting on the proper Dx is one of the hardest part. When you finally get an official name for what you have then you can well educate yourself and take it from there :)
Keep in touch on how things are going. And again, Welcome to the Forum. If you look in the top right hand corner you will see a link called "Health Pages"..click on there and you will get a wealth of info also.
Take Care,
~Tonya
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