Adrenal Insufficiency :: Low Morning Cortisol, High Afternoon Cortisol
First off, I am a 30 year old female, and I've had an array of crazy symptoms for years and have gone undiagnosed (well, misdiagnosed with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome). I've also been diagnosed with hypothyroidism, PCOS, Endometriosis, and autonomic dysfunction. My symptoms range from debilitating fatigue, hormonal symptoms, dizziness and fainting, and inability to keep a pregnancy. Over the years, I have had consistently low levels of cortisol, but now things are changing. My 8:00 am cortisol level is 2.1, and my 1:00pm is 21. It went from low to high in my results. They were suspecting secondary adrenal insufficiency before due to the consistently low levels, but with that new afternoon level, I am really confused. Also, I have extreme fatigue in the early morning (have to drag myself out of bed) but I get a giant boost of energy at night and have trouble getting to sleep. My NP thought the cortisol levels could explain that, and she gave me a prescription for Cortef in the morning and sent me to the Vitamin store to pick up Phosphorylated Serine and Adrenal Adaptogens to control the nighttime level. She didn't address why this could be happening, and I was worried about taking the Cortef with those high afternoon levels, so I recently switched to an endocrinologist who repeated the afternoon test. I've just looked at the results online and it is high again. I'm so confused.
These are the exact results shown on my endo's site:
MAY 19: 3p ACTH 19 NL; CORTISOL 21.1 ; 21 HYX AB NEG; RENIN 3.48 NL; ALDO 12 NL; NA 139 NL; DHEA-S 153 NL
I will say, I do have INTENSE dehydration and sodium loss that has caused me to become a neurological patient as well, and I down 2-3 32 oz Powerades a day and consume probably 10-15 times the normal sodium consumption levels as my neurologists have suggested in order to keep my from getting dizzy and passing out all the time, so that may explain why my sodium level looks fine. But that cortisol... how could it start the morning off low and end up high later in the day? Does anyone else have any experience with this?
Adrenal Insufficiency :: Cortisol Level 1.2 At 8:00 AM - Low?
I just got my blood drawn at 8 am for my cortisol levels were at 1.2 is this low?
View 1 RepliesAdrenal Insufficiency :: Cortisol Low After Doing Dexamethasone Test
My Cortisol level after doing dexamethasone test is below normal at 1.2
View 1 RepliesAdrenal Insufficiency :: Is A 0.6 Cortisol Level Dangerous?
Is a 0.6 cortisol level dangerous?
View 2 RepliesAdrenal Insufficiency :: How High Cortisol Levels Can Go?
How high do very high cortisol numbers go?
View 1 RepliesAdrenal Insufficiency :: Skin Feels Constantly Like It Is On Fire?
I have been fealing very hot the past 4-5 months, occasional headaches, sweating, heart palpitations. My skin feels constantly like it is on fire. I got my cortisol tested via saliva testing, all seem to drop on the normal range, but the morning level seems pretty low? Isn't it supposed to be the highest during the morning? Heres the results:
7-8AM: 1,87 nmo/l (1,38-15,7)
12-13PM: 8,55 nmo/l (0,55-9,94)
16-17PM: 4,1 nmo/l (0,55-6,62)
22-23PM : 1,18 nmo/l (0,55-3,59)
Adrenal Insufficiency :: Cold Chills And Horrible Sweating
Having cold chills, then horrible sweating. This goes on all day for me. I could not stay in grocery store to the cold, but by the time I arrived home, I was covered with sweat. The sweat is like you just came out of the shower.I have increased my fluids and am drinking diet decaf ice tea. This is especially when I am on the first dose 20 mg hydrocortisone. But it happens all day, and at night, I wake up sweating. Then, I get cold.
View 11 RepliesAdrenal Insufficiency :: ACTH Test Bad Side Effects
I had an acth stim test about two weeks ago. I have been having a lot of health problems but they had calmed down some on the day of the test and the day before. After the test, everything went to heck, ( body feeling "jerky", involuntary body movements-primarily at night, muscle weakness at times- even causing me to limp around during the day, and lean on the wall one night due to weakness and fatigue, head ache like crazy-especially behind eyes/back of head, problems thinking, among other things). I had those problems before the test but was feeling ok for that 1.5 days then bam. I am wondering what bad effects people have had. Also wondering what all is affected from the stim test (what other parts besides adrenal/cortisol could it have aggravated. I haven't gotten results but don't think they did the test right anyway. I would be afraid to get it again cause how it affected me :(.
ps They recently found a pituitary cyst on my posterior pituitary gland (they said its fine).
Adrenal Insufficiency :: Interpret ACTH STIM Test Results
I am 38 Year Old male, Have been an athlete and or worked out since the age of 12 (super active). For the last 10 years or so I have been super fatigued/tired, don't recover well from exercise, terrible reactive hypoglycemia, muscle twitches, tan year round (i used to be white/pail as could be, now I carry at tan year round) short temper, sleep like crap. I can't seem to handle heat or a ton of direct sun. I will get sick for a day or 2 nauseous/fatigued/headache (it is not water usually i will drink 2 liters of water while out hiking for the afternoon.
I have taken 3 different Saliva cortisol test and all 3 looked the same, cortisol was in the tank upon waking and slowing rose throughout the day. The complete opposite of what it should look like. I finally talked my doctor into doing an ACTH Stim test. I have only got back the Cortisol results at this point, But they are very interesting??
From all that I have read on intercepting ACTH results your baseline Cortisol should double at 60 minutes. According to this test is should be >18 at 60 minutes I only rose 8!!! Please see results below.
Baseline Draw- 19.7, Standard > 5
30 Minute Draw- 26.4, Standard >7 Above Baseline Result, JUST UNDER BY .3
60 Minute Draw- 27.7, Standard >18 Above Baseline Result, 10 UNDER THE BARE MINIMUM IT SHOULD HAVE RISEN!!!
I am a little confused on how to interpret these results?? Like I said I should have the rest of the numbers in a few days.
Adrenal Disorders :: Addisons Crisis Or Just Low Cortisol?
I have Addison's disease for 10 years. Every once in awhile I feel very run down and sort of out of it if that makes sense? For the past 4 days I am having a hard time staying awake. I cannot stay up for more than 2 hours at a time and have just basically slept the days away. I have a headache and feel nauseated on top of this. A couple times I have even felt dizzy. I have been doing a lot of reading (while I am awake) on the subject of addisonian crisis and was just wanting to see what some other people think that have gone through this. I have doubled my meds but it hasn't helped yet. Although I just started that yesterday.
View 3 RepliesAdrenal Insufficiency :: Side Effects Of Long Term Omeprazole 20mg / Vitamin D And Calcium?
Are there any side effect of taking vitamins(e.g. vitamin D+calcium) for long time as 3 months or more.
Does "Omeprazole 20mg" cause any harmful effect in long term use ?
Adrenal Disorders :: What Is Normal For The Cortisol Level At 9.00 In Morning?
I am concerned about my test I have had recently...my blood pressure is a little low and when I am sleeping it is dropping to 81/51. My cortisol is 357 at a 9.00 in the morning. I have been having some very bizarre symptoms.. I started with sudden dizziness and numbness in my arms 6 months ago they tested me for stroke tia but it was clear.. then the symptoms started to get worse fatigue, pains in my legs, back pain, feeling sick, dizziness just feeling generally unwell... does any on no what is normal for the cortisol level is at 9.00 in the morning.. I think they are testing me for addison disease.
Adrenal Disorders :: Low Blood Pressure With High Cortisol And Fast Heart Rate
I had my AM cortisol tested and it came out high. I did the blood test while fasting about 1 hour after I woke up.
My AM cortisol: 33.7 (normal range 6.2-19.4)
Could the high cortisol be the cause of my symptoms:fast heart rate (gets worse with exertion), sweating, and 15 pound weight loss, trouble sleeping?
I was researching it online and my symptoms seem to fit more with those with low cortisol than high cortisol. I've been to 5 doctors and went to the ER once because I've been feeling so terrible the past 4 months. My AM cortisol is the first thing to come out abnormal. All thyroid, liver, etc. tests come out perfectly within the normal range.
Adrenal Disorders :: Cortisol Stim Test And Then ACTH Test ?
I was just wondering what comes after a cortisol stim test for diagnosing Addison's Disease ?
I had 2 Cortisol stim tests done one in the afternoon and one in the early morning .
Afternoon test read 2.8 out of 5-15
Morning test read 3.8 out of 5-25 Both low
Do i now have a Acth test done to see if its the adrenals glands or Pituitary or Hypothalamus Producing such low cortisol ?
I have abdominal cramping , hot flashes , constipation . tired , weak and major weight loss 35 + pounds in 8 months .
Addison's :: Understanding Low Cortisol
About two months ago, I had mentioned to my personal trainer that I was feeling very tired with low blood pressure. This had been going on for a couple months, on and off every couple of weeks. He mentioned that it could be cortisol-related.
I went home and did a lot of researching about the issue and found that I matched a lot of the symptoms of low cortisol. I went in to see my doctor a couple days later. When I mentioned that I thought it was low cortisol, he said that the adrenal glands usually do the job and that it probably wasn't that. He tried to prescribe me anti-depressants which I declined, and then ran a few blood tests, along with an AM only cortisol test (it was about 11AM).
The test came back with a level of 17 mg/dL of cortisol taken at 11AM. However, he said my blood sugar was 54 which was very low. Also, my Vitamin D was below normal ranges. Some other counts were off, but nothing that really pointed to anything that could be causing what I was feeling.
I took a multivitamin for a few weeks. I had also been congested in the back of my throat for two months, so I went back to see the doctor if he could do anything about that. He determined it was a sinus infection, and prescribed Cefuroxime for two weeks to get rid of the congestion. I asked if that could help my fatigue to which he said it could help.
So I finished the two week round of antibiotics, and now it's two weeks later and I still feel horrible. Here's the main things that I am experiencing. I really don't feel depressed and feel like I enjoy life a lot.
- Inability to wake up for work. I wake up around 9AM, and feel like I haven't slept at all. I previously had to wake up around 5AM to get everything done in the morning
- Feeling of drowsiness through the morning, up until noon. Sometimes like today it will last all day.
- Extremely low blood pressure while standing. This starts around 2PM every day and lasts until around 5PM. I usually don't fall down and just black out, but recently I fell because after standing up and injured my knee.
- Fluctuations in appetite, I will eat a TON of food with out gaining any weight (5-6 meals a day), but I exercise a lot so this isn't super concerning. My weight is constant.
- Itchy red eyes when I wake up
- Exhaustion when sitting, feels like I should lay down but not low blood pressure
- Hypoglycemia, my blood sugar is really low in the mornings, and then again in the evenings before dinner. Between that it feels fine but I don't do regular testing on this to know for sure.
Also I am 20 years old male and a competitive cyclist. I eat very healthy foods (although a lot to keep up my activity). I live at a high altitude (7,400ft).
Polymyalgia Rheumatica And GCA :: Overproduction Of Cortisol
A few thoughts and questions after reading Penelope Leach on not leaving babies to cry and not subjecting them to over rigid routines. Well, I'm on her side entirely. Why add to the sum total of human misery? Bossy I may be but I'm not a control freak and some of these child experts are really scary.
But that is by the way. For PMR/ GCA sufferers I thought the interesting part was her information on the effect on the brain of overproduction of cortisol. I expect most of us are past the developing brain stage which is so vital in babies but we'd like to preserve what we have. I can certainly vouch that the 78 year old brain is definitely NOT unaffected as I have posted elsewhere. ( No Prednisolone )
Mrs. Leach also mentions that cortisol is an easy hormone (? ) to monitor through saliva tests. Given that unwanted reaction to prednisolone is not unusual, I wonder is anyone has ever been interested enough to run some tests. Maybe some of us who are not very big are over prescribed. Maybe we could benefit from taking the drug other than at breakfast. Eileen H's Alternate Day Therapy looks interesting.
I'm willing to donate some saliva and take the swabs and record the results. God forbid! I am not medically qualified. As a long time teacher I just hate to think of all the wasted evidence that could be freely available. I must say that I have always found vets much more open to and ready to share information but I guess they have more time for which we willingly pay than NHS doctors who are rationed to 10 minutes a patient. This is not a criticism of NHS or doctors, just a belated recognition of how right my old headmistress was in 1947 when she said "This will not work; it takes no account of human nature. She was an expert on human nature. Of course, she was not entirely right. It DOES work very often but it is abused and therefor has never been able to develop its full potential.
Addison's :: What Was Your Cortisol Level When Diagnosed
What was your cortisol level when you were diagnosed with Addison's? I'm guessing it was 0.
View 1 RepliesCTH Stimulation Test Results - Cortisol Decrease
By way of background I have typical cushing's symptoms but my early labs including 24 hour urine were normal. So of course doctors have been dismissive. I had a brain MRI for tinnitus and convinced the radiologist to include the pituitary and a microadenoma was found. Now doctors are taking me seriously thank goodness. I had a an ACTH stimulation test a couple of days ago and these are the results posted online:
Base cortisol 42.0
30 min cortisol 26.0
60 min 49.2
Normal range for morning (test done at about 9 am): 6.2-19.4
Morning Cortisol Level Of 9.2 - CRH Stim Test?
I was just given the ACTH stim test for a morning cortisol level of 9.2. There was a good response from my adrenals, but doesn't this just rule out primary adrenal insufficiency? My signs and symptoms are: worsening fatigue, loss of appetite, weight loss, headaches, pain & pressure in my sinuses ( but no drainage), slight visual changes in my left eye, poor libido, mood swings! My doc said my results were normal and does not intend to work up any further. Shouldn't we do a CRH stim test to rule out a possible pituitary problem?
View 1 Replies