Re: Thyroid blood test and Isocort....

[Guest guest]

Thanks Shelia,

He is a bit naieve and admits it, which is honest, says he is no endocrinologist and was even prepared to work with Dr Peatfield when i mentioned it, until he found out about Dr Peafield's issues with the GMC and then became afraid and backed out and said he will refer me to an endocrinilogist and protect me from 'quacks'. He also said hair mineral analysis does not mean anything and is quackery as the heavy metals are in hair which is dead tissue and not blood which is what matters, when i asked how heavy metals would work their way into hair if not through blood, he replied, 'it's dead matter that's why they get there and accumulate but that does not mean anything''.

I nearly got him to agree to see Dr Peatfield but the good doctors reputation precedes him i suppose. Are there any NHS doctors up yorkshire end that will be prepared to work with Dr Peatfield or even any NHS endocrinologists that i could try and get referred to, through a little use of resourcefulness.

Also, would i sufficiently disturb my adrenal treatment if i stop for 2 weeks to get the accurate cortisol test?, in your opinion would i need to taper down the dose of Isocort?, just wondering but i will ask with Dr peatfield when i see him.

Also, please correct me if i am wrong, but irregardless of the results of the ACTH test, the treatment for poor adrenal function is the same - adrenals support via glandulars and if needed HC and then tapered down after a period time to see if they have recovered. In this case i am not missing much because i know my adrenals are poor, or is there something else the ACTH test would tell me?

Best Regards

Mohammed

Isocort won't affect thyroid results taking it the same day as the blood draw but it would affect any cortisol testing as you rightly say, and it's a shame this was not done because with all of your symptoms and the fact that you need to take up to 8 Isocort a day, a low cortisol result just might have shown up and you would have had a chance of being referred to an endocrinologists (but preferably one of your choice). I would tell your GP what happened and the reason your cortisol result looks 'normal' and ask for another one Mohammed. Work with your GP, you might really need him in the future - and perhaps you can teach him a little about the functioning of the adrenals and the importance of recognising those suffering with low adrenal reserve, rather than just 's or Cushing's syndrome.

You will need to be off Isocort for 2 weeks before the ACTH test, otherwise the results will be flawed.

..

[Guest guest]

Also, please correct me if i am wrong, but irregardless of the results of the ACTH test, the treatment for poor adrenal function is the same - adrenals support via glandulars and if needed HC and then tapered down after a period time to see if they have recovered. In this case i am not missing much because i know my adrenals are poor, or is there something else the ACTH test would tell me?

Hello Mohammed,

You are correct – when the adrenals are weak, the treatment is as you suggest and since you already know that your adrenals are exhausted, you are not missing out much by not having a salivary adrenal profile at this time – although a profile would have told you at which time of the day your adrenals are weakest/strongest and to which degree, and this can be of value.

The things that an ACTH stim test would determine are adrenal insufficiency (pre-addisonian state of the adrenals) and primary (total failure of the adrenal function) or secondary (pituitary malfunction) 's disease as well as Cushing's disease (too much production of cortisol).

The differences between exhausted adrenals / adrenal insufficiency / 's and Cushing's disease are .... exhausted adrenals are just that, exhausted; they can be coaxed back to full function in most cases. It is not an autoimmune disease.

Adrenal Insufficiency is serious – it is a pre-addisonian stage and it is questionable if the damage can be halted or reversed.

Primary 's disease is an autoimmune disease and it can't be cured – the patient would need HC plus a mineralcorticoid like Florinef for life.

Secondary 's is also an autoimmune disease, most commonly caused by a pituitary or adrenal tumour. A variety of treatments is possible, but often HC is needed for life and more often than not secondary AD progresses into primary AD.

Cushing's is at the other end of the spectrum – too much cortisol is produced, also most often as a result of a tumour. It is not an autoimmune disease.

Best wishes,