RE: Letter from GP - any advice please?!!

[Guest guest]

Did they prescribe a pill for you to take at 11pm the night before.    I had a test where they said it had to be done at 9am the next day but I had to take a pill at 11 the night before.    I would check on this if I were you, because it is daft having the blood test without the pill if you are supposed to have the pill.   If the doctor does not know definitely, then get her to speak to the endo again.

Lilian

" I have now spoken to the Endocrinologist and they have advised me to arrange a further blood test for you. The blood test needs to be taken at approximately 9am on the day that you have it done. "

[Guest guest]

Make sure when you have the cortisol blood test done that it is

done before 9.00a.m. - it is useless after that. However, this one and only

time for testing the cortisol production only shows the level of cortisol at

that particular time. Cortisol has its own circadian rhythm and doctors should

be checking it at noon, 4.00p.m. and again at midnight to get the true picture.

Press for a short synacthen test.

Even if they did the 24 hour urine test, this only shows the

amount of cortisol you have secreted during those 24 hours, and not the amount

you produced at those specific times.

Yes, you must stop the Nutri Adrenal Extra for at least two

weeks before the test, otherwise the results would be flawed.

Good luck Georgie!

Luv - Sheila

Any advice on whether it is worth stopping NAX before this test? I am currently

taking 6 NAX per day. The only reason I haven't started HC is because I want to

wait and see if the NHS will do a short synacthen test or other useful test to

rule out s.

I feel totally stressed out about this! Any advice on how to proceed?

.._,___

[Guest guest]

it sounds like they are doing the 9am cortisol test to see how much cortisol you

have in your body at 9am. in my view they should also test ACTH at the same

time to see how much your body is stimulating your adrenals to produce cortisol.

I doubt they'll do this though.

A urinary free cortisol test would be good in my view because it shows how much

cortisol you produce over the day. This may be high or low or midrange. I read

that people can have low saliva cortisol but normal urinary cortisol, if they

are clearing the cortisol quickly from their body. If you could add in a

saliva adrenal test at the same time that'd be good too, then you'd see how much

cortisol you were producing over the day, and at what times it peaked - or

didn't , as the case maybe. or have you already had a saliva cortisol test

done?

Someone else mentioned taking a tablet at night before the test, this is for a

different test - dexamathesaone suppression test. This is used if they suspect

you have cushings or other high cortisol states:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dexamethasone_suppression_test

it doesn't sound like they are doing this test in you.

just my unqualified opinion.

chris

>

>

> I got a letter from my GP today, after seeing her last week re. very low

adrenal saliva results. At the time she said she wouldn't do a serum cortisol,

as there was 'no point', and said she'd look into a 24-hr urine test instead.

>

> Georgie

>

[Guest guest]

Thanks all

My opinion is that the GP talked to the endo, and the endo pooh-poohed the

saliva test results (which the GP had previously seemed to take seriously) so

now the GP is backing down on her previous planned course of action and instead

trying to fob me off with a test that she previously described as 'pointless'.

I'm going to see her on Monday, and I'm going to ask (again) for the SST, and

tell her that I am planning to self-treat unless she can provide an appropriate

set of tests and interventions. I do not want to be messing around with GPs and

endos for 6 months while my health steadily declines, and then find they have

nothing to offer me because it all looks 'normal' to them. When I know that I

can improve my adrenal situation with HC, and my thyroid with NTD. I'm done with

feeling ill! I choose health!!!!

Thanks all for the advice and support - at least I know what this is supposed to

be about now.

I'll keep you updated

Georgie

>

> it sounds like they are doing the 9am cortisol test to see how much cortisol

you have in your body at 9am.