ACTH Stim test

[Guest guest]

Yes you would need ot be off all adrenal meds for at least 2 weeks to do

this test.,

--

Artistic Grooming- Hurricane WV

http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/NaturalThyroidHormonesADRENALS/

[Guest guest]

My endo had me just not take any HC the DAY of the ACTH stimulation test and I

still didn't pass it and was diagnosed with adrenal insufficiency.

ACTH stim test

Do I need to be off HC to have this done? I remamber reading about two kinds

of this test. Please, refresh my memory as to which one I need. I have a doc

that works with me pretty much - even Rx'd Armour after I told her I was taking

it, so I'd like to document the adrenal insufficiency if I can get this test

while I'm on HC.

Thanks,

[Guest guest]

Thanks ,

I don't see how I could possibly wean off of HC right now. Which test did you

have? I see people talking about two different ones.

----- Original Message -----

From: Gikas

Sent: Tuesday, January 01, 2008 9:00 AM

My endo had me just not take any HC the DAY of the ACTH stimulation test and I

still didn't pass it and was diagnosed with adrenal insufficiency.

[Guest guest]

, how did you do without your hc? Did you have a bad reaction? HOw long

did you go without it? The reason I ask is because I am sure my doc is going to

want to do the stim test on me and he has no idea I am on HC.

Thanks,

Kim

ACTH stim test

Do I need to be off HC to have this done? I remamber reading about two kinds

of this test. Please, refresh my memory as to which one I need. I have a doc

that works with me pretty much - even Rx'd Armour after I told her I was taking

it, so I'd like to document the adrenal insufficiency if I can get this test

while I'm on HC.

Thanks,

[Guest guest]

Sorry to jump in, but if you don't pass the ACTH stim test, and are

diagnosed with Adrenal Insufienciency...does that mean you have

s or simply Adrenal Fatigue?

I thought the ACTH stim only told you if it was pit or adrenal?

How can you tell if its the start of addisons as opposed to simply AF

that can be corrected out of time??

I'm considering having the ACTH stim test done, but am not sure if its

worth it.

THanks

KAtie

>

[Guest guest]

>>Sorry to jump in, but if you don't pass the ACTH stim test, and are

diagnosed with Adrenal Insufienciency...does that mean you have

s or simply Adrenal Fatigue?<<

First ther is not just a pass or fail wihtthe stim test. Tptal failure would be

below range STARTING cortils and No effect when you have the injeciotn, thta

would be diagnosed as 's. If you just have low cortiosl to begin with

which many of us do, they mostkly ignore that! WHY I do not know, but if it si

within the range whihc is WAY too broad, they call it normal. Then if you do not

doubnle you have weak adrenals, if you double or more the cause of adrenal

insufficiency is most likely LOW ACTH or pituitary.

--

Artistic Grooming- Hurricane WV

http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/NaturalThyroidHormonesADRENALS/

[Guest guest]

>>Sorry to jump in, but if you don't pass the ACTH stim test, and are

diagnosed with Adrenal Insufienciency...does that mean you have

s or simply Adrenal Fatigue?<<

First ther is not just a pass or fail wihtthe stim test. Tptal failure would be

below range STARTING cortils and No effect when you have the injeciotn, thta

would be diagnosed as 's. If you just have low cortiosl to begin with

which many of us do, they mostkly ignore that! WHY I do not know, but if it si

within the range whihc is WAY too broad, they call it normal. Then if you do not

doubnle you have weak adrenals, if you double or more the cause of adrenal

insufficiency is most likely LOW ACTH or pituitary.

--

Artistic Grooming- Hurricane WV

http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/NaturalThyroidHormonesADRENALS/

[Guest guest]

>>Sorry to jump in, but if you don't pass the ACTH stim test, and are

diagnosed with Adrenal Insufienciency...does that mean you have

s or simply Adrenal Fatigue?<<

First ther is not just a pass or fail wihtthe stim test. Tptal failure would be

below range STARTING cortils and No effect when you have the injeciotn, thta

would be diagnosed as 's. If you just have low cortiosl to begin with

which many of us do, they mostkly ignore that! WHY I do not know, but if it si

within the range whihc is WAY too broad, they call it normal. Then if you do not

doubnle you have weak adrenals, if you double or more the cause of adrenal

insufficiency is most likely LOW ACTH or pituitary.

--

Artistic Grooming- Hurricane WV

http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/NaturalThyroidHormonesADRENALS/

[Guest guest]

Ok, so it's good to get it done, in a sense.

Are there any antibody tests to test for s??

I've been searching into it, and it doesn't say much.

THanks

>

> >>Sorry to jump in, but if you don't pass the ACTH stim test, and

are

> diagnosed with Adrenal Insufienciency...does that mean you have

> s or simply Adrenal Fatigue?<<

>

> First ther is not just a pass or fail wihtthe stim test. Tptal

failure would be below range STARTING cortils and No effect when you

have the injeciotn, thta would be diagnosed as 's. If you just

have low cortiosl to begin with which many of us do, they mostkly

ignore that! WHY I do not know, but if it si within the range whihc

is WAY too broad, they call it normal. Then if you do not doubnle you

have weak adrenals, if you double or more the cause of adrenal

insufficiency is most likely LOW ACTH or pituitary.

>

> --

> Artistic Grooming- Hurricane WV

>

> http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/

> http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/NaturalThyroidHormonesADRENALS/

>

[Guest guest]

There is but most the time it is negative it would be very rare indeed

for them to show up. If oyu had 's you would not be able ot walk

at all wihtotu any HC.

--

Artistic Grooming- Hurricane WV

http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/NaturalThyroidHormonesADRENALS/

[Guest guest]

Thank you Val for this great info.I don't know how you learned all these

things:)

Than this means HC causes ACTH suppression.In this case if one takes ACTH test

while on hc we may get a false positive test result and be diagnosed with

adrenal insufficiency while he only has adrenal exhaustion? Would that be

correct?

bw

Nil

It is not directlky from the HC that the results are skewed. It takes abotu a

week for ACTH to return to normal once HC ios stopped and then another week for

adrnals to be able to produce as much as they can once the ACTH stimulaiton is

backto normal.

[Guest guest]

>>Than this means HC causes ACTH suppression.In this case if one takes ACTH test

while on hc we may get a false positive test result and be diagnosed with

adrenal insufficiency while he only has adrenal exhaustion? Would that be

correct?<<

Yes and if he takes it on the day of testing it may actually show high cortiolsl

which would really be a wrong diagnosis.

--

Artistic Grooming- Hurricane WV

http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/NaturalThyroidHormonesADRENALS/

[Guest guest]

I may end up taking this test on HC if I can't get weaned off of it by then. I

have an appt in Feb and I sincerely doubt I can wean off of 27.5mg by then. My

24 hour urine test showed high cortisol (of course with me being on HC). This

is a difficult situation as my primary dr forbid me to treat adrenals and she

referred me to this endo. I can't tell him I am self treating! And I have no

choice but to jump through their hoops because I am on state insurance. The

only reason I continue to see them is that I can at least get some of my Armour

(she only has me on half of what I need). *sigh* So I am pretty sure he will

do a stim test and I am scared because I don't want to have a bad reaction if

I'm on HC. I have to admit I don't really understand how it works...

Kim

Re: ACTH stim test

>>Than this means HC causes ACTH suppression.In this case if one takes ACTH

test while on hc we may get a false positive test result and be diagnosed with

adrenal insufficiency while he only has adrenal exhaustion? Would that be

correct?<<

Yes and if he takes it on the day of testing it may actually show high

cortiolsl which would really be a wrong diagnosis.

--

Artistic Grooming- Hurricane WV

http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/NaturalThyroidHormonesADRENALS/

[Guest guest]

Doesn't s start off slowly? Like...you'd start of with regular

ADrenal Fatigue on a saliva test, and then eventaully get worse? Or

is it, all at once...boom, you can't move or function without HC. I

thought s was more of a progressive disease, not one that

happens all at once. hmmm

>

> There is but most the time it is negative it would be very rare

indeed

> for them to show up. If oyu had 's you would not be able ot

walk

> at all wihtotu any HC.

>

> --

> Artistic Grooming- Hurricane WV

>

> http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/

> http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/NaturalThyroidHormonesADRENALS/

>

[Guest guest]

>>How late for the dose should you be before having the test done? Just skip

morning dose and take after?

I need to get this done, but cannot go off HC right now, so trying to figure out

the best way to do this.<<

For most of us just skipping the AM dose, depending on wht time you usually take

it, should be enough to have it come up low.

--

Artistic Grooming- Hurricane WV

http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/NaturalThyroidHormonesADRENALS/

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I wa put on Dexamethasone for 2 days to replace the prednisolone I

was on prior to doing a short synacten test. Another doctor I saw

after this switched me to HC 2 days before the short synacten and all

day blood cortisol curve, I was off all meds for the 2 days doing

these tests. It's really hard to know..one doc sys one thing and the

next disagrees..I think Val says you need to be off all steroid for 2

weeks to get a proper reading..

Sara

>

>

> I should add: just call your doctor (or other doctors) and

> ask if they are knowledgeable regarding Dexamethasone for use

> -- in place of HC -- during the ACTH stim test.

>

> If your doctor knows, then ask for the prescription immediately.

>

>

> --- At 01:23 PM 1/2/2008, Bill Kingsbury wrote:

> >

> >--- from another list:

> >

> > " It is very important to know that an ACTH stim test is NOT

> > valid if taking prednisone or hydrocortisone. Dexamethasone

> > is ok. (The first two suppress ACTH function) "

> >

> >

> >If this is true, get your doctor -- who SHOULD know --

> >to give you a prescription for Dexamethasone... for the

> >PROPER length of time (which your doctor SHOULD know).

> >

> >If your doctor doesn't know -- I'm sure another doctor will.

> >

> >

> >Bill

> >

> >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

I had the ACTH stimulation test whereby you are given a shot of ACTH and then

your cortisol is measured to see if your adrenals respond as they should. You

onlyl need to be off HC the day of this test.

Re: ACTH stim test

Thanks ,

I don't see how I could possibly wean off of HC right now. Which test did you

have? I see people talking about two different ones.

----- Original Message -----

From: Gikas

Sent: Tuesday, January 01, 2008 9:00 AM

My endo had me just not take any HC the DAY of the ACTH stimulation test and I

still didn't pass it and was diagnosed with adrenal insufficiency.

[Guest guest]

Okay,

Usually with 's disease then adrenal antibodies will be positive, but

there are some exceptions. Mine were negative. Meanwhile, my ACTH stim test

revealed what the endo diagnosed as " partial adrenal insufficiency " which meant

that my adrenal glands didn't respond to the ACTH stimulation, thus, I am

adrenally insufficient PLUS he went by my symptoms which believe me were very

much like 's at the time. He then did pit testing which proved normal

and he did a CT of my adrenals which was also

normal, thus, his diagnosis is " adrenal insufficiency without a known cause,

although he thinks this happened because of being on HC for two years. I don't

seem to agree. In any case, he prescribed a full replacment dose of cortef and

instructed me on stress dosing and on emergency situations, to wear med alert,

etc.

Re: ACTH stim test

Sorry to jump in, but if you don't pass the ACTH stim test, and are

diagnosed with Adrenal Insufienciency...does that mean you have

s or simply Adrenal Fatigue?

I thought the ACTH stim only told you if it was pit or adrenal?

How can you tell if its the start of addisons as opposed to simply AF

that can be corrected out of time??

I'm considering having the ACTH stim test done, but am not sure if its

worth it.

THanks

KAtie

>

[Guest guest]

Well Val,

I was only reporting what my endo had me do. He knew I had been on Cortef for 2

years and told me not to take it the morning of the test. That's all I'm saying

here.

Re: ACTH stim test

>>You onlyl need to be off HC the day of this test.<<

Not true! Your adrenals CANNOT respond properly when they are used to havign

cortilsl replacement hormones. You still need to be off steroids for 2 weks for

this to be acurate.

--

Artistic Grooming- Hurricane WV

http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/NaturalThyroidHormonesADRENALS/

[Guest guest]

Really...adrenal antibodies huh? So this means....you DONT have

addisons, right?

Do you know how its written on the blood test? I have a blood order

form, i've been adding to for quite sometime now before I get the

blood drawn.

THanks

> >

> > >>Sorry to jump in, but if you don't pass the ACTH stim test,

and

> are

> > diagnosed with Adrenal Insufienciency...does that mean you have

> > s or simply Adrenal Fatigue?<<

> >

> > First ther is not just a pass or fail wihtthe stim test. Tptal

> failure would be below range STARTING cortils and No effect when

you

> have the injeciotn, thta would be diagnosed as 's. If you

just

> have low cortiosl to begin with which many of us do, they mostkly

> ignore that! WHY I do not know, but if it si within the range

whihc

> is WAY too broad, they call it normal. Then if you do not doubnle

you

> have weak adrenals, if you double or more the cause of adrenal

> insufficiency is most likely LOW ACTH or pituitary.

> >

> > --

> > Artistic Grooming- Hurricane WV

> >

> > http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/

> >

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/NaturalThyroidHormonesADRENALS/

> >

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

Val is saying that ACTH will be suppressed if one does not go off HC for two

weeks before the test. Do you consider your stim test may have been wrong? gave

result of sec.adrenal insufficiency because your acth was suppressed due to hc

usage?

or do you have any references that acth will not be suppressed by hc usage? if

you do I would be very interested as I am also interested in taking acth stim

test some day..

bw

Nil

Re: ACTH stim test

Well Val,

I was only reporting what my endo had me do. He knew I had been on Cortef for

2 years and told me not to take it the morning of the test. That's all I'm

saying here.

[Guest guest]

Is it worthless to have this test while on HC?

[Guest guest]

OK, I will wait.

Val, you consistently amaze me with how much you know about all of this stuff.

Thank you so much~!

----- Original Message -----

From:

Sent: Tuesday, January 15, 2008 9:06 AM

>>Is it worthless to have this test while on HC?<<

Pretty much. On HC the ACTh is lowered adn so the adrenl capacity is reduced .

It takes a full two weeks for the HPA to return to it's normal function and that

is what you would be looking for, what ti would normally be able to do, not it;s

reduced capacity form taking HC.

[Guest guest]

Does that mean I might have passed my test if I had stayed off HC for two weeks

prior even though I was walking around in a state of somebody with 's

disease?

Re: ACTH Stim test

>>Is it worthless to have this test while on HC?<<

Pretty much. On HC the ACTh is lowered adn so the adrenl capacity is reduced .

It takes a full two weeks for the HPA to return to it's normal function and that

is what you would be looking for, what ti would normally be able to do, not it;s

reduced capacity form taking HC.

--

Artistic Grooming- Hurricane WV

http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/NaturalThyroidHormonesADRENALS/

[Guest guest]

Does that mean I might have passed my test if I had stayed off HC for two weeks

prior even though I was walking around in a state of somebody with 's

disease?

Re: ACTH Stim test

>>Is it worthless to have this test while on HC?<<

Pretty much. On HC the ACTh is lowered adn so the adrenl capacity is reduced .

It takes a full two weeks for the HPA to return to it's normal function and that

is what you would be looking for, what ti would normally be able to do, not it;s

reduced capacity form taking HC.

--

Artistic Grooming- Hurricane WV

http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/NaturalThyroidHormonesADRENALS/