Re: high cortisol? adrenal

[Guest guest]

>

> I just got a blood test for AM cortisol among other things. It turned

> out to be a little high(24.6 ug) at 9am. I was up almost all night

> the night before.

>

A blood test for cortisol is absolutely no help at all. Cortisol in

the blood changes from minute to minute. The stress of going for the

test can be enough to elevate it.

> I strongly suspected hypoadrenalism or adrenal fatigue and low

> cortisol. Is it possible to have high cortisol and adrenal fatigue.

>

Yes. The most reliable indicators are symptoms. For symptoms see

" Amalgam Illness " www.noamalgam.com or " From Fatigued to Fantastic "

www.endfatigue.com

Another test that might give a better indication would be a 4x per day

saliva test. You are less likely to get stressed before collecting

the sample because you get to do it at home.

> I feel like I'm experiencing all the symptoms of hypoadrenalism or

> adrenal fatigue, yet I have high cortisol.

>

> I am absolutely sure that I am having a paradoxical response to

> stress. Whenever I get more then a few minutes of exercise lately, I

> have a reaction and feel worse afterwards.

>

Andy describes a way to test for that in " Amalgam Illness " (you would

have to look up the page). It involves testing serum cortisol and

ACTH before and after exercise (Stress). You would have to find a

clinic willing to draw the samples at the appropriate times.

> Is it possible to have high cortisone levels but a paradoxical

> response to stress from pituitary problems?

>

Yes.

> some other results from the tests:

> Testosterone, Serum: 263ng/dL Low-normal(21 year old male)

> Free Testosterone(direct): 9.5pg/mL

> Low HDL Cholesterol: 36mg/dL

> Cholesterol Total: 127

> RBC: 5.71

> Hemoglobin: 16.6

>

> TSH 3.074

> Thyroxine(T4) 11.0

> T3 Uptake 36

> Free Thyroxine Index 4.0

>

It doesn't help much to report test results without giving the normal

range reported with the tests.

For thyroid, ask for tests of free T3 and free T4 and anti-thyroid

antibodies (there are three possible tests for the last).

> What type of problem is it that I have and how can I help it in the

> short term? I'm guessing in the long term it should be cured with

> chelation?

>

If you suspect adrenal insufficiency you are most likely right. See

the diet and supplement recommendations in Andy's " Amalgam Illness "

book and search the archives for previous discussions. Consider using

adrenal cortex extract. If the diet and supplement measures don't

help you may want to look for a practitioner willing to prescribe

Cortef at physiological doses. The book that is very helpful to

understand the use of Cortef is " Safe Uses of Cortisol " by W McK

Jefferies.

J

> Also if you see any other indications from the test reults posted let

> me know.. The rest of the results seemed pretty normal but I have been

> taking supplements regularly for the last 3 months.

>

[Guest guest]

>

> I just got a blood test for AM cortisol among other things. It turned

> out to be a little high(24.6 ug) at 9am. I was up almost all night

> the night before.

>

A blood test for cortisol is absolutely no help at all. Cortisol in

the blood changes from minute to minute. The stress of going for the

test can be enough to elevate it.

> I strongly suspected hypoadrenalism or adrenal fatigue and low

> cortisol. Is it possible to have high cortisol and adrenal fatigue.

>

Yes. The most reliable indicators are symptoms. For symptoms see

" Amalgam Illness " www.noamalgam.com or " From Fatigued to Fantastic "

www.endfatigue.com

Another test that might give a better indication would be a 4x per day

saliva test. You are less likely to get stressed before collecting

the sample because you get to do it at home.

> I feel like I'm experiencing all the symptoms of hypoadrenalism or

> adrenal fatigue, yet I have high cortisol.

>

> I am absolutely sure that I am having a paradoxical response to

> stress. Whenever I get more then a few minutes of exercise lately, I

> have a reaction and feel worse afterwards.

>

Andy describes a way to test for that in " Amalgam Illness " (you would

have to look up the page). It involves testing serum cortisol and

ACTH before and after exercise (Stress). You would have to find a

clinic willing to draw the samples at the appropriate times.

> Is it possible to have high cortisone levels but a paradoxical

> response to stress from pituitary problems?

>

Yes.

> some other results from the tests:

> Testosterone, Serum: 263ng/dL Low-normal(21 year old male)

> Free Testosterone(direct): 9.5pg/mL

> Low HDL Cholesterol: 36mg/dL

> Cholesterol Total: 127

> RBC: 5.71

> Hemoglobin: 16.6

>

> TSH 3.074

> Thyroxine(T4) 11.0

> T3 Uptake 36

> Free Thyroxine Index 4.0

>

It doesn't help much to report test results without giving the normal

range reported with the tests.

For thyroid, ask for tests of free T3 and free T4 and anti-thyroid

antibodies (there are three possible tests for the last).

> What type of problem is it that I have and how can I help it in the

> short term? I'm guessing in the long term it should be cured with

> chelation?

>

If you suspect adrenal insufficiency you are most likely right. See

the diet and supplement recommendations in Andy's " Amalgam Illness "

book and search the archives for previous discussions. Consider using

adrenal cortex extract. If the diet and supplement measures don't

help you may want to look for a practitioner willing to prescribe

Cortef at physiological doses. The book that is very helpful to

understand the use of Cortef is " Safe Uses of Cortisol " by W McK

Jefferies.

J

> Also if you see any other indications from the test reults posted let

> me know.. The rest of the results seemed pretty normal but I have been

> taking supplements regularly for the last 3 months.

>

[Guest guest]

,

Thank you very much for your response.

I must admit I have read the section in Amalgam Illness on Adrenals a

few times and still really cannot fully connect the dots of how it all

really works.

Would the 4x a day necessarily be more accurate? Since they are all

just momentary snapshots and I feel generally stressed out 90% of the

day anyway.

Is it possible for mercury to cause high cortisol(cushings like-i

guess) and to have a paradoxical response to stress?

What kind of treatment would be used for that?

Here are the test results with ranges in case anyone knows what they mean.

Cortisol AM(9:40) 24.6 H 3.1-22.4 ug/dL

Testosterone, Serum: 263ng/dL 241-827 ng/dL(lab range)

normal for 85 year old man(I'm 21, range for 21-30 is apprx 400-1080)

Free Testosterone(direct): 9.5pg/mL 9.3-26.5 pg/mL

Low HDL Cholesterol: 36mg/dL 40-59 mg/dL

Cholesterol Total: 127 100-199 mg/dL

RBC: 5.71 H 4.10-5.60 x10E6/uL

Hemoglobin: 16.6 12.5-17.0 g/dL

TSH 3.074 0.350-5.500 uIU/mL

Thyroxine(T4) 11.0 4.5-12.0 ug/dL

T3 Uptake 36 24-39%

Free Thyroxine Index 4.0 1.2-4.9

[Guest guest]

> I must admit I have read the section in Amalgam Illness on Adrenals a

> few times and still really cannot fully connect the dots of how it all

> really works.

I was the same way. I kept seeing the sentence where Andy says something like,

" Adrenal

trouble is the most common problem for the Hg-poisoned " but somehow my eyes

glazed

over every time. But if you suspect you have adrenal problems, I really urge you

to take

the steps necessary to treat/support them, because you will feel SO much better.

Yes, the saliva test is the first important step. You need to see what the curve

does over

the course of the day, and saliva is much more reliable than blood.

Also, it looks like you need some T3, and you need to get your adrenals in

decent shape

before adding any thyroid meds.

For some reason the endocrine part, much more than chelation, made my head swim

when

I was first getting started. But working on it really will help you feel a lot

better, much

more quickly than chelation.

Nell