Re: Adrenal question -- Lou

[Guest guest]

>

>

> I've discovered how useless endocrinologists are. I at least expected

> him to do a cursory hormone panel, but I had to push and push to get

> any hormones tested at all. They don't normally do that apparently.

> So what DO they do, I wonder. At any rate, he eventually agreed to

> test the hormones I requested, but I'm in a spot of bother right now

> because he also insisted on doing an ACTH stim test

You'd think that an almighty endocrinologist would know that an ACTH

stim test is useless to do when a person is on cortisol (or medrol).

In order to do the test they would have to take you off of the medrol

for a period of time (at least a week I believe, I would have to check

with the Addison's support group). It is possible to do the test by

switching the person over to dexamethasone. Guess he forgot all that.

And, that by injecting you with ACTH he would be putting you through

unnecessary stress.

and my cortisol

> was very low (because I'm on medrol, which is not bioidentical). He

> now wants to give me a prescription for HC (unfortunately of no use

> to me) and wants to do more tests. I'm trying to work out how to

> extract myself from this for now because all I wanted to know was

> what my estrogen, testosterone, etc are. Could be amusing, though I

> was more nervous than anything else earlier today when I thought

> about it.

>

> As I told you, I increased my medrol dose, which is now at 12mg a

> day. I will be interested to see how this affects my reaction to

> chelation.

>

> I am also getting a private test done for RT3, which should reveal

> whether or not I need to change to a T3-only med. I have some waiting

> if need be. It will require getting free's tested again too.

When you get the frees please post the results. Sustained release T3

made such a difference for me (I also take Synthroid for T4). T3 has

a very short half life. When we take Armour we get a burst of T3,

which stresses our adrenals, and then when the blood levels fall, that

stressed our adrenals again. It's too much for people who need as

much replacement cortisol as we do.

There may, of course, be other things that will help too.

Good luck

J

My GP's

> surgery has at least agreed to take my bloods for me. Dr. Peatfield

> could just as well have ordered the tests from the same lab but I'd

> still have to pay, and to be honest I know how to calculate the

> results myself. I'm getting good, LOL.

>

> Thanks again and I will give your post a good long digest. At the

> moment I've got all sorts of things cluttering my brain because I'm

> trying to prep for school, I've got doctors and meds and chelation

> and things . . . and if anything, I'm more brain-fogged than ever. I

> wish honest to goodness that I could put the teaching on hold until

> I'm more " myself, " but life doesn't always work like that.

>

> .

>