Adrenal Insufficiency :: Is A 0.6 Cortisol Level Dangerous?
Apr 7, 2016
Is a 0.6 cortisol level dangerous?
View 2 RepliesIs a 0.6 cortisol level dangerous?
View 2 RepliesI just got my blood drawn at 8 am for my cortisol levels were at 1.2 is this low?
View 1 RepliesFirst off, I am a 30 year old female, and I've had an array of crazy symptoms for years and have gone undiagnosed (well, misdiagnosed with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome). I've also been diagnosed with hypothyroidism, PCOS, Endometriosis, and autonomic dysfunction. My symptoms range from debilitating fatigue, hormonal symptoms, dizziness and fainting, and inability to keep a pregnancy. Over the years, I have had consistently low levels of cortisol, but now things are changing. My 8:00 am cortisol level is 2.1, and my 1:00pm is 21. It went from low to high in my results. They were suspecting secondary adrenal insufficiency before due to the consistently low levels, but with that new afternoon level, I am really confused. Also, I have extreme fatigue in the early morning (have to drag myself out of bed) but I get a giant boost of energy at night and have trouble getting to sleep. My NP thought the cortisol levels could explain that, and she gave me a prescription for Cortef in the morning and sent me to the Vitamin store to pick up Phosphorylated Serine and Adrenal Adaptogens to control the nighttime level. She didn't address why this could be happening, and I was worried about taking the Cortef with those high afternoon levels, so I recently switched to an endocrinologist who repeated the afternoon test. I've just looked at the results online and it is high again. I'm so confused.
These are the exact results shown on my endo's site:
MAY 19: 3p ACTH 19 NL; CORTISOL 21.1 ; 21 HYX AB NEG; RENIN 3.48 NL; ALDO 12 NL; NA 139 NL; DHEA-S 153 NL
I will say, I do have INTENSE dehydration and sodium loss that has caused me to become a neurological patient as well, and I down 2-3 32 oz Powerades a day and consume probably 10-15 times the normal sodium consumption levels as my neurologists have suggested in order to keep my from getting dizzy and passing out all the time, so that may explain why my sodium level looks fine. But that cortisol... how could it start the morning off low and end up high later in the day? Does anyone else have any experience with this?
I just had a AM cortisol lab of 1.1. Over the last 6 months I have been told I have Hashimotos.
What does this mean?
My Cortisol level after doing dexamethasone test is below normal at 1.2
View 1 RepliesHow high do very high cortisol numbers go?
View 1 RepliesI am concerned about my test I have had recently...my blood pressure is a little low and when I am sleeping it is dropping to 81/51. My cortisol is 357 at a 9.00 in the morning. I have been having some very bizarre symptoms.. I started with sudden dizziness and numbness in my arms 6 months ago they tested me for stroke tia but it was clear.. then the symptoms started to get worse fatigue, pains in my legs, back pain, feeling sick, dizziness just feeling generally unwell... does any on no what is normal for the cortisol level is at 9.00 in the morning.. I think they are testing me for addison disease.
I have been fealing very hot the past 4-5 months, occasional headaches, sweating, heart palpitations. My skin feels constantly like it is on fire. I got my cortisol tested via saliva testing, all seem to drop on the normal range, but the morning level seems pretty low? Isn't it supposed to be the highest during the morning? Heres the results:
7-8AM: 1,87 nmo/l (1,38-15,7)
12-13PM: 8,55 nmo/l (0,55-9,94)
16-17PM: 4,1 nmo/l (0,55-6,62)
22-23PM : 1,18 nmo/l (0,55-3,59)
Having cold chills, then horrible sweating. This goes on all day for me. I could not stay in grocery store to the cold, but by the time I arrived home, I was covered with sweat. The sweat is like you just came out of the shower.I have increased my fluids and am drinking diet decaf ice tea. This is especially when I am on the first dose 20 mg hydrocortisone. But it happens all day, and at night, I wake up sweating. Then, I get cold.
View 11 RepliesI had an acth stim test about two weeks ago. I have been having a lot of health problems but they had calmed down some on the day of the test and the day before. After the test, everything went to heck, ( body feeling "jerky", involuntary body movements-primarily at night, muscle weakness at times- even causing me to limp around during the day, and lean on the wall one night due to weakness and fatigue, head ache like crazy-especially behind eyes/back of head, problems thinking, among other things). I had those problems before the test but was feeling ok for that 1.5 days then bam. I am wondering what bad effects people have had. Also wondering what all is affected from the stim test (what other parts besides adrenal/cortisol could it have aggravated. I haven't gotten results but don't think they did the test right anyway. I would be afraid to get it again cause how it affected me :(.
ps They recently found a pituitary cyst on my posterior pituitary gland (they said its fine).
I am 38 Year Old male, Have been an athlete and or worked out since the age of 12 (super active). For the last 10 years or so I have been super fatigued/tired, don't recover well from exercise, terrible reactive hypoglycemia, muscle twitches, tan year round (i used to be white/pail as could be, now I carry at tan year round) short temper, sleep like crap. I can't seem to handle heat or a ton of direct sun. I will get sick for a day or 2 nauseous/fatigued/headache (it is not water usually i will drink 2 liters of water while out hiking for the afternoon.
I have taken 3 different Saliva cortisol test and all 3 looked the same, cortisol was in the tank upon waking and slowing rose throughout the day. The complete opposite of what it should look like. I finally talked my doctor into doing an ACTH Stim test. I have only got back the Cortisol results at this point, But they are very interesting??
From all that I have read on intercepting ACTH results your baseline Cortisol should double at 60 minutes. According to this test is should be >18 at 60 minutes I only rose 8!!! Please see results below.
Baseline Draw- 19.7, Standard > 5
30 Minute Draw- 26.4, Standard >7 Above Baseline Result, JUST UNDER BY .3
60 Minute Draw- 27.7, Standard >18 Above Baseline Result, 10 UNDER THE BARE MINIMUM IT SHOULD HAVE RISEN!!!
I am a little confused on how to interpret these results?? Like I said I should have the rest of the numbers in a few days.
I have Addison's disease for 10 years. Every once in awhile I feel very run down and sort of out of it if that makes sense? For the past 4 days I am having a hard time staying awake. I cannot stay up for more than 2 hours at a time and have just basically slept the days away. I have a headache and feel nauseated on top of this. A couple times I have even felt dizzy. I have been doing a lot of reading (while I am awake) on the subject of addisonian crisis and was just wanting to see what some other people think that have gone through this. I have doubled my meds but it hasn't helped yet. Although I just started that yesterday.
View 3 RepliesAre there any side effect of taking vitamins(e.g. vitamin D+calcium) for long time as 3 months or more.
Does "Omeprazole 20mg" cause any harmful effect in long term use ?
What was your cortisol level when you were diagnosed with Addison's? I'm guessing it was 0.
View 1 RepliesI had my AM cortisol tested and it came out high. I did the blood test while fasting about 1 hour after I woke up.
My AM cortisol: 33.7 (normal range 6.2-19.4)
Could the high cortisol be the cause of my symptoms:fast heart rate (gets worse with exertion), sweating, and 15 pound weight loss, trouble sleeping?
I was researching it online and my symptoms seem to fit more with those with low cortisol than high cortisol. I've been to 5 doctors and went to the ER once because I've been feeling so terrible the past 4 months. My AM cortisol is the first thing to come out abnormal. All thyroid, liver, etc. tests come out perfectly within the normal range.
I was just given the ACTH stim test for a morning cortisol level of 9.2. There was a good response from my adrenals, but doesn't this just rule out primary adrenal insufficiency? My signs and symptoms are: worsening fatigue, loss of appetite, weight loss, headaches, pain & pressure in my sinuses ( but no drainage), slight visual changes in my left eye, poor libido, mood swings! My doc said my results were normal and does not intend to work up any further. Shouldn't we do a CRH stim test to rule out a possible pituitary problem?
View 1 RepliesDoes anyone know what this midnight cortisol level means? range Midnight <75 my level was 74.5
View 9 RepliesI was just wondering what comes after a cortisol stim test for diagnosing Addison's Disease ?
I had 2 Cortisol stim tests done one in the afternoon and one in the early morning .
Afternoon test read 2.8 out of 5-15
Morning test read 3.8 out of 5-25 Both low
Do i now have a Acth test done to see if its the adrenals glands or Pituitary or Hypothalamus Producing such low cortisol ?
I have abdominal cramping , hot flashes , constipation . tired , weak and major weight loss 35 + pounds in 8 months .
I had a blood test around 7 months ago which showed my blood sugar Hb1AC to be close to pre-diabetic levels, which freaked me out. My cholesterol was also a little high.
I cut down on sweet things (which I love!) a lot, and had my blood tested again a few weeks ago. good news is that the blood sugar levels have dropped, triglycerides low, liver function great. HOWEVER, my cholesterol has leapt to 6.6! So annoyed!
The nurse quizzed me on my diet and the only thing we can pinpoint is that I eat a lot of cheese, so have started eating low fat cheese or not eating as much in general. I generally eat what I consider to be a healthy diet, oily fish, veg, etc but not sure what to believe.
I read that a high fat diet is now the way to go with low carb, but whilst this seems to have helped with blood sugar, it has not done my cholesterol any good.
I have to go back in 3 months. Anyone else had this type of result?
I m 27 weeks pregnant and having 100 fever is it dangerous
View 2 RepliesMy dr prescribed 0.5mg Xanax XR twice a day (or as needed) to keep my anxiety more level throughout the day. Does the XR keep the equivalent of 0.5 mg of instant release (regular) Xanax in your system constantly, or is it just .5mg spread out over 12 hours instead of maybe 1-2 hours compared to the instant release?
Also, why would anyone take Xanax XR instead of Klonopin? Aren't they basically the same? My dr said Xanax XR is less "dangerous" but is it? If I stop taking it for more than 1 day (so max dose of 1mg over a 24 hours period, then nothing for the following 24 hours) I start feeling some withdrawal symptoms. Scary. Is this normal? I thought withdraw was only a problem when you started getting into the 2,3,4mg daily range.