Cortisol / Adrenal fatigue

[topsi]

Has any one any experience of being tested for or being diagnosed with this?
I am currently being treated for depression but alot of my issues come from poor sleep and exhaustion which can be attributed to poor adrenal function.
I show alot of the symtoms such as dizzyness on standing, poor libido, tiredness, poor response to stress etc.
You can purchase a self test kit online for just under £100 from a well known lab.
I am also going to my GP for a Thyroid test in a week or so.

i have addison's disease, which means my body has destroyed my adrenal glands. i might be able to answer some questions for you :-)

Hi RM, thanks for replying,
I guess your situation is the most extreme end of the scale.
I just feel constantly tired and lacking in motivation, dizzy etc etc. I am trying to self diagnose I suppose with these online tests.
How did you feel before your condition was properly diagnosed and what is your treatment?

the symptoms are quite vague so difficult to diagnose. It went on for months before I was diagnosed and i'd have gone into a coma if i'd been left another week. The symptoms I had were tiredness, dizziness, lost appetite, weight loss, tanned looking skin - especially in creases and salt cravings.

i'm not sure that online testing kits are worth the money, I wouldn't rely on them being accurate.

the only test for addison's disease is an ACTH stimulation test, where they give you ACTH and see if that raises your cortisol levels. If your adrenal glands are working properly then it will.

i now take hydrocortisone tablets to replace cortisol, and florinef tablets to replace aldosterone - which regulates my salt levels.

is that helpful? feel free to ask me anything else you like :-)

It is from a lab that I have heard about in the past and is set up for professionals and patients and I have read that these saliva tests are acurate.
I am just taking a chance I suppose that it will turn up somethig that usually a GP would overlook. I certainly don't thik that I am as ill as you have been, but there is a recent emergence of the idea of this adrenal fatigue. This is where you have been under stress for some time and your adrenals just get tired and don't work properly.
I will prob do the test even if it is just to put my mind at rest.

actually that could be very useful, if it ahows something you can tell the gp, i went to mine for months before my adrenals were tested! my mum even asked if it could be and he said no!!

eating licorice might help you feel better in the short term, although it could skew any tests you do.

i really hope you get this sorted soon :-)

Yes I saw something about licorice, I think I need to wait until pay day then bite the bullet and go for it. I think that if I don't then I could be feeling like this for years to come without a reason.
Even if the tests come back normal then I can say to myself that it is the depression that is causing it and then get on with some serious therapy!
Thankyou