• Welcome to Phoenix Rising!

    Created in 2008, Phoenix Rising is the largest and oldest forum dedicated to furthering the understanding of and finding treatments for complex chronic illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), fibromyalgia (FM), long COVID, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), and allied diseases.

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    Practical ways of looking nice

    I have very fine hair which has thinned very drastically in the last few years. I live in an area where the water is very hard and my hair used to get quite 'claggy' (greasy and that sort of yeast growth) - had to wash every other day!. I have found that cutting out the conditioner and pouring...
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    Seeking help w "Adrenal Insufficiency" and low cortisol

    I did say earlier that the results of a saliva cortisol test are not recognised in the UK, right? And here's a great example of UK NHS (non)logic: The result of an 8am blood test for cortisol with the draw done at the hospital is considered unreliable... However... The results of a blood...
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    Seeking help w "Adrenal Insufficiency" and low cortisol

    No, it is not possible for your adrenals to get better in the space of two weeks if you have adrenal insufficiency. In the UK, blood test results of cortisol are largely ignored because the test and/or results are considered somewhat to very unreliable. In the UK, a positive on the...
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    Seeking help w "Adrenal Insufficiency" and low cortisol

    Adrenal autoantibodies are (very simply) immune cells produced by your own body which start to attack a part of your own body - in this case your adrenal gland. Autoantibodies are VERY commonly tested for! and the only way to tell if your problem is autoimmune in origin. This is how people...
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    Seeking help w "Adrenal Insufficiency" and low cortisol

    You need to get yourself tested for adrenal autoantibodies asap!!!. And the ACTH test - in an inpatient testing centre! Just in case you need immediate medical care. These are the proper tests for Addison's Disease. And the number for the first result of the morning is right at the bottom...
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    Stealth Adapted Viruses in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

    I know this is off topic but please can somebody direct me to threads or posts about 'low ESR'. Mine is nearly that of a new born baby but my doctor isn't interested in dealing with it. (The top of the normal range is raised for woman over the age of 50 - I'm 50+). Requests for repeat tests...
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    Study links genetics, anti-nerve agent pills to GWI

    I took pyridostigmine bromide for 3 years after I had been diagnosed with myasthenia gravis - has this contributed to my CFS (or possibly GWI)? Oh, to be able to afford the 23 and me test!!!
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    ME/CFS is a mast cell disorder (hypothesis)

    Have you tried 7-keto-DHEA which has had the testosterone stimulating part of the molecule removed thus avoiding the whiskers. etc?