Cortisol saliva test results (Need Advice Please)

[leahcim]

Sorry to bother you all but iv been hacing crazy symptoms of dizzy spells, extreme fatigue, cant stand or sit upright for long, weakness, muscle twitches, nausea, sometimes fully on vertigo plus many more, and quite some time ago i got a salivia test done, showed the results to my doctors but as you can probable guess they just shrug it off. Can i have some advice on these results please?

P.S i had to go for a nap after the second test as my fatigue is so bad, i tryed to hold on but i couldnt

 

[drob31]

It looks like severe HPA-axis dysfunction. Your cortisol should be at the top of the range in the morning. The second one is too low as well. Have you ever tried pregnenolone, or progesterone?

Do you have any other labwork? What are your other symptoms?

 

[caledonia]

Your morning cortisol is low. The noon sample looks borderline low too.

You report muscle twitches. If you have adrenal fatigue, you will be losing electrolytes like crazy, which will cause the muscle twitches. Replacing electrolytes can help you feel a lot better in general and sleep better too. That should help at least some with fatigue.

Electrolytes are magnesium, potassium and sodium. I do a custom electrolyte drink with powdered magnesium glycinate and potassium gluconate mixed in water and drunk, four times a day. I also add sodium (salt) if my adrenals are particularly bad. You will know this if you are craving salt or salty foods. My biggie is potato chips.

The standard treatment for adrenal fatigue is adrenal cortex extract. I found this and all the standard treatments (DHEA, pregnenolone, etc.) overstimulating.

I've done well with Dr. Wilson's Adrenal Rebuilder, which is the glands without the hormones.

Ben Lynch (Seeking Health) has a supplement called Optimal Adrenal which also doesn't have hormones. It has various nutrients and some adaptogens. I haven't tried this.

If you drink coffee or do anything with caffeine - tea, chocolate, etc. - stop, as that will only make your adrenals worse. If you have any stress in your life, get rid of it, either by lessening responsibilities and/or doing calming activities such as meditation, EFT, etc.

If you feel the need to sleep or take a nap, listen to your body and do it.

 

[leahcim]

Your morning cortisol is low. The noon sample looks borderline low too.

You report muscle twitches. If you have adrenal fatigue, you will be losing electrolytes like crazy, which will cause the muscle twitches. Replacing electrolytes can help you feel a lot better in general and sleep better too. That should help at least some with fatigue.

Electrolytes are magnesium, potassium and sodium. I do a custom electrolyte drink with powdered magnesium glycinate and potassium gluconate mixed in water and drunk, four times a day. I also add sodium (salt) if my adrenals are particularly bad. You will know this if you are craving salt or salty foods. My biggie is potato chips.

The standard treatment for adrenal fatigue is adrenal cortex extract. I found this and all the standard treatments (DHEA, pregnenolone, etc.) overstimulating.

I've done well with Dr. Wilson's Adrenal Rebuilder, which is the glands without the hormones.

Ben Lynch (Seeking Health) has a supplement called Optimal Adrenal which also doesn't have hormones. It has various nutrients and some adaptogens. I haven't tried this.

If you drink coffee or do anything with caffeine - tea, chocolate, etc. - stop, as that will only make your adrenals worse. If you have any stress in your life, get rid of it, either by lessening responsibilities and/or doing calming activities such as meditation, EFT, etc.

If you feel the need to sleep or take a nap, listen to your body and do it.

i find if i eat anything with chocolate it makes me so ill!, im constantly drinking water as im being treated for POTS. iv had to do CBT, relaxation , i have to sleep everday it sucks

It looks like severe HPA-axis dysfunction. Your cortisol should be at the top of the range in the morning. The second one is too low as well. Have you ever tried pregnenolone, or progesterone?

Do you have any other labwork? What are your other symptoms?

i do have quite alot of lab work that i got done privately, most were normal and the only ones i noticed that seemed weird are these

Vitamin B12 166 250 - 725 pmol/l

Folate 11.02 10.4 - 42.4 nmol/L

Ferritin 62.1 30 - 400 ug/L

started using methyl b12 lozenges about a week ago but no change yet

 

[caledonia]

i find if i eat anything with chocolate it makes me so ill!, im constantly drinking water as im being treated for POTS. iv had to do CBT, relaxation , i have to sleep everday it sucks

What treatment are you doing for POTS?

If you're drinking a lot of water without adding electrolytes, that could be making the situation worse.

i do have quite alot of lab work that i got done privately, most were normal and the only ones i noticed that seemed weird are these

Vitamin B12 166 250 - 725 pmol/l

Folate 11.02 10.4 - 42.4 nmol/L

Ferritin 62.1 30 - 400 ug/L

started using methyl b12 lozenges about a week ago but no change yet

B12 is definitely low. It might take awhile to bring that up.

 

[leahcim]

What treatment are you doing for POTS?

If you're drinking a lot of water without adding electrolytes, that could be making the situation worse.



B12 is definitely low. It might take awhile to bring that up.

omg i completely forgot about that, im drinking loads of water assuming its good but then id be flushing out the electrolytes in a way? i also bought some b12 spray as i herd its better then lozenges so il see if that helps, the folate seems low as well doesnt it?. think i need an electrolyte drink now then.

 

[caledonia]

omg i completely forgot about that, im drinking loads of water assuming its good but then id be flushing out the electrolytes in a way? i also bought some b12 spray as i herd its better then lozenges so il see if that helps, the folate seems low as well doesnt it?. think i need an electrolyte drink now then.

Yes, I think it would be diluting the concentration of electrolytes and/or flushing them away as you're saying. It would be best to drink water with some electrolytes in it.

The folate is on the low end of normal, but once you add folate, you're manipulating methylation and it gets super complicated after that. You can make yourself worse if you don't know what you're doing.

I think for now, just concentrate on getting to a stable place where you feel better with the electrolytes, and getting B12 up, then you can start working with adrenal fatigue supps, methylation or whatever seems right.

I think the spray would be about as good as lozenges. I'm doing a liquid sublingual myself. The main point is to make it sublingual so you bypass stomach absorption issues. The brand might matter. People on here report that some brands are better than others for the lozenges.

 

[leahcim]

Yes, I think it would be diluting the concentration of electrolytes and/or flushing them away as you're saying. It would be best to drink water with some electrolytes in it.

The folate is on the low end of normal, but once you add folate, you're manipulating methylation and it gets super complicated after that. You can make yourself worse if you don't know what you're doing.

I think for now, just concentrate on getting to a stable place where you feel better with the electrolytes, and getting B12 up, then you can start working with adrenal fatigue supps, methylation or whatever seems right.

I think the spray would be about as good as lozenges. I'm doing a liquid sublingual myself. The main point is to make it sublingual so you bypass stomach absorption issues. The brand might matter. People on here report that some brands are better than others for the lozenges.

hey again cale taking your advice iv now ordered some electrolyte powder with Sodium, Potassium, Calcium & Magnesium so il see how that works out, so thank you for that. good idea, il keep to the b12 lozenges and spray for now and start the drinks then see wot happens in time im also thinking about trying to go gluten free for a week or 2 just to see how i feel. what b12 liquid are you using?

 

[caledonia]

hey again cale taking your advice iv now ordered some electrolyte powder with Sodium, Potassium, Calcium & Magnesium so il see how that works out, so thank you for that. good idea, il keep to the b12 lozenges and spray for now and start the drinks then see wot happens in time im also thinking about trying to go gluten free for a week or 2 just to see how i feel. what b12 liquid are you using?

I'm using Douglas Laboratories Methylcobalamin Liquid. Put it under the tongue and hold for 30 seconds, then swallow. Easy peasy.