POLL: your cortisol levels

[Sarah94]

This could be your cortisol tested in saliva or blood or whatever.

What is 'normal' will depend on the reference range used by the lab who tested it.

 

[pamojja]

Tested AM cortisol in blood since 10 years, twice it was above normal. In average 16.8 µg/dl. 6-20 range.
Only tested PM cortisol in blood long ago, and came back low normal.
Tested 24 urine cortisol since 4 years ago 4 times. Twice it was above abnormal.

Though with the few urine cortisols average would be just above normal. The over a longer time-period, more frequent, and therefore more relyable cortisol in blood makes me choose 'normal, at high end of range'.

 

[Sushi]

When your cortisol is measured is very important and I wonder if you could edit your poll so that people could give the time. In other words, many doctors have you sample it for testing 4 times in a day to create a curve. A normal curve would be a high normal reading in the morning and then a curve that goes down to a lower level at bedtime. Many of us have a reverse curve with a low morning reading and a high bedtime reading.

 

[Hip]

Yes, the time of measurement is important, because in the daily cortisol cycle there is a large peak in cortisol in the morning around the time of awakening, as the graph shows:

Note that there are two main types of cortisol test in research studies: the 24 hour cycle, and the cortisol awakening response.

Most studies have shown ME/CFS patients have lower cortisol levels throughout the 24 hour cycle: this study, this study and this study found a cortisol was significantly lower in ME/CFS patients across the whole day.

This study found the cortisol awakening response (CAR) is also lower in ME/CFS. The CAR occurs around 30 minutes after awakening in the morning in some but not all people.

 

[Sarah94]

When your cortisol is measured is very important and I wonder if you could edit your poll so that people could give the time. In other words, many doctors have you sample it for testing 4 times in a day to create a curve. A normal curve would be a high normal reading in the morning and then a curve that goes down to a lower level at bedtime. Many of us have a reverse curve with a low morning reading and a high bedtime reading.

I assumed that people would answer according to the reference range for the time of day at which it was tested.

 

[Sushi]

I assumed that people would answer according to the reference range for the time of day at which it was tested.

I would have to answer four times then as I (and probably many other ME/CFS patients) have only had 24 hour cortisol tested—i.e, 4 tests in 24 hours. So, for me, morning is abnormally low, bedtime is abnormally high, and the in between tests in the average range.

 

[pamojja]

I would have to answer four times then as I (and probably many other ME/CFS patients) have only had 24 hour cortisol tested—i.e, 4 tests in 24 hours.

You always could take the average. Lets say 2 times below normal, 2 times normal = could amount to 'low normal' for one 24 hrs curve. And average it out with all the other tests taken the same way.

 

[vision blue]

Do you mean blood or saliva? an what time of day? I show the "classic" "adrenal fatigue" blunting in salivary cortisol as function of time of day - i'm at the low end of normal sometimes borderline low for the morning but at the high end, borderline high at night. i donn't have the steep fall off expected. i think my adrenal fatigue is a conseuquence of everythign rather than a cause, so the search continued. (i'm not able to test my first awakening vs 30 minutes later becasue i can't generate saliva fast enough)

 

[GlassHouse]

In the earlier years of my illness my cortisol was off the charts high in the morning and then low-normal in the afternoon and evening. I also have hyper POTS that I’ve had since childhood.

In recent years my cortisol is low in the morning and then immediately falls below the level of detection for the rest of the day/night. I also started to no longer produce or produce very little vasopressin, thyroid hormone, prolactin, estrogen, and testosterone in this time.

 

[Pearshaped]

Onset of ilness:

cortisol too low in the morning and at the lower end during rest of the day.

Now,4yrs later levels tend to be very high in the evening and at night.
So like others, my cortisol levels are upside down.

 

[sometexan84]

This was mine