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 get diagnosed with autoimmune diseases such as Hashimoto's (thyroid autoimmune disease), diabetes type 1 (autoantibodies against the parts of the pancreas gland that produces insulin), Primary Biliary Cirrhosis (autoimmune liver disease), RA (autoantibodies against certain types of connective tissue) and so on.
When the autoantibodies have destroyed about 90% of the adrenal gland then you'll develop symptoms of adrenal insufficiency and, ultimately, complete failure.
Demand the test for autoantibodies!! The test is for the 21-Hydroxylase antibodies. A result of 1 U/mL or higher indicates the presence of adrenal autoantibodies, which is consistent with Addison disease.
see this page for more info if you haven't looked at it yet
http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/2117914-overview
That your doctor has declared that you do not have Addison's disease based on the fact that you do not have low blood pressure is
ludicrous!!!!! You take beta blockers for
high blood pressure!! Of course, your blood pressure is not going to be low!!! It is entirely possible that you have Addison's
and high blood pressure at the same time and the low blood pressure of Addison's is the only thing that is keeping your blood pressure from being off the charts high! (and having to take higher doses of medication and additional medicines for the hypertension).
Also, you may be subconsciously working with your body's attempts at homoestasis by taking in extra salt in order to feel better (people with adrenal insufficiency very often consciously crave salt). This may explain why your blood pressure has been higher of late.
Anybody in your family (including siblings and cousins, living or departed) ever suffer from hypertension? Anybody on your mother's side of the family diagnosed with autoimmune diseases of any kind?
The chart that CFS_for_19_years has posted previously is the process used to determine if your adrenal insufficiency is primary or secondary. Addison's disease is one of the primary forms of adrenal insufficiency / deficiency. The ACTH test I was referring to is actually the cosyntropin stimulation test (short synacthen test) that is done as an inpatient in a clinical investigation unit.
I hope that everything went OK today and you get the results soon. And if you think you are suffering another adrenal crisis - especially if you are suffering from a bacterial (as opposed to a viral) infection before the process of diagnosis is complete, please get yourself to a hospital. Tell them about the investigation for Addison's Disease that is ongoing. Salt water is NOT going to do it!!