Stimulation test next week - Addison's Disease Message Board

Gavi112 · 02-20-2009, 04:33 PM

Endocrinologist said I will have blood taken then be given injection of the stimulating hormone then 30 mins later blood taken then another 30 mins later blood taken again. She assured me that there are no side effects from the injection is its something your body produces naturally. She also said its the definitive test for your adrenal glands not working.

Can anyone reassure me that its not big deal having this test??

I asked her if my stimulation tst resutls are normal - why would my salive cortisol levels read so low and she said she would question the accuracy of the saliva test but if stim test was normal no other treatment was needed.

has anyone else had low saliva readings then normal stim test??

gettin' better · 02-21-2009, 04:31 PM

I had absolutely no problems with the stim test -- no side effects at all. It got boring just sitting there for all that time, but other than that, it was a piece of cake.
Sorry, but I don't know anything above saliva levels.
Good luck.

orion · 02-21-2009, 09:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gavi112

has anyone else had low saliva readings then normal stim test??

Stimulation tests are mostly boring with few side effects.

Saliva tests only show cortisol levels at a particular moment in time; which is useless to diagnose anything because cortisol levels fluctuate widely thoughout the day.

The stimulation test will challenge your adrenal glands to produce a maximum output of cortisol. If they only manage to produce a normal amount, you will then know that your adrenal reserve is low and you have adrenal insufficiency. This means that for every day activity you may be fine but in emergency situations you do not have proper adrenal function which could be life threatning. Cortisol supplement would be necessary.

Gavi112 · 02-22-2009, 12:54 PM

Thanks both much appreciated that you have replied to my post.

Glad the test is boring more than anything although with my phobia of needles and ability to faint I may make their day a little more interesting

orion · 02-24-2009, 07:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gavi112

Thanks both much appreciated that you have replied to my post.

Glad the test is boring more than anything although with my phobia of needles and ability to faint I may make their day a little more interesting

Yes the needles and the probing are not fun at all. Unfortunately the alternative is a lot worse. See if they will use one of those small baby needles to extract the blood samples instead of the usual ones.

Hopefully the test reveals what you need. Good luck.