Chris or others,

The doctor we visited today was great! He is going to do an "ACTH Plasma" test. Question I have is, is an ACTH Plasma test same as ACTH Stim test, or do they sometimes simply measure how much ACTH you have present in your blood without stimulation? If so, what purpose would this serve? Would it tell if there were secondary Addison's present? Doctor thought my son's thyroid seemed puffy or larger than normal, so is going to do an ultrasound of thyroid. Will also test other things, like thyroid antibodies and Free T3 and T4! Will test liver chemicals, too, as his billirubin has been a bit elevated. Also is going to do an IGA for elevated EOS. If all tests come back "normal", he will refer us to an endochrinologist, then on to a neurologist because of Trav's balance and brain fog issues. Will keep you all advised as to the outcomes of these long-awaited tests and our (hopefully) upcoming diagnosis! Thanks, everyone! :wave: ~ Tracy

Hi, Chris!

No, this is still another doctor, the last we were going to try before making a decision. He was just hands down more supportive, respectful and open minded. Didn't scoff at the idea of Addison's. Had to refer to a text to figure out what tests to do, so maybe that's why he wants to send Trav to the endo even if the tests he's chosen look normal. I know that is unusual. But I did appreciate it. I think he knows there are other tests, and wants to be sure the endo doesn't think more are necessary. Then he had his own thoughts, as well, which was encouraging. Wanted to see what we wanted done, AND had some tests HE thought we should do. All in all, acknowledged the idea that I might just know a wee bit about my own son. Amazing! Sad that it's so amazing, yet it is. I almost fell off my chair when he said, "Is there anything else? Any other tests you want done, any questions?" And he wasn't even aware that we were merely "shopping" for a new doctor. Just thought we'd come in for a first appointment. Glad we could change insurance and do the tests he wanted to get on immediately, today! At least he'll rule a lot out for us, and be willing to refer us to others more knowledgeable in other areas. His whole building is full of mostly internal medicine docs, with him being the only one (family prac) who will see children. And he was well attuned to children, too. He even stopped midway through the appointment and appologized to my other kids for not asking their names before! Then he carried on quite a conversation with them all.
We got in quickly this morning, and though the labs were scheduled an hour before the ultrasound, they got us in for the ultrasound five minutes after the labs were done. Was quick and painless (well, at least for ME)! Will hear back on the sonogram in a few days, and on the labs within two weeks.

I know what you mean, though, I didn't remember there was just an ACTH plasma test or I would have been more specific when he asked me what tests I wanted. I just said ACTH. Maybe he wants to endo to do that, if she thinks it's warranted.

Bye for now. Happy 4th! ~ :wave: Tracy