I just received my saliva results and would appreciate any feedback:

Estradiol 2.2 (1.0-5.0)
Progesterone 25 (100-600)
Ratio: Pg/E2 11 (50-200)
Testosterone 28 (20-50)
DHEAS 11.7 (3-10)

Cortisol Morning 2.5 (3-8)
Cortisol Noon 1.8 (2-4)
Cortisol Evening 1.4 (1-2)**
Cortisol Night 0.7 (0.5-1.5)

**Not sure of the validity of this because I tested at 2:15 p.m. instead of 4-5 p.m. as recommended for "Evening" cortisol. Was feeling hypoglycemic, as I do every single day at that time, so I wanted to see what was going on with my cortisol.

I had my thyroids checked a month ago. Levels normal. Have been hypo for 5 years and on synthetics the whole time. Went to see a new doc a month ago because I've been feeling terrible, and she switched me to Armour. Have seen noticeable improvement in my energy levels and depression.

I am too tired to post the whole long, drawn-out story right now, but basics:

Age: 32
Female

Major Complaints:
Depression (Since puberty)
Hypoglycemia (15+ years, getting worse and worse, not manageable by diet, and GTT showed me as "normal")

Recent Complaints (After birth of 4th child):
Chronic yeast/bacterial infections
Memory loss/Brain Fog
Severe PMS
Very heavy periods

Concerns of note:
I have three sons and a daughter, and 2 of my sons have terrible hypoglycemia. My oldest, 8, actually seems to be outgrowing it, if that's possible. His attacks are lessening, but my 3 year old is grappling with it on a daily basis despite my efforts to help with his diet. I have tested his blood sugar during his attacks, and it was only 77. One of the reasons I am trying to figure out what's going on with me is so that I can help them.

Family history of hypothyroid and hypoglycemia back three generations. My brothers struggle with hypoglycemia as well.

Sorry if there's too much to process here. I am feeling overwhelmed with what to do and a bit brain foggy tonight to boot. Not a good combination! :nono:

Am thinking I want to start progesterone cream immediately to see if that will help.

I would love any thoughts anyone might have.

Sincerely,

Christy

P.S. By the way, I wanted to say that I always feel absolutely wonderful in the evenings. No hypoglycemia (could drink a 2-liter of coke and eat 5 candy bars if I wanted--no effect whatsoever). My husband says I feel good at night because the kids are in bed! :D But really, I've always felt good at night, even before kids.

Thank you for your response, Chris. I have considered all the things you've mentioned and read many of the books you suggest. My problem is money. Our insurance is not very good, and we do not have much extra money in our budget. It was a BIG deal for us to cover the hormone testing. Every time I go to the doctor, I pretty much pay out of pocket, so you can imagine the frustration of going to doctor after doctor, doling out $100-$200 for the visit, only to be told that I need to eat every 2 hours and take Prozac. I know this isn't uncommon here with you guys, so I know I'm preaching to the choir, but it's an extremely frustrating fact of this journey I'm on.

Anyway, this new doctor I've got seems very willing to explore my problems WITH me (a first). So, I'm going to go back to her in the next couple of weeks with the results and see what she thinks.

I just feel that this has got to be some sort of congenital problem. There's just too much family presence for this to be a flukey thing.

Anyway, I'll keep you posted on anything I find out. I thank you for your time and expertise. :-)

Sincerely,

Christy

hi, your symptoms and history sound similar to mine except for gender. i proved that i have adrenal insufficiency with the acth and saliva tests but that doesn't necessarily indicate how to get better. i take armour and isocort (over the counter) but recently complained to my doctor that i wansn't making any progress maybe even deteriorating. he sent me for a big additional round of tests and concluded that i was prediabetic - that sugar control problems caused my adrenals to wear down over a matter of decades. that doesn't mean i don't have a genetic adrenal weakness, but it does indicate a way to get better. in my case i was already eating a whole grain, whole food diet. so for me, almost zero starch in my diet and even no fruit might be what my adrenals need to recover... anyway, it's one more factor your doctor should consider. the tests you need for that are the ha1c, fasting insulin level and glucose tolerance with insulin.

this is probably information you don't need yet, but just remember if you start taking isocort which you probably need, you may be putting a bandaid on your problem because you aren't addressing the root cause and you're creating a dependency on the cortisol...

eshannon,

I just wanted to say a belated thanks for the support. I've started the progesterone cream which does help a little with my hypo, but it's still pretty bad.

Am going in to see the doc today for a follow-up. We'll see what she thinks about my test results.

Christy

My results were low also. I have Wilson's book but really don't hold out much hope for improvement as I am steroid dependent:

Estradiol: <0.5 Post-menopausal: 1.0-1.5
Progesterone: <15 Post-Menopausal: 25-100
Ratio:Pg/E2 30 Post-Menopausal: 50-200 Optimal
Testosterone: <10 Post-Menopausal: 20-50
DHEAS: <2.5 Post-Menopausal: 3-10
Cortisol A.M.: 0.2 Post-Menopausal: 3-8