I have had a cortisol test done ... the one where you take a sample of your saliva 4 times through out the day. This was done through my ND who can not prescribe the meds I want. (he is putting me on some supplements, but I want something that will work faster to take along with the supplements.) So, I am going in to talk to my allopathic doc today and show him the results and see if can get tested through him so it is in my chart. It is my undestanding that you can test for cortisol levels through blood, urin and saliva... which have you guys found to be the most accurate at matching the sypmtoms you are having? My saliva test showed higher than normal in the morning and lower than normal the rest of the day.
Sherri

Ask for an ACTH stimulation test. During this test, your blood is drawn every 30 minutes for a couple of hours. It is most often used in the diagnosis of Addison's.

Hi SherriAnn,

Mark me down as one of the skeptics ... those of us who live in OR get bombarded by saliva testing sales pitches from the NDs, in part because one of the biggest "alternative labs" in the USA doing the saliva tests is right in our own backyard.

My DD suffered an adrenal downturn several yrs. ago during a bad case of postviral CFS. Her reg. doc ordered an a.m. serum cortisol & a number of other serum hormone levels as well, which were within normal range, albeit lower end, but that was of course good enough for him. An ND my DD saw felt the situation was "more complex" & ordered a 24 hr urinalysis of multiple hormonal metabolites, as well as *complete* saliva testing. We spent THOUSANDS of dollars out of pocket on these tests.

Now, I would think that one would see some sort of trend when comparing trend results of these tests. Where one is off the charts, you'd think the others would be, too -- or at least perhaps elevated a bit??

But there was NO concordance between the various tests for our DD, despite all being run at the same time of the month. The ND was unable to explain why what was high in urine was low in saliva & vice versa. We felt ripped off. Despite trying a number of the ND's recommendations, there was nothing offered in the adrenal department (Cortef, compounded slow-release hydrocortisone, IsoCort, licorice extract) that gave more help than side effects. Of course, YMMV.

I'm not against NDs, & I'm not against saliva testing, but I do question the validity of their ref. ranges. IMO, if there is a question of secondary adrenal insufficiency, the newer low-dose Cortrosyn challenge would be the definitive test, and the results would be transportable to both the alternative & mainstream healthcare communities.

Best wishes.

Thank you for the info. I did have the ACTH test done. They said everything was normal. When I asked if maybe there was a problem with gland that gives the adrenals what they need I was fluffed off. I fit ALL of the symptoms for low cortisol, but not all of the ones for addisons. This is why I was asking about which testing gives the best results for cortisol levels. My saliva test showed high in the morning and very low the rest of the day.

Thankx for the insite... this is EXACTLY what I am afraid of!! The tests showing different results... and which one to believe. I have read the sypmtoms of low cortisol and I fit ALL of it! The urin test I did also showed high testosterone levels. I am also going to have that checked through a blood test also. My apt is today so I will see what they are willing to test. I hope they have an open mind. I have been trying to get to the bottom of this for over TWO years!! I am at the end of my rope! I don't know what I am going to do if I don't get some answers soon. I am tired of feeling this way and watching everyone else do the things I want to be doing! (sorry to vent!, but I am sure you all understand!).
OH yeah... what is the new test you were talking about? low dose cortisol test?

The standard stim or challenge test used 250 units of Cortrosyn/Synacten, and is good for determining late-stage Addison's disease.

The newer kid on the block is the same sort of test (baseline, inject challenge, retest levels at 30, 60, 90 min), but uses only 1 unit of the challenge substance. It's a better test for discriminating finer degrees of adrenal malfunction.

If you have a copy of your old labs, you could probably figure out which test you had done -- or call the lab, they should be able to tell you.

If you are seeing an MD about your saliva test results, be sure to wear your helmet & body armor. We got laughed at ... there may be some MDs who will consider those results, but most in my town think they're bunk. Which has me really confused, because I've read many research studies (NOT provided by saliva-test labs) that actually did use salivary hormone levels for credible peer-evaluated & published research studies. :dizzy:

Good luck! I hope you find some help for your symptoms.