Could this be adrenal insufficiency

shaz49

Hi I'm new here, undiagnosed, and hoping someone knowledgeable can help. I have been having lots of tests recently and my 9am cortisol came back above range so my GP asked me to do a 24 hour urinary free cortisol test.

The result came back below range at 67 (100 - 379) so he asked for the blood and urine tests to be repeated. The blood result came back low in range this time 257 (170 - 540) and the urine came back lower again at 57
(100 - 379). I had been on HRT and this was stopped around 3 weeks before the first test and I had been off it for around 9 weeks by the time I had the second tests. My thinking is that the blood result was high the first time due to cortisol binding globulin maybe as the urine test was the same day and it was so low.

The doctor wasn't sure if I need further testing and the lab have indicated neither the blood nor urine result suggests adrenal insufficiency. I'm pretty sure I don't have Addison's as I don't have any bronzing of the skin and my sodium/potassium levels are fine, but could I have secondary adrenal insufficiency or does this blood level rule it out? Has anyone been diagnosed who had results at a similar level to this? I have hypothyroidism and my TSH is supressed at 0.02 but if I reduce my dose of Levo I feel extremely ill, almost incapacitated. The last time it was reduced for a month my TSH only came up to 0.04 but I felt like I was dying.

My symptoms are extreme fatigue and tiredness which gets a lot worse after any kind of stress and lays me up for several days to a week and makes me feel as if someone has unplugged me and I could just collapse. I also get a lot of headaches and migraines, dizziness and hypoglycemia type symptoms - shaking, sweating, nausea and confusion especially first thing in the morning which improves after eating. I also get intermittent low back pain on the right side, kidney area, after any kind of stress.

I have been off work unwell for 18months and am not getting any better. After numerous tests they have decided I have chronic fatigue but I'm not sure. Does anyone think this could be adrenal related and whether I should push for the Short Synacthen test or am i clutching at straws?

The main reason my doctor doesn't think it's low cortisol is that I haven't lost any weight and I don't look like someone with adrenal problems. Does adrenal insufficiency always cause weight loss?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks Shaz