Last month I underwent an Adrenal Stress Test. The test was fairly easy, it was simply collecting saliva into 4 little test tubes and sending them off. Has anyone else had this done ?
The results showed that my cortisol was too high in the morning (I think probably caused by all the pain, discomfort, frequent wakenings, etc because cortisol is a response to stress!). For the rest of the day and evening, my cortisol was low-normal. I’ve said all along, that something happens to me overnight, that makes me feel dreadful on a morning, like a really bad hangover – but I don’t drink alcohol (in fact I’m intolerant of alcohol). When I’ve had my blood checked after a bad night, the liver enzymes are raised above normal but I don’t know why.
The DHEA was quite a curious result, it was below the normal range. I did a bit of reading on different websites and concluded that a low result:
Can be a sign of pituitary trouble (think ’empty sella’, or ‘partially empty sella’, a condition that many of us have that goes undiagnosed)
Is involved in POTS,
Is also involved in poor wound healing
Can contribute to poor memory
Can manifest in Parkinsonian symptoms (i.e. muscle stiffness, when initiating movement)
I have heard from someone who took DHEA, who also said it raised their sex drive. One study of the DHEA literature involved dosing men and women between ages 40 and 70 for three months compared to placebo. Over 80 percent of the men and two thirds of the women on DHEA reported increased energy, better sleep, better moods and were more relaxed in stressful conditions.
Hmm, I wonder how many more of you might have abnormally low DHEA ?
Barbara
(UK)