Addison Disease Support Group

Well I could'nt stand it any longer, I called to see if results were back from my test.

The nurse said before the injection my cortisol level was 8.5, then one hour after injection the cortisol level was 12.7 The office is very busy and she said we would talk more my next appointment, in 3 months! Her diag. was Primary Adrenal Insufficiency, considering I have been diag. with Hasimoto's hypothyroid and primary hypogonadism, would that not be considered Polyglandular Disorder or Schmidts? Anyway, I start on a low dose of Prednisone tomorrow, 5mg

And about time too!

Get back to us in a day or two if you are finding you get a new and strange symptom set. There are some interactions that might happen.

Bob

Well my first day/dose of 5mg of prednisone was not what I had hoped. Felt like my heart beat was a little funny feeling the first 2 hours, did not notice my joints and muscles hurting as bad, and the about 2:30, I felt like I crashed. All I wanted to do was sleep. Thanks to all that commented on my report. Monday morning I will be looking for a local endo that knows something about the adrenal system. Your suggestion of sticking with a local doc for hospital reasons were smart. I live in Iredell County in Statesville NC and my hospital of choice is Iredell Memorial. Most all of the local endo's ads on the net say they treat thyroid, diabetes, and metabolism issues. Is it safe to assume if you are an endo you would also have knowlege of the adrenal system? I still feel so tired I need to sit down every time I go up a few steps. Wish me luck on finding a doc, I am going to need it.

Yeah that can happen. Your body was use to less and you just swamped it. You will also be making a small amount of cortisol naturally and it will take time for that to ramp down under the influence of the Pred. Tiredness in this case can actually be a BG hike! (Go figure!)

In hindsight of course you could have ramped the dosage up to 5mg over a few days. Problem is you really don't have enough advance data on what will happen.

Your choice, but if you thought it bad enough try 2.5mg for two days then jump back to 5. Otherwise wait it out. I wouldn't pass adverse judgment for at least 1-2 weeks.

I cant remember, do you take thyroid meds? If you do, big red warning flag!

Well adrenal IS metabolism, plus a few other things. No its not safe to assume anything. My PCP is actually far better than my endo for example. Maybe just phone them up and ask! You may actually strike and endo that also knows women's health. It may sound strange to think that's important, but they should know the adrenal/androgen links and maybe have better system knowledge.

Another possibility for a good find is a doctor that lectures at a university as well as runs a practice. That's common here and those docs really shine above the rest.