Does anyone on here have Addison's Disease? Can you tell me about the symptoms and how you got diagnosed?!
Question: Does anyone on here have Addison's Disease.? Can you tell me about the symptoms and how you got diagnosed.?
I've had some issues in the last few years...severe fatigue, low blood pressure, joint pain, major allergies, high heart rate, foggy head, salt craving ,etc....just wondering if this may be Addison's.? Would like to hear other peoples knowledge and experience of this disease.?
Thanks!Health Question & Answer
Thanks!Health Question & Answer
Answers:
Get to a doctor - an endocrinologist. Find a good one - some will not have ever treated a case and will not have a clue how to do the stimulation testing.
You will need cortisol, ACTH, sodium and potassium testing at a minimum.
ACTH is a very hard thing to test. Lab error keeps a lot of people from getting testing accurately. It should be in a chilled lavender topped EDTA tube, drawn promptly, spun as soon as it is drawn and frozen as soon as it comes out of the centrifuge. Busy lab (or not knowing the procedure) keeps the sample from being processed correctly and the results are then not accurate. Urine cortisol samples also need to be kept cold no matter what they say.
I had Cushing's (too much cortisol) and then had my adrenals removed so now I have none. I take salt tablets daily and florinef (fludrocortisone) to keep my blood pressure up and my pulse moderate. I take replacement steroids, hydrocortisone, and have to adjust for illness. Too little steroids is dangerous - too much and it damages the body (hence why I had to have them removed) so it is a balancing act.
You need to find out the source of the issue - be it pituitary or adrenal. The ACTH test is the best way to know that is why that test needs to be accurate.
In the end, make sure you get ongoing monitoring as when one hormone goes awry, others tend to go awry as well. Watch vitamin D, ferratin, calcium and all... cortisol eats bones and you need to be careful.Health Question & Answer
You will need cortisol, ACTH, sodium and potassium testing at a minimum.
ACTH is a very hard thing to test. Lab error keeps a lot of people from getting testing accurately. It should be in a chilled lavender topped EDTA tube, drawn promptly, spun as soon as it is drawn and frozen as soon as it comes out of the centrifuge. Busy lab (or not knowing the procedure) keeps the sample from being processed correctly and the results are then not accurate. Urine cortisol samples also need to be kept cold no matter what they say.
I had Cushing's (too much cortisol) and then had my adrenals removed so now I have none. I take salt tablets daily and florinef (fludrocortisone) to keep my blood pressure up and my pulse moderate. I take replacement steroids, hydrocortisone, and have to adjust for illness. Too little steroids is dangerous - too much and it damages the body (hence why I had to have them removed) so it is a balancing act.
You need to find out the source of the issue - be it pituitary or adrenal. The ACTH test is the best way to know that is why that test needs to be accurate.
In the end, make sure you get ongoing monitoring as when one hormone goes awry, others tend to go awry as well. Watch vitamin D, ferratin, calcium and all... cortisol eats bones and you need to be careful.Health Question & Answer
I had Graves hyperthyroidism, and it was similar to what you described. Fatigue, rapid/irregular heart rhythm, and huge appetite were the main symptoms. I later had an enlarged thyroid and some thinning of my hair. Fortunately after being on medication for about a year, mine went back to normal on its own and I haven't had any problems since. The diagnosis is pretty simple --- they check the levels of thyroid hormone in your blood and sometimes do a radioactive iodine uptake scan on your thyroid (not as scary as it sounds!). If you think you have any type of thyroid malfunction, it's worth getting checked out, because simple treatments will make you feel WAY better. Good luck!Health Question & Answer
Although I do not have Addison's Disease or know anyone that does, I have learned about it in my pathophysiology classes.
You seem to be experiencing many Addison's Disease symptoms. The only way to be clinically diagnoses is through a few simple tests. In Addison's disease, your adrenal gland is not functioning properly even though it is being stimulated by the correct hormone (ACTH). If Addison's disease is not caught and treated, it can lead to serious complications.
Please make an appointment with your doctor.Health Question & Answer
You seem to be experiencing many Addison's Disease symptoms. The only way to be clinically diagnoses is through a few simple tests. In Addison's disease, your adrenal gland is not functioning properly even though it is being stimulated by the correct hormone (ACTH). If Addison's disease is not caught and treated, it can lead to serious complications.
Please make an appointment with your doctor.Health Question & Answer
I had gotten what i thought was the flu and was extremely tired i mean i had hard time standing in shower..(my count was the highest the dr had ever seen so i had it for while..this is once they do your blood test make sure its before 7 am in morning..they did it at wrong time to begin with...for the right hormone levels.I started losing a lot of weight became very thin..and very very tan hubby thought i was going to tanning bed..my face also got some splotches..looks like freckles.
I couldn't get enough salt movie theaters ...and i drank couldn't go to bed without water by my bed.
salsa tomato's i ate tons of that...
On meds now i do fine...once the dose was set right...Health Question & Answer
I couldn't get enough salt movie theaters ...and i drank couldn't go to bed without water by my bed.
salsa tomato's i ate tons of that...
On meds now i do fine...once the dose was set right...Health Question & Answer