sue1234 Posted September 20, 2008 Report Share Posted September 20, 2008 I was reading where alot of people got OI during pregnancy(a stress on the body) or after illness(a stress on the body), or out of the blue(could've followed a life-stress situation). I know for myself, I get way worse with any stress--good or bad. For instance, I had to evacuate for hurricane Gustav(stressful) and stayed home with whipping winds throughout hurricane Ike last weekend. For both, I had awful anxiety that wouldn't turn off, and then afterwards, I had no energy and more lightheaded for a few days afterwards. It's like my body, and thinking adrenals, just had to catch up or something.I was one that had awful morning sickness for all of my pregnancies, and one of the symptoms of underworking adrenals is nausea/vomiting. When Addison people get sick, they have to double their cortisol to handle the stress of illness. Does anyone have anything to theorize on all this? This is just a possibility from my years of fighting this and looking at all the angles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delphicdragon Posted September 21, 2008 Report Share Posted September 21, 2008 I definitely get more "sick" from the POTS if I am stressed out. Had a recent traumatic event and was literally prostrate because my nausea and heartrate both decided to act up. I've always though that my POTS at least is from an underlying hormonal/glandular problem. My aldosterone and cortisol both fall on the lowest possible normal value (Aldosterone =3, normal 3-28, Cortisol = 7, normal 7-22(i think)) I have an enlarged pituitary that is 1 mm away from needing surgery. But until my values fall "below" normal, I'm fine, right? Right?I tend to take longer to heal from illnesses and such. Have a URI right now and am pretty sure at this point it will become bronchitis. It always does. And I have ALWAYS needed antibiotics to get over a cold as I always got a secondary infection. I wonder if this is related to low adrenal function.Personally, I think I have a double whammy going on. I have Ehlers-Danlos. This makes my veins extra stretchy on top of the hormonal stuff. Figure my body could cope with just one, but not both. Sara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flop Posted September 21, 2008 Report Share Posted September 21, 2008 If you are worried about adrenal function I would ask to see an endocrinologist and discuss having a synacthen test. This test measures baseline cortisol levels then you are given an injection to stimulate the adrenals to produce cortisol - further blood tests see how much cortisol the adrenals do produce. It is a much better assessment of adrenal function than a one-off cortisol reading as the doctor can see how much the cortisol levels rise - they should rise by more than a certain amount to be normal.Flop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tessa Posted September 22, 2008 Report Share Posted September 22, 2008 If you suspect on adrenals, you should ask your Endo to get the lab tests done.Here are some tips on Adrenals: Recommended Labwork Labs & tips Adrenal Faq Aldosterone important as cortisol Love,Tessa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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