Adrenal fatigue is one of my passionate areas of interest because it is actually quite common.
People I see in my practice often say things like:
- “I feel tired all the time”
- “I just feel a bit depressed”
- “I have unknown aches and pains and just generally don’t feel well”
- “It’s kind of a bit of a mystery and the doctor just says, well, eat better and exercise and you’ll feel better”
So what are you to do?
What tests could you ask your doctor for and are there specific tests you can do for adrenal fatigue?
Well if you want to do a self diagnosis read this, there are 4 simple self tests you can do at home to help you determine your adrenal status.
But if you’re like many other people, you want to rule out any other things and then see if it really is your adrenals, then here’s what you should do.
Rule Out The Possibility Of Other Things
It is important to consider other possible health factors as well because it might not be your adrenals, so here is a list of some of the more common tests you can ask your doctor or health practitioner to run.
Tests to Rule Out
- Thyroid hormone levels
- Insulin
- Blood glucose
- HbA1cv
- Vitamin D
- Lipid profile
- Ferritin
- B12
- Any other vitamin deficiencies
These are all pretty standard panels that doctors typically run.
Testing Specifically For Adrenal Fatigue
Salivary Cortisol
One of the best tests for adrenal fatigue is a measuring the stress hormone cortisol. It is the predominant stress adrenal hormone and has a typical pattern so the test can reveal what is occuring in your body.
You want to measure salivary cortisol as it is more accurate than blood samples. While blood tests measure total hormone levels the salivary test measures active hormones.
You can order the test yourself if your doctor won’t order it.
If you’re in the US you can do it here.
If you’re in AUS you can do it here.
Other Hormones To Test
Along with cortisol you can also test other key hormones such as aldosterone, DHEA, pregnenolone, and ACTH. DHEA tends to be the most popular one after cortisol.
But even if you only get cortisol measured it will give you an indication of your adrenal status, whether your cortisol is high (early stages), or low (progressing stages).
When I work with people I provide individual guidance on what tests need to be done. It is often best to try to work with a health practitioner when you go through these processes because guessing can mean you get things wrong or it takes you longer to find solutions.
Of course you don’t have to have tests, as I said above many people just simply self diagnose via the symptoms and energy patterns present and much of the time that works perfectly well too. It’s only when the treatments like diet, supplements and lifestyle changes are not working that you might suspect a deeper hormonal issue that needs attention.
In the end it is up to you what you choose to do as far as adrenal fatigue testing goes.
Jedha
Nutritionist & Health Coach
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I ordered and administered this test. When I took the results (low cortisol during two of the four time periods measured) to my doctor, he stated that medicine did not recognize this test. I spent the money and found out the information only to be laughed out of the office. I live in a rural area of a rural state and I’m still on the search for a different doctor. Good luck to everyone who does this test – I hope you have better results both with your actual test and your doctor.
It’s true Jannine, many doctors don’t recognize adrenal fatigue because it’s not considered a medical condition, but it is very real. It’s so unfortunate that people have this experience. I hope you end up finding a solution.