Hormone & Adrenal Lab Tests

August 8, 2014

Adrenal Stress

Dr. Kurt Woeller Hormone & Adrenal Lab Tests Adrenal Exhaustion, adrenal Stress

Adrenal stress refers to excess stimulation of the adrenal glands and the over-production of cortisol. Adrenal stress also emphasizes that with prolonged stimulation of the adrenal glands via chronic stress that cortisol levels will eventually falter leading to deficiencies. Deficiency in cortisol production indicates adrenal exhaustion, and if severe adrenal insufficiency. Adrenal insufficiency is a traditional medicine term used to imply severe adrenal problems such as Addison’s disease. For many people adrenal stress is normal part of life as the adrenal respond appropriately to acute stressors to help maintain cortisol production which helps maintain normal cellular function. However, chronic stress has a number of long-term consequences.

The Long-Term Consequences of Adrenal Stress Leading to Adrenal Fatigue

Chronic adrenal stress often leads to what is called adrenal fatigue. Adrenal fatigue culminates in a set of nonspecific symptoms such as mental and physical fatigue, lethargy, and poor immunity. These symptoms can be due to many other conditions as well, but often the adrenal stress that leads to adrenal fatigue is quite common in our modern society. The long-term consequence of adrenal stress leading to adrenal fatigue is poor overall health that negatively impacts every organ system in the body including the heart, digestive, brain and immune system.

Adrenal Stress Leading to Adrenal Fatigue or Insufficiency and Lab Testing

Adrenal stress can initially cause excess or high cortisol which can be measured via blood or saliva testing. This elevated excess cortisol of adrenal stress is an adaptation response of the adrenal glands and their attempt to maintain harmony and balance of the endocrine system and cellular function throughout the body. Initially, adrenal stress may not be apparent to a health care practitioner, but once laboratory testing is implemented the values of cortisol represent a problem. If the adrenal stress becomes chronic overtime than eventually adrenal fatigue manifests with low cortisol values. It still requires a clinical history and examination along with laboratory investigations to determine the extent of adrenal stress and fatigue. One of the best tests for this analysis is a 24 hour salivary representation of cortisol. This test is best done through four saliva samples done at different times of the day. Normal cortisol levels are highest in the morning and then taper off throughout the day. Deviations from this indicated adrenal stress.

Adrenal Stress Summary

In summary, there are a number of lab tests that can be done for anyone dealing with adrenal stress, but the most important is a Salivary Adrenal Hormone Profile. Certainly blood testing for liver, kidney, thyroid, blood sugar and other metabolic factors can be checked as well, but for most people determining the level of cortisol through a Salivary Adrenal Hormone Profile like the #201 or #205 from BioHealth Laboratory is important with regards to adrenal stress.

Recommended: Adrenal Fatigue

August 7, 2014

Hormone Problems

Dr. Kurt Woeller Hormone & Adrenal Lab Tests Adrenal, adrenal fatigue, estrogen, hormone problems, progesterone, testosterone

Hormone problems disrupt the wide array of physiological benefits hormones do for our body. Many hormones such as thyroid are important for energy production which is critical to support the heart, brain, immune, digestive, and musculoskeletal systems. Problems with hormones can then create havoc in a number of areas. Other hormones like cortisol and DHEA are involved in maintaining healthy adrenal gland function. Hormone problems with adrenal production of cortisol can lead to fatigue, poor immunity, increase inflammation, faulty blood sugar control, and imbalances in other hormones such as estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. The adrenal glands, and their production of cortisol and DHEA, are very important for maintaining healthy hormone balance. Other hormone problems often occur with sex hormones themselves.

Estrogen Hormone Problems

Estrogen problems can occur when estrogen is too low or too high. High estrogen can create swelling in the body leading to breast tenderness, back and joint pain, and headaches. High estrogen can also create other hormone problems with thyroid hormone and testosterone. Estrogen that is too low often leads to sleeping issues, hot flashes, depression, and moodiness. Hormone problems related to estrogen deficiency are also linked to early onset of osteoporosis and advanced aging.

Progesterone Hormone Problems

Progesterone problems often coincide with estrogen issues. Too high progesterone can lead to anxiety, sleeping problems, irregular menses, and fatigue. When the hormone problem of progesterone being low is recognized women often feel depressed and moody, as well as experience heavy menstrual bleeding, and difficulty getting or maintaining pregnancy. Hormone problems of both progesterone and estrogen are resolved in part by using hormone replacement therapy, and most effectively these hormone problems are helped when adrenal problems are addressed as well.

Testosterone Hormone Problems

Testosterone is a powerful hormone, and hormone problems related to testosterone deficiency or excess are important to recognize. Excess testosterone can cause irritability, aggression and a feeling of being angry all the time, along with acne, abnormal hair growth, and loss of scalp hair. When hormone problems of low testosterone are seen people often feel weak, fatigue, have poor muscle mass, lack libido and suffer from poor mental function. Hormone problems related to testosterone are important to address as well with hormone replacement therapy as long-term consequences of low testosterone is acceleration of the aging process, and risk for cardiovascular disease.

Hormone problems have a significant impact on overall health, and depends on the hormone in particular. Addressing hormone problems is key to any health promoting program and to eliminate the physical, emotional and mental consequences of these imbalances.

Recommended : Adrenal Stress

August 6, 2014

Adrenal Fatigue

Dr. Kurt Woeller Hormone & Adrenal Lab Tests adrenal fatigue, adrenal Stress

Adrenal fatigue is a common term used today to describe a host of symptoms that relate to physical and mental tiredness, aka. fatigue. Overall, adrenal fatigue is referenced as a ‘catch all’ term for anyone not experiencing full vitality with respects to how they feel. The list of signs and symptoms related to adrenal fatigue are extensive, but here is a short list:

• Chronic allergies
• Blood sugar imbalances
• Chronically “sick”
• Depression, anxious
• Dizziness upon standing
• Dry and thin skin
• Excessive hunger
• Hair loss
• Chronic inflammation, i.e. joints, skin
• Low blood pressure
• Low body temperature
• Low sex drive
• Mood swings
• Poor concentration and memory
• Chronic shoulder pain
• Sleep problems
• Thyroid problems

What Causes Adrenal Fatigue?

Although, not everyone on this list can be specifically attributed to adrenal fatigue, the vast majority of those signs and symptoms are commonly observed in people who eventually are diagnosed with adrenal fatigue, as well as have their adrenal fatigue (and corresponding issues) resolved. Adrenal fatigue, is also called adrenal exhaustion, and normally comes about from months or years of chronic stress. The stress hormone from the brain called ACTH signals to the adrenal glands to output cortisol and DHEA, and overtime these hormone signals begin to diminish which negatively impacts the bodies ability to maintain energy. Also, with adrenal fatigue other hormones like estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and thyroid are impacted as well. Imbalances in these hormones leads to their own negative consequences.

Adrenal Fatigue & Mental Health

Adrenal fatigue is often linked to mental health challenges. Anxiety and depression are commonly seen in individuals with adrenal fatigue as cortisol and DHEA not only have a positive function on physical health, but mental and emotional health as well. Adrenal fatigue is a leading cause of chronic fatigue too, and anyone dealing with these issues listed above should absolutely undergo adrenal hormone testing to evaluate the status of cortisol and DHEA production.

Adrenal Fatigue Testing

One of the most effective ways of testing for adrenal hormone output is through salivary adrenal hormone production. This is preferable over blood testing in many cases as the saliva can be collected at various times throughout the day and is more representative of total daily output versus a one time blood draw for cortisol which is normally the practice in traditional medicine. In doing the salivary testing the overall values of cortisol, as well as its relationship to DHEA can be measured to determine the extent of adrenal fatigue. This can then be followed with specific nutritional supplementation, and medication (if needed), to help resolve the adrenal fatigue problem.

Recommended Tests:

Recommended: Lab Tests

July 29, 2014

Hormone Imbalances

Dr. Kurt Woeller Hormone & Adrenal Lab Tests Cortisol, estrogen, Fatigue, hormone imbalances, hot flashes, progesterone, sex drive, testosterone

Hormonal Imbalances are a common health complaint of millions of people. For some this means they are in the midst of menopause and feel the effects of low estrogen and progesterone. Women feel more tired, emotional, have a lack of sex drive, or do not sleep well. The hallmark of menopause early on is the dreaded ‘hot flashes’ that create so much discomfort for women.

Symptoms of Hormone Imbalances

For other individuals hormonal imbalances can indicate irregular menstrual cycles, increasing fatigue and weight gain, poor memory and overall brain fog. These are common manifestations of hormonal imbalances that affect testosterone, progesterone, and estrogen throughout the month via their erratic production in the body. For men, hormonal imbalances means a drop in testosterone that affects their ability to maintain energy, sex drive, stamina, and peak performance that they may have been accustomed too in their late teens and early twenties and thirties. Finally, hormonal imbalances for millions of individuals means they have poor adrenal health which affects every system in their body.

Hormone Imbalances and Adrenal Exhaustion

Chronic stress overtime leads to excess stimulation of the adrenal glands and their corresponding production of cortisol and DHEA, but eventually this chronic stimulation of adrenal function contributes to lack of production long-term which leads to adrenal exhaustion. Hormonal imbalances are quite common with adrenal exhaustion as the adrenal glands regulate the production of sex hormones such as estrogen, progesterone, testosterone and DHEA. In fact, hormonal imbalances has become such a popular catch term in health and medicine that there are now many books, articles and websites that support the concept of hormonal imbalances as a real medical entity that needs to be dealt with in order to prevent various illnesses and health problems. For anyone suffering with symptoms of hormonal imbalances such as fatigue, headaches, poor sleep, difficulty losing or gaining weight, lack of sex drive, memory problems, menopause or irregular menstrual cycles, etc. than being assessed for hormonal imbalances is of paramount importance. In order to determine the level of hormonal imbalances that may be occurring it is important to test for the hormones involved in hormonal imbalances. One great of way of doing this is through salivary hormone testing that looks at cortisol, DHEA, estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. Melatonin, the hormone involved in sleep, can also be evaluated for as well. Saliva testing is an efficient, accurate, and easy method of looking at these various hormones to determine what the extent of hormonal imbalances there may be.

Recommended: Hormone Problems