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Any good Prices for adrenal saliva testing?

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Posted 12/23/2014 4:30 PM (GMT 0)
Last time I tested adrenal saliva , it was part of a huge overall body evaluation test, which I do not want to repeat at this time (costly)..

I'm just looking to do this individually and wondering what recent prices are, yep I'm price shopping..

4 years ago I got one for $110 from a chiro, but paid for a visit on top of that.
Posted 12/23/2014 9:17 PM (GMT 0)
ZRT labs do a coritsol test (4x daily I think) for $135 and the same plus DHEA (not sure how many) I think for $170

I have used ZRT labs before - but not for adrenals - for female hormones - it was saliva...and it seemed to be accurate...had been previously tested in my local lab using blood sample, and the follow-up saliva seemed to follow a trend.

This is done in your home with a mail-in kit.
Posted 12/23/2014 9:39 PM (GMT 0)
Sayya - was that done from home - or did you have to go to a lab for that. I like the idea of having the neurotransmitters tested. Do they test for seretonin and dopamine?
Posted 12/24/2014 4:08 AM (GMT 0)
Lyme and CO is not a poor mans illness, that's for sure.
Posted 12/24/2014 9:03 PM (GMT 0)
Question- if you test high for cortisol is there any kind of treatment? Anyone have suggestions?
Posted 12/24/2014 9:48 PM (GMT 0)
It would depend on what time of day you tested high, when you first get up the amount should be high, but if it was the wrong time of the day, then that's signs of adrenal fatigue and there are lots of things you can do for that. From adaptogenic herbs to natural supplements (more homeopathic in nature), to using a prescription med like cortef.

I'm currently in treatment for Addison's and am currently using high doses of a natural supplement and a high protein diet to help heal my adrenals.
Posted 12/24/2014 11:53 PM (GMT 0)
Pmgonza-
You can goggle "Stop the thyroid madness" and Dr Lam- adrenal fatigue

those are the two best info sites I have found. Treatment takes a long time- years by the time you have adrenal fatigue. But the treatments travel mentioned which is in those sites help along the way till they heal.
Posted 12/25/2014 1:12 AM (GMT 0)
Thank you, astroman! I just couldn't remember Dr Lam to recommend to someone else.
Posted 12/26/2014 11:39 PM (GMT 0)
Labcorp does it as well as any other place (I think).

I think a lot of times, the results are inaccurate regardless.

Margaret
Posted 12/27/2014 5:36 PM (GMT 0)
No, there are good labs for these kinds of tests as well, and Labcorp isn't one of them.

At the bottom of this page, STTM lists labs that it says are trustworthy: www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/recommended-labwork/
Posted 12/27/2014 5:56 PM (GMT 0)
I also recommend Pharmasan Labs for adrenal and neurotransmitter testing. It is a 24-hr saliva test (spit every 5 hrs) and a one-time urine test (2nd pee of the day) for the creatinine level, I believe. I don't remember the cost but I think mine was in the $250-270 range. You do everything from home and mail in the test—best to do it at the beginning of the week so that the samples don't arrive late in the week and sit over the weekend in the shipping process.

My ND always told me I had to have a practitioner order the test—that I could not have the tests done on my own (I vaguely remember seeing services online so I question that).

The labs also provide a "customized recommendation" although it really isn't customized—it's tied to the levels your labs show for the individual hormone levels, not for the comprehensive picture. My ND and I tried to treat my adrenal exhaustion and neurotransmitter imbalances (ever level was either off-the-charts too high or too low— very extreme imbalances) for more than 3 years to the tune of $20k… and we could never get anything in balance.

I know now that my DNA mutations are a big part of the problem and without treating them, no amount of supplements are going to do the job alone.

-p
Posted 12/27/2014 6:03 PM (GMT 0)
Pmgonza—

I echo Traveler's comment about the cortisol. The value of the 24-hr saliva test is that it is a collection of your saliva every 5 hrs during a 24-hr period, so it is evaluating your cortisol production throughout the day. The desired production should be high (between 7-10 ng/mL when you wake up in the AM and gradually fall until bedtime (<1.5 ng/mL)—so a graph of it would look like the left side of a smile.

If your "curve" shows imbalances, there would be a different approach for AM levels vs. PM levels since you want a boost of cortisol in the first part of the day and you want to suppress cortisol in the evening. But you need to know what your levels are, first.

And—I'm glad this discussion is including neurotransmitter investigation since those two issues seem to go hand-in-hand. Any adrenal issues should also bring an evaluation of thyroid levels, as well.

-p
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