Posts by Nicole Chavez5

Lawrence Wells said:The only thing I can think of asking you guys right now—did anyone actually get their cortisol levels checked?

About a month before these issues started, I had my urine cortisol tested during a routine pituitary checkup, and everything looked fine—thyroid included.

I followed up with thyroid tests twice after that. Aside from one instance where my free T3 was slightly elevated, everything else was normal. My specialist told me those results were fine, suggesting the timing just caught the moment T3 was converting to T4 in my liver.

Three months later, I ran another panel for total hormones. Everything was within range, even if they were hovering near the lower limits. TSH was normal.

Angela Wright said:Are the kidney hormones looking alright too?
The thing is, if you try to get the adrenal glands firing while dealing with hyperthyroidism, let alone trying to juggle a pituitary issue on top of that, you’re basically asking for a total system meltdown.

They fall within the normal range.

It all started a few months back, triggered by one particularly stressful incident.
I’ve been dealing with a non-functional pituitary tumor for years now. I had my first surgery because it messed with my cycle, but it eventually grew back. My doctors have been monitoring it for quite some time. For most of those years, I felt fine, though the sheer anxiety surrounding my check-ups was always overwhelming. Usually, a medical board meets once a year to review my case, so you can imagine the mental toll that takes. It's been this way for years.

Anyway, after my last MRI showed growth, I went into complete shock. I think, deep down, I was hoping it would stay the same size, so seeing that change was psychologically devastating. Shortly after, the physical symptoms hit—first my cycle went haywire, which my gynecologist addressed with Prover, and then I started waking up drenched in sweat at 3:00 AM, unable to drift back to sleep until dawn. My doctor ordered tests; my blood work and hormone levels were normal, aside from elevated blood sugar and cholesterol. A month later, I took a glucose tolerance test, and that came back fine too.

Things settled down for about a month, but by the middle of the third month, debilitating insomnia set in. I’m not just tossing and turning; I am literally getting zero minutes of sleep during the night. I used to fall asleep easily, but now, sometimes I go several nights in a row without any rest at all. After one of those nights, I lost 2.5 pounds; since this whole mess began, I've lost 7 pounds total. I can barely function anymore; the lack of sleep has left me completely drained. I've tried everything—every natural remedy under the sun—but nothing works. Even the Moon pill my doctor prescribed didn't help me sleep last night. I’m at a loss. What could be causing this? Is it a serious illness, or something else?

I’ve been given new referrals for more blood work. I'm running on empty, exhausted by both the insomnia and the dread of waiting for my results... I can't even begin to list the worst-case scenarios spinning in my head.

Also, could the admin please delete this same thread from the women's health PDF?

It all started a few months ago, triggered by one particularly stressful incident.
I’ve been dealing with a non-functional pituitary tumor for years. I had my first surgery because it was messing with my cycle, but it eventually grew back. My doctors have been monitoring it for quite some time now. For most of these years, I felt fine, though the sheer anxiety leading up to my check-ups was always overwhelming. Usually, a medical board meets once a year to review my case, so you can imagine how much pressure that puts on me.

Basically, when my last MRI showed growth, I went into total shock. I think, deep down, I was hoping it would stay the same size, so seeing that change was mentally devastating. Shortly after, the physical symptoms hit—first, my cycle went haywire, which my doctor managed with Prover, and then I started waking up at 3:00 AM drenched in sweat, unable to drift back to sleep until dawn. My doctor ordered tests, and while my blood work and hormone levels were normal, my blood sugar and cholesterol were high. A month later, I did a glucose tolerance test, which came back fine.

Things settled down for about a month, but by the middle of the third month, terrible insomnia kicked in. I’m not just tossing and turning; I am literally getting zero minutes of sleep during the night. I used to fall asleep easily, but now, sometimes I go several nights in a row without any rest at all. After one such night, I lost two and a half pounds; in total, I’ve lost 7 pounds since this nightmare began. I can barely function anymore; the lack of sleep has left me completely drained. I’ve tried everything—every natural remedy under the sun—but nothing works. Even the Moon pill my doctor prescribed didn't help me sleep last night. I’m at a loss. I don't know what to do or what the cause could be. Is this a sign of a more serious illness?

I’ve been given new referrals for more blood work. I’m at my breaking point; the insomnia is killing me, and the dread of waiting for these results is just as bad.

I just received another lab result that caught me completely off guard: my IGF-1 levels.

Apparently, the lab adjusted their reference ranges since my last hormone panel a year ago—back then, this exact number was considered perfectly normal. This year, it’s flagged as high. I'm wondering if these reference intervals can actually shift overnight like that, or if we're looking at a simple copy-paste error on their end.

result
30.92
range
8.84-29.25

last year's range
14.17-36.92

Hi there. I could use some insight here.

A few days ago, I did a 24-hour urine cortisol test, and the results were:
93.21 ref. range: 100-379

Following that, I had my blood cortisol levels checked:
at 8 AM: 16.9 (ref. range 3.7-19.4)
at 4 AM: 10.4 (ref. range 2.9-17.3)

How is it possible for the urine levels to be low while the blood levels remain within the normal range?

For context, I’m running these tests to monitor a pituitary tumor remnant following surgery back in 2009. I am not currently on any hormone replacement therapy. Thanks in advance for any help.

steeljackal8 said:I’ve been on corticosteroids for 15 years now. Honestly, I haven't dealt with much besides some high blood pressure—which I manage with pills—and that classic "moon face" look back when I was getting the heavy doses.
If it helps at all, remember that every single one of us on these meds used to be perfectly healthy and didn't need them. Life happens. Things change—sometimes for the better, sometimes they just suck.
There’s zero reason to panic. If things were actually as dire as you think, who knows where I'd be right now... I might not even be around anymore.
Don't spiral into thinking everything is bleak. Just be grateful to God that there’s actually a solution for what you're going through. What would people fighting cancer or AIDS give to have a working treatment for their condition??
We really do need to stay thankful, because before corticosteroids existed, people were dropping dead left and right.

In my case, things changed because my doctors lacked the initiative to explain the potential fallout from surgery for a benign growth. Before the procedure, I wasn't taking any pills or steroids, and my hormone levels were completely normal. Now, this therapy has left me feeling pretty desperate.

Can someone explain the actual reasoning behind prescribing Cortef? My doctor didn't bother to provide an answer.

Hannah Williams5 said:Don't go playing games with your health or your life.
In your specific situation, corticosteroids are absolutely VITAL.

Just like Larry Adams2 mentioned above...

What drives me crazy is that my cortisol levels were perfectly normal before the surgery. I have no idea what they look like now—I won't know until my follow-up in six months—but I know this for certain: during the last few months of being on those pills, my HPV infection flared up to CIN 3, and I developed allergies despite having never suffered from them before.

Following a recent pituitary surgery, I’ve been put on a corticosteroid regimen—three tablets daily—that looks to be a lifelong commitment.
In the rush to finally get rid of the prolactinoma, I neglected to ask my doctors about the long-term fallout of the procedure itself. Now, I find myself in a frustrating position where hormones that were perfectly balanced before the operation are completely out of whack.
Talking to others who rely on steroids for different conditions, I've learned—and can certainly feel on my own skin—just how much they suppress the immune system, spike blood pressure, and trigger a host of other side effects.
But more than anything, there is the mental toll of managing daily pills. I was someone who never even reached for an aspirin because my health was flawless; now, my entire routine revolves around medication.
Does anyone here know if there are any alternative treatments that could replace this steroid cocktail? Is there actually a way to step off this medication eventually?