Migraine

Hi All,

I had an interesting appt with my naturopath on Friday. My saliva test came back and my cortisol levels are very low. He actually said he was surprised I was feeling as well as I am considering the numbers. He also felt that this could definitely be the cause of my daily headache. I'm leaning towards considering it a headache right now, because the migraine symptoms that I have developed are also listed as adrenal fatigue symptoms!

Now, adrenal fatigue is kinda an alternative health term, but I'm going to see my PCP next Tuesday, and both my naturopath and I feel very confident that the numbers on my test are a lot more universal! I was really surprised to find that not only the light sensitivity, but also the double vision that I've been having are symptoms of these problems.

A whole host of other things are included as well... the fatigue that I've been ignoring because I thought it was just because I was in so much pain all the time. Low blood pressure, my dizziness!!

In addition to some hormone replacement meds for my adrenals, the doctor gave me some homeopathic stuff for my head. I don't know which (or both) it is, but my pain level is down from the week before averaging around 5-6, to now a 3-4 for several days... so I'm feeling hopeful. He felt my headache should be gone within 45 days, and I'm starting to feel like maybe I should count the days! I don't want to be too hopeful yet, but it does seem like the most likely answer right now. After all, it is my first "bad" test, and nothing else has worked yet!

Hi Candace - good luck with that! I'm so glad the homeopathic stuff is helping! I took cortisol supplements for about 3 years - and they helped a lot. Then my numbers went too high, and I'm taking serine (another natural hormone supplement) to keep my adrenals from secreting too much cortisol. My PCP is holistically oriented and considers adrenal fatigue to be a cause of chronic fatigue, which certainly makes sense to me, though if you look at the CDC site they say the connection is "unproven."

For me, I can't see any really direct correlation between adrenal function and my migraines, but definitely the fatigue is more of an issue when my adrenals aren't working well. And when I'm fatigued I'm more prone to headaches - non-migraine ones. I also think when I'm fatigued and I push myself that can trigger a migraine. So I'm sure it's all connected somehow - IMHO!

All pieces of the puzzle! I hope this is an important piece for you. Be sure to rest when you need to!

- Megs

Thanks, Megs. I like having things explained--and I hate diagnoses that don't actually explain what I'm experiencing. This one really fits a lot of things that I've been living with for a long time--adjusting to really, so it's nice to think that they could all change!

I'm also quite relieved to know why I was falling asleep while driving (!!), even though I realize now that I listened to my now fired PCP who told me, "Let's take care of the headache first, and then we'll worry about the fatigue" Of course, this is months and months later, but I guess I just pushed it away and justified it to myself.

I'm hopeful that this will be the answer for my daily headache--whatever it is--but I know it's not for sure. I am finding myself uber-emotional now that I'm on the supplements, which is a bummer, because I'm already a pretty emotional person! Every time I turn around, I'm bawling about something else!

We'll see how it goes. It's nice to hear that there's someone else hear who's experienced the same thing. My naturopath wants to retest my cortisol levels in 5 weeks, so I'm guessing he's trying to avoid over-supplementing me. Here's hoping..

Hi Candace,

Is anyone checking for Addison's disease? Isn't that low cortisol and cushing syndrome high cortisol?

Just me and my two cents again.

Yep. Low is Addison's, and High is Cushing's. But...just because your cortisol might be low or high doesn't necessarily mean that you have either condition. When I flunked my tests with high cortisol, my endo doc told me it's got to be wayyyy out of whack before they even consider Cushing's or even do anything to treat it. So if your levels aren't severely wonky, it's just a hurry up, wait, and watch it some more kind of thing.

quote:

Originally posted by Nancy Bonk:
Hi Candace,

Is anyone checking for Addison's disease? Isn't that low cortisol and cushing syndrome high cortisol?

Just me and my two cents again.

Yes, Droolie - that's my impression too - can't speak for Candace of course but my PCP says he treats adrenal imbalances which are not anywhere near the range for Cushings or Addison's. With supplements. I have to say they seem to have helped me a lot with the CFS, though not eliminated it!

- Megs

Candace,

Dr. Krusz had my cortisol level checked. He had me be sure the blood draw was done before 9 a.m. to get the most accurate reading. Cortisol levels being off can impact Migraines.

Hi ladies,

I didn't mean to suggest Candace had either Cushing or Addison's, just wanted to put it out there to make sure she was being checked for them.

Thanks for all the responses! I appreciate all the input.

I had (and will have) a saliva test done to test my cortisol levels. It's more sensitive than a blood test, and I do it at home throughout the day, so I can see what my levels are at the different times when it should be changing levels. Although, as Teri mentioned, your levels should be at their highest in the morning from 6-8.

I'm really glad to be involving my PCP and a naturopath together on this one, although I STILL haven't seen my PCP.. (he's sick!!) because I'm able to combat my low levels before my adrenals stop working altogether (Addison's).

If nothing else, it's empowering to acknowledge the fatigue that I've been ignoring, pushing under the rug. It's been good to rest, and the supplements I'm on are helping.

I posted this site on a different thread, but I feel like it's really thorough with the symptoms, it's specifically listing them along with thyroid symptoms... but it's a really good list form in my opinion. I find it explains a lot of things for me--things I've had forever! Even hypoglycemia!

http://www.drrind.com/scorecardmatrix.asp

Candace I've done the saliva tests too, and my PCP has been able to do a bunch of fine-tuning based on them.

Nancy your knowledge and helpful input is always appreciated!

- Megs

I finally have an appt with my PCP on Thursday... and he's very thorough and a good listener. I'm sure he'll be really involved and on top of my numbers to make sure I'm well taken care of.

Megs, I'm glad to hear that your PCP did saliva tests as well, I was hoping that maybe I could somehow get my insurance to pay for my next test instead of me paying for it! It's always better that way!

My naturopath had homeopathic drops for headache and migraine, both of which I tested strong for (muscle tests), although the headache one we determined was just a little bit stronger. I think they're actually helping... and I'm kicking myself for not pursuing it earlier.

I just had a follow-up appointment with my GYN today. She also does antiaging holistic stuff which is why I decided to go to her. I did the saliva testing for adrenal function. As it turns out, my adrenals are really low too. She was very concerned and she wants to follow it up with blood testing to compare results. In the meantime, I am going to take stuff to help my adrenals.

She also looked at my hormone levels. My estrogen is way high and everything else is way low. My thyroid is barely performing. She is convinced that the imbalances I'm experiencing may be making my migraines and head pain more painful than it might otherwise be. She doesn't know if getting things back in balance and working correctly will help with my migraine frequency but she feels it might make them not hurt so bad. I'm for that!

I was seeing a different doctor for my bio-identical hormones but decided to change to her because she also does pap smears, etc. My other doctor only did hormones. She looks at the big picture of everything, not in isolation like my other doctors are doing. She adjusted my estrogen/progesterone regiment but is doing it slowly to minimize my risk of the changes triggering migraines. I LOVE this doctor.

In a couple months, once she gets my hormones back in the normal ranges, she wants to do a stress EKG on me with a full heart workup. I have been asking for that from my other doctors for the last couple years with no luck. Both my parents had congestive heart disease. She felt that because of that and because I take a lot of triptans and because I have other risk factors like being overweight, having high blood pressure, having high cholesterol, that I should have had this done several years ago. Woo Hoo.

Plus she's on my insurance plan. It doesn't get any better than that!

Sounds very encouraging. Keep us posted.

Sounds like you have quite the job on your hands, trying to figure out how to clone this wonderful doctor and share the love with all of us!

Seriously, though, I hope all goes well with this and that getting everything in balance helps a ton.

Has anyone had an ACTH adrenal test? I have to get one in a couple days. I've read a little about the procedure but would love first hand accounts if someone has had it done.