Suffering With Chronic Fatigue Syndrome- Many Doctors Miss This.

Measuring Cortisol Levels-The “Other” Hormone Crucial For Male and Female Hormone Balance.

When talking about chronic fatigue syndrome it is quite obvious a hormone imbalances exist. However many doctors fail to run a complete hormone panel on their patients who suffer with adrenal fatigue, Brain Fog, Dizziness and concentration issues. These days, it is easy to get caught up in estrogen, progesterone and testosterone levels. But, long before you even think of taking these hormones, you should have your Adrenal hormones evaluated. So whats the best way to have these hormones evaluated is it saliva or is it blood?

There are several different ways of measuring the hormones in a person’s body. Most blood and serum tests look only at the level of hormones that are present in a person’s tissues. This is known as “bound hormone levels”.

Saliva testing looks at the “unbound hormone levels” also known as “free fraction hormone levels” which are the hormone levels that are available to be used by the body’s tissues. This gives providers a better idea of the levels of hormones that are actually influencing the tissues, rather than just the level of hormones that are present in the tissues.

Measuring free fraction hormone levels gives more information than measuring bound hormone levels. Usually, when bound hormone levels are measured, a provider needs to guess at the level of hormones affecting the tissues. This is not the case when measuring free fraction hormone levels. Free fraction hormones are hormones that make things happen.

What is Saliva Testing?

Your adrenal glands are responsible for all of your responses to stress. Levels of the main adrenal hormone, cortisol, rise and fall in a daily pattern that underlies the more erratic fluctuations caused by the stress response. Cortisol output by your adrenal glands is one of the most reliable indicators of your adrenal function and how well your body is dealing with stress. The Cortisol/DHEAS Saliva Test measures the levels of the stress hormones DHEAS and cortisol in your saliva, and provides an evaluation of how cortisol levels differ throughout the day.