Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Some weird test results...is this a possible answer?

Ok, I'm all over the place right now and don't know what to make of anything.

Many of you know that I've been having severe anxiety/panic issues as well as terrible sleep problems. The doctors I've seen had attributed it all to mental illness of one form or another, but now they are thinking there may be a physiological cause. I probably talked about this a long time ago...but the doctors wrote it off then so I let it go. But now due to some recent testing they are back on that track.

Anyways...it's all coming down to my cortisol levels (stress hormone in the body). Basically, a person's cortisol is supposed to peak around 8:00am and decline steadily throughout the day...reaching it's lowest at night so you can go to bed. Certain conditions and problems can cause your cortisol to malfunction though, which can in turn cause severe psychiatric problems.

So, I went for cortisol testing Monday which involved drawing my blood at 8:30am and then again at 4:45pm (the latest they could do it before the lab closed). Normal levels on the Canadian test are between 90-500 (ish...I can't remember the exact 500 number). My 8:30am test came back at 230...but my 4:45pm test came back at 985 which is the highest result I've ever had! The doctors dont know what to make of this because obviously there are a few problems...first of all it's waaay higher than it should be and secondly, it's going up when it should be going down. Could explain why I can't sleep at night though if it's continuing to increase throughout the night...but we won't know this without further testing.

So, the doctors are concerned and have rushed an appointment with the head family physician for me for Monday, who is trying to rush me an appointment with an endocrinologist but I've been told in Ontario...that could take up to 6 months!

I'm really scared...it could potentially be something serious or something fairly benign...but I don't think I can handle waiting 6+ months to find out. Plus, regardless of what it is...it's getting worse. I used to be able to get to bed by 4:00am...now I'm lucky to be sleeping by 6 or 7. I'm chronically exhausted and just can't take it anymore. And I dont want to be sinking tons of money into therapy and psychiatric drugs if the reason I feel this way is due to my body being wonky.

So, if anyone has any words or advice or support I'd really appreciate it. Or if anyone knows anything about cortisol or has had problems with it in the past...would love to hear about that too.

Thanks guys

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