Posted by Pfinstegg on August 1, 2004, at 10:43:22
In reply to Re: very promising » Pfinstegg, posted by SLS on August 1, 2004, at 8:02:38
Hi Scott. It would be wonderful to just take a week of mifepristone, as needed! It's a huge nuisance to fly to Atlanta every few months for three days of treatment. I feel pretty certain that my HPA axis has been permanently set into overdrive by csa, as Nemeroff suggests does happen, so that I just need to keep doing what I can to lower it towards normal. The TMS has been by far the best treatment I've yet had- far better than any medications- and I am hoping that it will be approved in 2005-6. Then I can drive in and get 20 minutes of treatment as needed in my home town! (and insurance will pay)
As to getting the cortisol tests done- after I learned about its central role here on Babble, I made an appointment with an endocrinologist, and asked for them. He gave me a very hard time at first, saying they weren't indicated because I didn't appear Cushingoid, but he finally agreed to do them. I had a 24-hour urinary cortisol, an AM and PM salivary cortisol, and the DST suppression test. When the tests came back, he was stunned that they were all abnormal! From what you are saying, it sounds as though, in addition to to DST non-suppression (indicating that you have chronically overactive, probably hypertrophied adrenals due to stimulation by too much ACTH), you also had salivary cortisol that was high in the evening- as you know, it's supposed to peak in the morning, and then steadily drop during the day, reaching its lowest levels by 11 or 12 PM. It sounds like we are much the same, cortisol-wise. I'm assuming that, if more people with refractory depression and major traumas in childhood had these tests, they would find exactly the same thing.
I know lots of people are awaiting Cymbalta, but that there has been a delay of more than a year. Would you mind telling me how it's supposed to work? Thanks! And please post if you hear any more news about mifepristone.
poster:Pfinstegg
thread:371835
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040730/msgs/372860.html