Are there any medications or foods that will alter saliva cortisol test results?
Prednisone and other steroid drugs interact with test methods used to measure cortisol levels and can lead to inaccurately high results. Drinking highly acidic foods, such as fruit juices or coffee, immediately before taking the saliva cortisol test may also lead to inaccurately high cortisol results. Is refrigeration of the saliva samples necessary? Will freezing saliva samples affect the cortisol test results? No. Salivary cortisol is stable at room temperature for up to two weeks, but because the saliva sample will contain moisture, it should be sent to the laboratory as soon as possible. Freezing saliva samples will not affect the cortisol test results. How often should I test my hormone levels? If you are following a treatment program to balance your hormones and are using hormone supplementation, it is often recommended that you test in three to six month intervals for monitoring purposes. This allows your health care practitioners to track your progress and make necessary adjust
