Can you please tell me where in Canada I can go to get a cortisol day curve done on my wife who has Addisons?
A day curve follows cortisol levels throughout the day. For individuals who are not in hospital, this would mean going to the lab every 2 or 4hrs starting at 8am until the lab closes, usually at 6pm. This is most useful in someone who is not on cortisol replacement, since it would provide information about the output of cortisol by the adrenal gland. In someone who is on cortisol it would reflect the levels of cortisol produced by the medication and would depend on when the cortisol tablets were taken. In general, this would not provide much useful information unless there is some reason to be concerned that the metabolism of cortisol is altered. This can occur in individuals on some types of medication such as anticonvulsants. Another way to get this type of information, is to do a 24hr urine collection for free cortisol. It would be lower than expected if metabolism is increased. These tests can be arranged at any of the commercial labs. I was diagnosed 12 years ago with Addison’s di
