Tecee, many endos do an ACTH stimulation test to check the responsiveness of the adrenals when you have cortisol levels less than 4 ug/dl. If this is your case, you could be adrenal insufficient. Stress will increase your cortisol, and if your body cannot make enough, you could be in possibly a life-threatening situation. B-complex and a good mulitvitamin is good for you to take! Boy... I got the e-mails on the coffee cortisol connection - lol. ![]() Coffee can mildly raise ACTH which can mildly raise cortisol levels, but from the studies I have seen, not to the levels that would be hypercortisolemia as would be seen in Cushing's disease/syndrome. In this study, these healthy men after drinking 2-3 cups of coffee did have an increase of serum ACTH, which increased their serum cortisol 2.7 micrograms (ug/dl) at 60 minutes and stayed that way for up to 120 minutes.. In a normal person, a serum cortisol level is between 4 and 20 ug/dl. Stress-like adrenocorticotropin responses to caffeine in young healthy men.
Lovallo WR, Al'Absi M, Blick K, Whitsett TL, Wilson MF.
Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, USA.
The effects of oral caffeine (3.3 mg/kg, equivalent to 2-3 cups of coffee) on plasma adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) and cortisol (CORT) were tested in 47 healthy young men at rest in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study. Following caffeine, ACTH was significantly elevated at all times from 30 min to 180 min, and CORT was elevated from 60 min to 120 min (Fs > or = 8.4, ps < 0.01). Peak increases relative to placebo were: ACTH, 33% (+5.2 pg/ml) and CORT, 30% (+2.7 micrograms/dl) at 60 min postcaffeine. The results suggest that caffeine can activate important components of the pituitary-adrenocortical response in humans during the resting state. Caffeine's known ability to increase CORT production appears at least partly due to an increase in ACTH release at the pituitary.
Hope this helps. Minnie |
