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b'In our last episode we talked about the differences between PCOS and Adrenal Dysfunction, which is often called Adrenal Fatigue.\\xa0 Adrenal Fatigue or Adrenal Dysfunction is not a ICD10 diagnosis. There is an actual ICD10 billable code called: unspecified adrenocortical insufficiency (E27.40).\\xa0 But there is controversy in using this code for patients. It is technically meant for conditions where the adrenal glands do not produce enough steroid hormones such as cortisol and aldosterone.\\xa0 You might be saying, but this sounds exactly like Adrenal Fatigue/Dysfunction! Most people with Adrenal Dysfunction have normal labs, so their doctor cannot code for Adrenocortical Insufficiency (E27.4).\\xa0 And because their labs and testing look normal people are told they are fine and dismissed.\\nIn this episode, we are going to talk about the testing for Adrenal Dysfunction.\\xa0 There are some testing that can show Adrenal Dysfunction such as saliva and urine testing.\\xa0 But most conventional docs are mainly familiar with blood testing. Typical blood testing for adrenals usually will show that a person doesn't have adrenal dysfunction, when in reality, they do.\\xa0\\nWe are going to talk about the different methods for testing Adrenal Dysfunction.\\xa0\\n\\xa0Let's start by talking about the most common testing method that most docs use, blood testing.\\nAdrenal Blood Testing:\\nCortisol: Blood testing for cortisol is not accurate.\\xa0 Most, if not all people with Adrenal Dysfunction will test normal for cortisol blood testing.\\xa0 The reference ranges are vast and a blood test is only done once or twice in one day. And when you have a needle coming to stab you, automatically the body raises the stress hormones.\\xa0 So cortisol can be falsely elevated in a blood test.\\nDHEA: DHEA is secreted mainly from the adrenal glands.\\xa0 In adrenal dysfunction, you will see lower levels of DHEA.\\xa0 DHEA reference ranges are vast and everyone falls in normal when doing a DHEA total blood test.\\xa0 But a DHEA-sulfate blood test is fairly accurate for evaluating levels of DHEA in the body. But again, those lab reference ranges are still pretty broad.\\xa0 But in general, terms, if the DHEA is low or low normal range then you can start to consider that a person has Adrenal Dysfunction.\\nTestosterone: DHEA is secreted mainly from the adrenal glands and will convert to testosterone for females.\\xa0 In adrenal dysfunction, you will see lower levels of testosterone in women because of the reduced DHEA levels.\\xa0 In men with adrenal dysfunction, you will also see lower levels of total testosterone. Testosterone reference ranges are very vast.\\xa0 Quest has a reference of 2-45 for females and for males the reference range is 250-1100 ng/dL. These are pretty big reference ranges.\\xa0 But if someone has a low normal testosterone level you can consider that person has Adrenal Dysfunction.\\xa0\\nPregnenolone: Pregnenolone is secreted from the adrenal glands and there is a small amount made in the spinal cord and brain making it very neuroprotective.\\xa0 Pregnenolone is accurate as a blood test. But like DHEA and Testosterone, the reference ranges for pregnenolone is huge. For Labcorp the reference range is anything less than 150 is norma'