Discussions that mention aciphex

Addison's Disease board


I just found this board and was hoping someone could help me with a few questions. My doctor recently mentioned that he wanted to test me for Addison's Disease and until that point I had never heard of it..my symptoms have been ongoing for over a year now, but are slowly worsening. I had a baby 14 months ago and ever since then I have been losing weight for no apparent reason (went from 145 the day before I had him to my current weight of 105 in 14 months all the while trying to gain..my normal weight has always been between 120-125, I am 5'7 and naturally thin to begin with.) I have been drinking high calorie weight gain shakes, eating everything in sight, purposely not working out, etc. and for the life of me I just can't gain weight. I had my thyroid checked and it showed I had Hypothyroidism, which totally shocked me because I was thinking maybe it was hyper, if anything. Now I am on 25 mcg of Synthroid and my last TSH level was at 1.45. I have been very fatigued, and though some people say its because I have a toddler, I know that is not the reason..I am tired upon waking (after sleeping 8-10 hours straight) and it goes downhill from there. I have been having a lot of nausea, which can sometimes last the whole day, but usually seems to peak in the late afternoon and last till the next morning. I have been having cramps in my stomach, for no apparent reason, along with cramps in my calves and weakness in my legs..if I so much as climb one flight of stairs they feel like lead. I have been having a hard time tolerating heat, and am almost always cold. My hair is falling out and I have some darkening/brown patches on my right foot. I get lightheaded when I stand too long, and have had low blood pressure (90/55) and I have been eating a ton of salt, which I know is not good for me, but I feel like I need it, sometimes salty things are all that appeal to me with the nausea. I have always been very healthy, I am normally an active person, and lately I just can't do the things I want to be doing because I feel so wiped out. The doctor ran some blood tests at 9:00am fasting, but I did take my daily medications which are the Synthroid, Aciphex for acid reflux, and Loestrin 24 which is a birth control pill. My doctor said my labs came back fine but wants me to see an endocrinologist anyway, so the referral is pending approval through my insurance. Here are my lab results..what do you think?
Sorry for the novel :)

ACTH: 18
Cortisol: 20.8
Aldosterone: 25

I have heard that birth control makes your cortisol levels come back unusually high, but mine was still within range..does that mean my levels were really low to begin with?