Cortisol
₹585.00
What is a Cortisol Test?
A cortisol test measures the level of cortisol in your blood, urine, or saliva to see if your levels are normal. Cortisol is a hormone that affects almost every organ and tissue in your body. It helps your body:
Respond to stress (cortisol is sometimes called the “stress hormone”)
Reduce inflammation
Regulate blood sugar and metabolism (how your body uses food for energy)
Control blood pressure
Cortisol is made by your adrenal glands, two small glands that sit above the kidneys. A gland in your brain, called the pituitary gland, makes a hormone that tells your adrenal glands how much cortisol to make. If your cortisol levels are too high or too low, it may mean you have a disorder of your adrenal glands, a problem with your pituitary gland, or a tumor that makes cortisol.
High levels of cortisol may also happen if you take large doses of certain steroid medicines, such as prednisone, for a long time. And low levels may happen if you stop the medicine suddenly.
Without treatment, cortisol levels that are too high or too low can be very serious. For a cortisol urine test, your provider may ask you to collect all your urine during a 24-hour period. This is called a “24-hour urine sample test.” For this test, you’ll be given a special container and instructions for how to collect and store your urine sample. Your provider will tell you what time to start. The test usually includes the following steps:
To begin, urinate in the toilet as usual. Do not collect this urine. Write down the time you urinated.
For the next 24 hours, collect all your urine in the container.
Store the urine container in a refrigerator or in a cooler with ice during the collection period.
24 hours after starting the test, try to urinate if you can. This is the last urine collection for the test.
Return the container with your urine to your provider’s office or the laboratory as instructed.
In certain cases, a urine test for cortisol may be done on one sample of urine collected in the morning.
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