Two months ago, many of you were very supportive when I reported a scary 17-ohp test result of 3564 ng/dl.  All your words and advice were very much appreciated.  I just got my re-test results of 1489, which was very encouraging, as was a normal level of androstenendione.  The numbers all fall within my target zone, so I will not be making any changes to my daily hydrocortisone intake.

After asking my endo why he thought my levels had spiked two months ago, he said that since the normal range of 17-ohp is 50-250 (for non-CAH adult males), he believes most labs aren’t fully prepared to test those of us with CAH .  His analogy:  it’s like trying to use a thermometer to accurately measure a temperature higher than it was designed for.  We are so "off the charts" that often the measurements aren’t reliable. 

In other words, he thinks it was the lab, and not me.  I’m not sure whether this is reassuring, or disconcerting, but I wanted to pass the info along. 

Take care, Eric