Understanding the Adrenal System and the Limits of Blood Tests

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The adrenal system is the most confusing system.
Blood tests are not helpful for getting information about the adrenal system.
Total cortisol, including bound cortisol, is unhelpful to measure.
Free cortisol is what needs to be measured to understand the adrenal system.

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In this special episode of The Drive, Peter provides a comprehensive overview of the various endocrine systems: the thyroid system, the adrenal system, and the sex hormone system (for both men and women). He walks through the basic biology and the feedback cycles that regulate the production of these hormones and discusses the various options for the treatment of hormone deficiencies. In addition, Peter delves into hormone replacement therapy (HRT), providing nuanced insights into its appropriate usage and the clinical approach he adopts when working with patients.

Peter supplements these explanations with whiteboard illustrations. For a more complete understanding, we highly recommend watching these videos over just listening. The videos can be found on our YouTube channel or on the show notes page.

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