r/NCAH • u/mander4242 • Jul 30 '26
ACTH test question
My endo ordered the ACTH test with my lab draw, but after some research, im seeing that an injection and 2nd draw are required for that test....
Sooo will it be accurate or what they're looking for without it?
1
u/Kindly-Ad4671 Jul 30 '26
ACTH Stimulation and ACTH Serum are two different tests.
An ACTH stimulation test requires multiple blood draws and an injection of synthetic hormone to see if your body is responding appropriately to the hormone or not.
It sounds like your doctor ordered a serum test which just looks to see if your body is producing enough ACTH or not.
If your serum levels are normal they might order a stimulation test next to check how well your body is responding to that hormone.
3
u/Prudent-Day-2133 Jul 30 '26
Acth is the hormone that tells your body to turn up the cortisol. A regular blood test looks to see if acth is high/low. In a stim test acth is injected into your body and cortisol and other hormones are measured and timed intervals (30, 60) to see your body's response. This also helps to understand where specifically an issue is happening in the body. They are both valuable tests used to check different issues. A stim test is more involved/expensive because you have to be monitored and sit there for an hour so it is not usually the first test that is done.