Re: Has anyone taken any of Dr. James Wilson's Products?

If I were you, I would be VERY leery about basing any sort of endocrine therapy on the results of saliva tests. GSDL and Diagnostechs (two of the biggest proponents of saliva testing) claim all sorts of success, but if the experience of a friend of mine is any indication, you might want to think twice.

In a nutshell he's been having adrenal problems for 2 years now. He's been repeatedly tested, with cortisol showing up virtually non-existent and very low DHEA. Yet treatment aimed at boosting cortisol makes him feel worse. This went on for years until he finally had blood tests done; contrary to the saliva tests, the blood work showed his cortisol to be way too high, thus suppressing his DHEA production. Treatment aimed at lowering his cortisol has worked wonders.

According to Paul Wakfer - former spokesman for the Life Extension Foundation - blood is still the gold standard for all endocrine testing. Even the saliva labs will admit that. But cortisol levels in saliva fluctuate almost by the minute and are not a reliable indicator of what's in blood.

My friend happened to have the chance to speak to one of Canada's leading immunologists recently. When he asked him about saliva testing, the guy nearly choked on his drink.

I also asked a naturopath why he only gave blood tests instead of saliva. He told me that during his first 8 years of practice, he dutifully ordered them, mainly through DiagnosTechs. After a while he got suspicious so he started comparing the results from saliva to the results of blood drawn the same day. His findings: there was absolutely NO WAY to correlate the saliva levels to blood, as the saliva just couldn't be trusted.

Best advice is to have blood draws (AM and PM cortisol) to get at least somewhat of a better idea.