HPA Axis Suppression By The Numbers

-15 months on steroids

-3 endocrinologists

-1 endocrinologist who would actually deign to run the blood work

-1 botched ACTH challenge (none of the draws were on time and they missed one entirely)

-5 different ways to interpret those ACTH challenge results (endo says fiiiiiine, I'm a bit more skeptical)

-1 pulmonologist who maintains it's "not adrenal"

-6 the am cortisol level in December

-<5 the ACTH level in December

-1 doctor who tried to tell me I didn't have asthma

-0 doctors who managed to come up with HPA axis suppression as a diagnosis (officially I believe it's still characterized as 'weird steroid withdrawal')

-1 previously well documented incidence of HPA axis suppression with an am cortisol of 1, the records of which were available to all treating physicians (So WTF?)

-1 toddler who did not have the momma she needed...for 15 months

The root cause of all this?

1 (ONE!!!!!!!) measly asthma attack.

Sheesh.

Now the wait begins. Can I stay off steroids?

I don't know.