Why Should Women Have Their Hormone Levels Checked?
For all women, hormone levels dictate the length and success of each menstrual cycle and your quality of life. Whenever one or more of your female hormones is out of balance, there is a possibility that your menstrual cycle can be disrupted or suppressed. But if you’re past all that and in menopause then having low or imbalanced hormones can cause serious quality of life issues.
So for these reasons it makes sense to have your hormone levels checked if you feel that there may be an issue.
For women, levels are normally checked through blood work and analyzed at laboratories.
For women, levels are normally checked through blood work and analyzed at laboratories. This procedure is very effective but could take a couple of days before the results come up. Today, however, there are new technologies that allow you to check your hormones right in the comfort of your home. The results are very rapid. All you need is a hormone test kit and you are on your way.
Why use a home hormone test kit for women?
A home hormone test kit is useful for monitoring your testosterone, progesterone or estrogen. This enables patients to prescribe the correct dosesof bioidentical testosterone, natural progesterone or natural estrogen. Even men can use the test kits to determine their testosterone, DHEA-S and progesterone (men need progesterone just not as much as women). Like you, they are able to monitor their levels right in the comfort of their homes and are able to determine the proper hormone dosages needed.
Doctors typically charge about $200 per hormone test. Home hormone test kits are normally priced within the range of $35 to $200, depending on the type and complexity of the test. It would be a good idea to get your hormones tested in a lab if you could be 100% sure that they were accurate. The fact is however, these expensive tests have already been proven ineffective and outdated.
According to Dr. John Lee, family physician and author, blood tests do not determine levels of biologically active hormones which the body can use, but instead measure protein-bound hormones that are not used by your body. Also, levels of progesterone take about three months to be reflected in blood serum or plasma. You might be having your hormones checked before correct levels are actually reflected in your blood and this would be a complete waste of money.
Hormone saliva test kits are more accurate, less painful, and less costly. The World Health Organization is currently endorsing hormone saliva test kits to women considering hormone levels testing.
Using Saliva Test Kits
Since your progesterone levels are usually highest on the 2nd and 3rd days after ovulation (or the 18th to 21st day of the menstrual month), the best time to conduct saliva tests are during these days. If you, however, no longer have your menstrual periods, testing can be done on any day you like.
Your levels of estrogen or ‘estradiol’ and testosterone should also be checked. Estradiol is the most potent of the body’s estrogens (the two others being estrone and estriol). Testosterone, on the other hand, is produced in your body in small quantities and are easily lost due to excessive estradiol. Elevated estradiol hormones and low testosterone levels are associated with many health conditions that can lead to discomforts, disease and illnesses.
Click here to read about the symptoms of low testosterone in women
