The Most Important Hormone Test for All Women
Have you been concerned about your hormone levels recently but unsure how to receive useful information from lab tests? Your GP or PCP may request blood work to measure levels of hormones, telling you that everything is normal and there is nothing wrong. But your cystic acne, painful period cramps, night sweats, and anxiety surely tell you otherwise.
*This is not a rant against your GP or family physicians. This conversation highlights some shortcomings in the standard doctor’s office, as they often do not have access to the kind of specialist hormone testing available through our office or other functional medicine offices.
First, let’s start off by going over the different ways we can test the levels of sex hormones in the body:
Blood
Saliva
Urine
My preference is using the DUTCH (Dried Urine Total Complete Hormone) test to measure sex hormones in patients who come into the NW Denver office and for telemedicine patients across the country.
Why I prefer the DUTCH Urine Test
I love this specialized test because it measures clearance of hormones from your body, giving us the full picture of what is really going on with your sex hormones, sleep hormones, and adrenal hormones.
This test works by taking 4-5 urine samples throughout the day, providing us with a far more accurate picture of how your hormones fluctuate than one blood sample. While a blood or saliva test will show the values of hormones that are circulating in your body at a single snapshot in time, a urine test shows us the metabolities of the major hormones as well as how they shift and change throughout the 24 hour cycle.
Hormone metabolites are the intermediate products of hormone reactions that the body uses for further reactions and then needs to detoxify
By examining the levels of hormone metabolites cleared from the body, we are better able to determine how you actually use hormones available to you and can measure your ability to detox them properly.
Who should take the DUTCH test?
Anyone (male or female) who is experiencing:
Acne
Painful periods
Heavy periods
Irregular periods
Trouble conceiving
Miscarriages
Anxiety
Fatigue
PMS
Weight gain
Polycystic ovarian syndrome
Endometriosis
Fibroids
What does the DUTCH test show us?
Oestrogen and 8 metabolites - This tells us how much oestrogen you are currently producing, adn more importantly how your body is using it, breaking it down, and clearing the oestrogen via the liver system. Are you making the protective form of oestrogen or more of the two harmful metabolites that are linked with some cancers?
Androgens - These are your ‘male’ hormones (testosterone, androstenedione, ehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and more), and the ones that can cause cystic acne, hair loss, weight gain, low libido and facial hair if not converted properly in women.
Progesterone - This is your happy, calm, content hormone, the one produced after ovulation. Do you have enough of this at the right time of your cycle?
Cortisol - I can see how much active vs inactive cortisol you have and how much you produce over the day. Feeling burnt out? Waking up gasping for breath? Constantly feeling like you are in fight-or-flight mode? This may be related to an imbalance in waking cortisol levels.
Melatonin - This is your sleep hormone, it is important to know how much and when you make this hormone for better sleep at night and to feel awake instead of groggy in the morning. Melatonin also plays an important role in when the menstrual cycle and bleeding begins.
Organic Acids - these are markers used to measure some nutrients (B12, and B6) and mood hormones (dopamine, norepinephrine and epinephrine), as well as your level of oxidative stress or DNA damage.
What do you do with the information gathered from this test?
With all of the information that this test gives us, we are able to really see in detail what is going on with your body’s unique hormone balance. You can see an example of what the test results look like here.
From here, a personalized wellness plan can be introduced which includes specific nutrient/diet and lifestyle recommendations, along with targeted herbs and supplement recommendations (if needed).
Ok I’m ready! How do I order the test and what are the instructions for collecting sample?
Test kits must be purchased and interpreted by a qualified practitioner. If you’re interested, please click here to schedule an appointment at our Wheatridge, Colorado Acupuncture clinic or to schedule a telemedicine appointment.
Are you a woman trying to get pregnant and looking for more personalized guidance and support into natural ways to increase your fertility? Book a FREE Fertility Audit call with a member of our team here.