Why might I need advanced hormone testing?

When certain hormones are under- or over-produced, the resulting hormonal imbalance can present with physical and reproductive health issues. Advanced hormone testing plays an important role in diagnosis and treatment. If you are experiencing certain symptoms, a hormonal imbalance may be responsible. After your healthcare provider analyzes your test results, they may review different treatment plan options to help you optimize your health and improve quality of life.

Often, hormonal imbalances that affect your metabolism may be related to an issue with the thyroid gland. The thyroid is a small endocrine gland that regulates the production of certain hormones, including thyroxine or tetraiodothyronine (known as T4) and triiodothyronine (T3).

Stress and Hormones

Additionally, there may be hormone imbalances related to your adrenal glands. Two adrenal hormones are cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), known as the stress hormones. A cortisol and DHEA imbalance may lead to fatigue, depression and/or irritability. Hormone testing is valuable for determining possible adrenal issues, which may include Addison’s disease, a form of adrenal insufficiency where the adrenal gland does not produce enough of certain hormones.

Gender-specific Hormones

There are also hormonal imbalances specific to each gender. For females, a hormonal imbalance might also cause heavy or irregular periods, hair loss, hyperpigmentation, excessive hair growth, headaches, and acne. For males, hormonal imbalances include symptoms such as loss of muscle mass, difficulty concentrating, erectile dysfunction, gynecomastia (the development of breast tissue), decrease in beard and hair growth, and hot flashes. While these symptoms are not exclusively shown by females or males with hormone imbalances, they are commonly linked, and a hormone panel is a crucial step to discovering the cause of these symptoms.

Access Medical Labs has several female hormone panels specifically formulated to analyze women’s health and wellness, including our Menopause Panel and our Female EvaluatoR Panel, which measures estradiol and progesterone levels over the course of a menstrual cycle. Likewise, the male-specific panels are calculated to measure the most relevant hormone levels, such as the Andropause panel, which tracks DHEA and testosterone levels. Even if you have not shown any of these symptoms, hormone testing is a helpful tool for monitoring your health. Hormone production naturally shifts during different periods of life, and it is important to track these changes to prevent hormone imbalances.

What hormones are being measured and what do they do?

Over 50 hormones have been identified in the human body. Of these hormones, there are a select group that significantly impact mental, physical, and sexual health. These are the hormones that are the most likely to lead to hormonal imbalances. Alongside these hormones, an advanced hormone panel may measure additional assays, such as your liver, kidney, and cardiac functions. Access Medical Labs offers testing for a variety of analytes and hormones, including:

• Androstenedione: A steroidal androgen involved in the production of estrogen and testosterone.
• Cortisol and Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate (DHEA-S): Both cortisol and DHEA are produced in the thyroid gland, though a small portion of DHEA is also produced in the ovaries. These are considered to be “stress hormones.”
• Estradiol, Estrone and Estriol (Estrogens): Estrogen is a category of sex hormone largely responsible for regulating the female reproductive system. Estrodiol, estrone, and estriol are three types of estrogen.
• Follicle-Stimulating Hormone (FSH): This hormone is produced in the pituitary gland and vital to reproductive health. Low or high levels of FSH may cause infertility.
• Luteinizing hormone (LH): The Luteinizing hormone spurs ovulation and is vital to female reproductive health.
• Leutinizing Hormone (LH): Luteinizing hormone is a hormone produced by gonadotropic cells in the anterior pituitary gland.
• Triiodothyronine (T3) and Thyroxine (T4): The two main hormones produced by the thyroid.
• Testosterone (Total & Free): Testosterone acts as a male sex hormone to regulate reproductive health and secondary sex characteristics. Many of our hormone panels measure total testosterone, which shows the total measure of testosterone in your blood.
• Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone (TSH): TSH stimulates the thyroid to produce T3 and T4.
• Sex Hormone Binding Globulin (SHBG): A protein made by the liver. SHBG binds certain hormones, like estrogens and androgens, together.
• Progesterone: Progesterone is the most important progestogen in the body. It is an endogenous steroid and progestogen sex hormone involved in the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, and embryogenesis of humans and other species.
• Pregnenolone: Pregnenolone is an endogenous steroid and precursor/metabolic intermediate that plays a key role in the production of other steroid hormones, including progesterone, DHEA, and estrogen.
• Dihydrotestosterone (DHT): DHT is the sex hormone that stimulates the development of male characteristics.
• Prolactin: Prolactin, also known as lactotropin, is a hormone produced by the pituitary gland. It is a protein best known for its role in enabling mammals to produce milk.

What are the benefits of hormone testing?

Advanced hormone testing has a variety of benefits. As well as monitoring potential imbalances, hormone testing allows you to:

What is the testing process?

Access Medical Labs offers two different kinds of advanced hormone tests: blood and saliva.

For blood hormone panels, the blood sample must be collected at a doctor’s office. The kit for the blood tests includes two serum separator tubes (SST) and one LAV tube. After the sample is sent to Access Medical Labs, you will receive the results within 24 hours.

Saliva lab tests may be performed at home. Some saliva tests, such as the Menopause and Andropause panels, only require one saliva sample. Other saliva tests require multiple samples, such as the NextGen Adrenal panel, which requires four samples throughout the day, or the Female EvaluatoR panel, which tracks an entire cycle of ovulation and menstruation. After you or your health care provider has selected and ordered the appropriate hormone panel, Access Medical Labs will send you a kit with all the necessary supplies to collect your saliva sample(s). We lead the industry in turn-around time – you will receive your test results within 48 hours.