Why take a Hormone Test?
01
Despite healthy eating and exercise, you can’t lose that last 15 pounds.
02
Migraines have become a regular occurrence.
03
Your sex drive isn’t what it used to be.
04
You’ve decided Hormone Replacement Therapy isn’t an option.
What are some signs that you have have a hormonal imbalance?
When it comes to hormonal imbalance, there are symptoms that may be present in either men or women, including:
- An increase or decrease heart rate
- Anxiety or depression
- A puffy or rounded face
- Constipation
- Diarrhea
- Decreased sex drive
- Dry skin
- Fatigue
- Fine, brittle, or thinning hair
- Increased thirst
- Irritability
- A hump of fat between your shoulders
- Muscle weakness, aches, or stiffness
- Pain, swelling, or stiffness in your joints
- Pink or purple stretch marks
- Sensitivity to heat or cold
- Weight gain or weight loss
*This is not a complete list of potential health concerns that may be the result of a hormonal imbalance.
But here’s the deal. Hormonal imbalance doesn’t discriminate by age or gender.
You’ll be happy to know that at Loehr Health Center, we offer female hormone testing, a male hormone test, and hormone testing for children.
Hormonal conditions specifically affecting women may cause any of the following symptoms:
- Vaginal dryness
- Heavy or irregular periods, including skipped periods or a lack of menstruation
- Excessive hair on your face, chin, or other parts of the body
- Acne on your face, chest, or upper back
- Darkening of the skin, particularly underneath the breast, a long neck creases, and in the groin area
- Skin tags
- Vaginal dryness or atrophy
- Painful sex
- Night sweat
- Headaches, including migraines
Conditions caused by male hormone imbalance may cause any of the following symptoms:
- Erectile dysfunction
- Decrease in beard or body hair growth
- Loss of muscle mass
- Osteoporosis
- Thyroid disease
- Gynecomastia (the development of breast tissue)
- Breast tenderness
- Difficulty concentrating
- Hot flashes
- Loss of muscle mass
Hormonal conditions affecting children may cause any of the following symptoms:
Girls:
- A lack of breast tissue development
- A slowed or non-existent growth rate
- No onset of menstruation
Boys:
- Not developing muscle mass
- A voice that doesn’t deep
- Impaired penis and or testicular growth
- Very sparse body hair
- Development of breast tissue
- Excessive growth of arms and legs in relation to the trunk of the body
What are some potential causes of a hormonal imbalance?
A hormonal imbalance may be caused by:
- Diabetes
- Thyroid issues, such as hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism
- Higher-than-normal cortisol levels
- Adrenal problems
Some potential causes of hormonal imbalance that are specific to women include:
- Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)
- Birth control
- Menopause
- Pregnancy
- Breastfeeding
What is a hormone panel?
A hormone panel measures the hormone levels within your body. Depending on your symptoms and the test your doctor recommends, testing will be done via a blood test, urine sample, or by collecting saliva.
Could a hormone panel be the right choice for you?
- Have you been suffering from painful periods, weight gain, or unusual hair growth?
- Is it a struggle to drag yourself out of bed each morning?
- Or maybe your friends have dropped some less than subtle hints about your mood.
If so, you might find one of our hormone panels to be a valuable step towards feeling your best. Your hormones are your body’s chemical messengers and if they aren’t doing their job, you aren’t going to feel like “you”. Our doctors specialize in knowing what labs and hormone panels to order, such as a:
- Blood test for menopause, including
- Estrogen blood test
- Perimenopause test
- Cortisol level test
- PRL test – to check for normal prolactin levels
…as well as how to interpret and treat the results.
And if there is a specific type of hormone test you’re wanting, such as an AMH test (anti-mullerian hormone test) to check AMH levels, just let us know.
We’re able to order any type of hormonal testing you may need!
Hormone Panel FAQs and Answers
Depending on his evaluation of your symptoms, your doctor may choose to perform one of the following hormone tests:
Female or Male Hormone Panel:
The female hormone blood test that checks hormone levels that are associated with aging and over-all well-being.
Blood will be drawn on specific days of a woman’s cycle and will test for a wide variety of hormones including:
- Thyroid
- Estrogen
- Estradiol test
- Progesterone test
- Pregnenolone
- Testosterone
- Follicle-stimulating hormone test- FSH levels
- LH test – Luteinizing hormone
- HGH
- IGF-1
- SHBG
- Parathyroid
- DHEA test
DUTCH Hormone Test:
The Dried Urine Test for Comprehensive Hormones, also known as the DUTCH test, is the most advanced type of hormone testing. DUTCH testing provides an extensive hormonal profile of your sex and adrenal hormones and includes:
- Cortisol test
- Cortisone
- Estradiol
- Estrone
- Estriol
- Progesterone
- Testosterone
- DHEA and DHEA-S
- Melatonin
Yes, hormone level tests are available for men, women, and children.
The Hormone Panel is one of our Functional Medicine services. Your first step is to schedule an appointment with our Functional Medicine Doctor.
When you come to this 1-hour initial appointment, your doctor will review your complete health history, and you’ll visit our in-house lab for your Hormone Panel blood-draw.
It typically takes around 2 weeks for our office to receive your Hormone Panel test results.
As soon as your Hormone Panel results are in, you’ll be scheduled for a follow-up appointment.
Here, your doctor will take the time to thoroughly review the results with you in order to:
- Help you understand any hormonal imbalances you may have and how they affect your overall well-being
- Create your personalized treatment plan
Your customized treatment plan may involve the use of supplements as well as specific adjustments in your:
- Diet
- Sleep
- Exercise
- Stress management
At Loehr Center we offer a variety of natural and medical treatments for hormonal imbalance including:
- Herbal and nutritional supplements
- Nutrition and lifestyle coaching, including diet, exercise, and stress management
- Weight Loss Management
- Bio-identical hormones
