How to Test for Hormone Imbalance

Updated: Jun 18, 2020

Menopause signs and symptoms can have a big impact on women's lives

Menopause can be a challenging time for many women, and can often be overshadowed by adverse menopausal signs and symptoms. Caused by hormone imbalance, problems such as night sweats, vaginal dryness, and memory loss can all have a big impact on women's lives. Nevertheless, there are different treatments women can turn in order to directly tackle these issues. They first need to discuss how to test for hormone imbalance with their medical practitioner.

What Is Menopausal Hormonal Imbalance?

Menopause marks the end of a woman's reproductive life. Consequently, the body begins to produce fewer estrogen and progesterone hormones, which are steroidal sex hormones that are primarily produced in the ovaries and the placenta. Thus, as the levels of estrogen and progesterone produced in the ovaries decreases, hormonal imbalance occurs.

Why Are There Negative Impacts of Hormonal Imbalance?

Estrogen and progesterone play vital roles in menstruation and reproduction, which is why women produce fewer hormones after menopause. Nevertheless, they have other roles in the body, for example, estrogen hormones encourage bone growth. Thus, many postmenopausal women suffer from osteoporosis due to estrogen deficiency. This is only one example of an adverse symptom of hormonal imbalance.

How to Test for Hormone Imbalance

When looking for the answer to how to test for hormone imbalance, women have many different options. There are urine tests available for home testing; however, it is advisable to go to the doctor's for a blood test or a saliva test, because these are more accurate.

A blood test is usually quick, easy, and painless

A blood test is usually quick, easy, and painless. It can be performed by a nurse and the result can usually be returned within 24 hours.

When looking at how to test for hormone imbalance more extensively, women have the option of having a number of blood tests over subsequent days. This is carried out in the same manner as the other blood test, except women have blood taken on several different occasions. The results then show how hormones fluctuate over a period of time.

The saliva test is also very quick, although some have argued that it is less accurate than a blood test.

Why Test for Hormone Imbalance?

There are different reasons why women should consider testing themselves for hormone imbalances. Even so, the main reason for it is because it allows women to target their hormonal imbalance treatment. For example, there are hormone creams available that are specifically made for certain women, tackling their exact hormone imbalance issues with the correct measures of missing hormones.

Thus, women do not have to endure their hormonal imbalance symptoms without any relief. After considering how to test for hormone imbalance there are different treatments available. Click on the link below for more information about hormonal imbalance.