The Women's Guide to Hormone Testing: Which Test Do You Actually Need?

Why can't we all take the same test? 

Great question! Tests vary in multiple ways:

• What they test (markers)
• The technology they use

And, you have goals — so depending on your goals, we need certain markers. The goal is to get those markers where their reading is accurate (depends on the technology).

For example. If you're taking topical testosterone...a DUTCH Complete test isn't going to pick up on the additional testosterone you're supplementing with — it's technology isn't measuring data that includes the by products of your TRT. So this lab would be fine to check your own testosterone levels and how they're metabolizing, but we wouldn't know if your TRT is bringing your levels up to where you want them to be.

So, let's dive in to help you find the right hormone test for you. If you have a question that falls outside this guide, feel free to chat or contact us.

I'm a female with my period:

-> Our Cycling Female Hormone Test

1. Fantastic if you have an array of symptoms, are working on your fertility, just came off birth control, or just got your period back. Shows you:
   1. 11 values of Estrogen & Progesterone across your cycle
   2. 7 values of FSH and LH across your cycle
   3. An average of both Testosterone and DHEA across your cycle

The Cycling Female Hormone Test is fantastic if you have an array of symptoms, are working on your fertility, just came off birth control, or just got your period back.

-> The DUTCH Cycle Mapping Test

1. Fantastic if you're working to optimize your hormones even deeper — this test shows you:
   1. How your testosterone and estrogen metabolize, so you can dial-in PCOS symptoms, monitor for family cancer risks, and more
      

-> The DUTCH Cycle Mapping Plus

1. Fantastic if you're working to optimize your hormones even deeper AND want to see your cortisol over the course of the day to check in on your adrenals, too. — this test shows you:

I'm a female with amenorrhea (I'm not cycling):

-> Our Cycling Female Hormone Test

1. A perfect way to figure out what's going on...but, you could also download our Amenorrhea guide to jumpstart your period, and then do this test after 2-3 cycles to further optimize your period from there

I'm a female with PCOS:

-> Our Cycling Female Hormone Test

• Good to help you see hormones across your cycle, so if you're experiencing cyclical concerns, start with this test

-> Our female hormone blood panel

• Great if you just want to monitor androgen levels
• Includes FSH, LH, Estrogens (E1, E2, E3), Testosterone, Progesterone, & DHEA-S
• Done with LC-MS technology (the best there is)
• Just one snapshot in time

> The DUTCH Cycle Mapping Test

• Useful if you're working to optimize your hormones even deeper — this test shows you:
  • How your testosterone and estrogen metabolize, so you can dial-in symptoms, monitor for family cancer risks, and more
    

-> The DUTCH Cycle Mapping Plus

• Useful if you're working to optimize your hormones even deeper AND want to see your cortisol over the course of the day to check in on your adrenals, too. — this test shows you:

 

I'm a woman in perimenopause trying to figure out what's going on

-> Our Cycling Female Hormone Test

• If have not had a hysterectomy and are still in your 40s or younger, start here and let's get the data we need to improve your period

I'm a woman nearing menopause, not on HRT

-> Our female hormone blood panel

• Great if you just want to assess perimenopause vs menopause
• Includes FSH, LH, Estrogens (E1, E2, E3), Testosterone, Progesterone, & DHEA-S
• Done with LC-MS technology (the best there is)
  

-> The DUTCH Complete

• A comprehensive look at your sex hormones and adrenals
• Includes estrogens, progesterone metabolites only (less accurate than blood testing), testosterone, DHEA & DHEA-S, cortisol rhythm, organic acids, and methylation

I'm a woman in menopause, not on HRT

-> The DUTCH Complete

• A comprehensive look at your sex hormones and adrenals
• Includes estrogens, progesterone metabolites only (less accurate than blood testing), testosterone, DHEA & DHEA-S, cortisol rhythm, organic acids, and methylation

-> Our female hormone blood panel

• Great if you just want to see sex hormone levels (not what happens to hormones; how the body uses them)
• Includes FSH, LH, Estrogens (E1, E2, E3), Testosterone, Progesterone, & DHEA-S
• Done with LC-MS technology (the best there is)

I'm a woman in menopause, on HRT

To see how the body is responding to patches, pellets, & injections:

-> The DUTCH Complete

• A comprehensive look at your sex hormones and adrenals
• Includes estrogens, progesterone metabolites only (less accurate than blood testing), testosterone, DHEA & DHEA-S, cortisol rhythm, organic acids, and methylation
  
• Not valid for monitoring progesterone HRT
• Fine for monitoring oral or topical ERT or TRT metabolites, but the hormone levels themselves will be less accurate

To see how the body is responding to TRT:

-> The DUTCH Complete 

• A comprehensive look at your sex hormones and adrenals
• Includes estrogens, progesterone metabolites only (less accurate than blood testing), testosterone, DHEA & DHEA-S, cortisol rhythm, organic acids, and methylation
  
• Fine for monitoring oral or topical TRT metabolites, but the hormone levels themselves will be less accurate

-> Our female hormone blood panel

• Great if you just want to see sex hormone levels (not what happens to hormones; how the body uses them)
• Includes FSH, LH, Estrogens (E1, E2, E3), Testosterone, Progesterone, & DHEA-S
• Done with LC-MS technology (the best there is)

To see how the body is responding to progesterone:

-> Our female hormone blood panel after a 3 day wash out

• Great if you just want to see sex hormone levels (not what happens to hormones; how the body uses them)
• Includes FSH, LH, Estrogens (E1, E2, E3), Testosterone, Progesterone, & DHEA-S
• Done with LC-MS technology (the best there is)

-> The DUTCH Complete (see above)

• A comprehensive look at your sex hormones and adrenals
• Includes estrogens, progesterone metabolites only (less accurate than blood testing), testosterone, DHEA & DHEA-S, cortisol rhythm, organic acids, and methylation
  
• Not valid for monitoring progesterone HRT, but helpful to see metabolites