 Women's Hormone HealthTesting Your Hormone LevelsIf you are a man or woman over 35 and have been suffering from unwanted symptoms affecting your health, moods and zest for living, it could be that your hormones are out of balance. Common symptoms such as fatigue, mood swings, foggy thinking, hot flashes, lack of energy, unwanted weight gain, low libido, and depression often go unrecognized as warning signs of hidden hormonal imbalance. If this sounds familiar to you but you are not sure what to do about it, we can help. Step #1: Take Our Hormone Imbalance Quiz to Determine What You Need Right Now to Feel Better For example, an informed choice for safe and effective relief of symptoms while still having menstrual cycles can begin with our over-the-counter bioidentical progesterone cream along with herbs and supplements designed to support balance and reduce estrogen dominance. Step #2: Test Your Hormone Levels to Find Out Specifically What Your Body Is Missing Some people choose to test their hormone levels from the get-go so they will have a baseline of personal clinical data to drive their individualized plan of action. This can be done in one of two ways: either through saliva, or a combination of saliva and blood spot testing. The Natural Hormone Institute has simplified the testing process by providing laboratory hormone kits you can order online. A ll you need do is select one of the three available hormone test kits based on your symptoms of hormone imbalance. The process is simple:
Step #3: Have a Individualized Telephone Consultation with a Natural Hormone Institute Medical Professional Once you have completed the hormone imbalance quiz, you may use the information provided in your hormone imbalance quiz results/analysis and in the NHI lifecycle chart to initiate your own self-treatment plan. Or, if you are uncertain and still have questions, you can schedule a telephone consultation with an NHI trained Nurse Practitioner or Physician Assistant who will help you determine your specific symptoms of imbalance and work with you on a lifestyle and over-the-counter recommended balance plan tailored to your needs. Or, if you prefer to confirm your symptoms through hormone testing before starting a self-treatment plan, we can recommend the right testing option for you, send the self-contained test kit to your door within days and -o nce you have returned your hormone samples to the lab by regular mail and your results are in – we will schedule a tele phone consultation with one of our expert Nurse Practitioners or Physician Assistants who will interpret your test results and outline a recommended approach to balancing via Dr. Randolph’s over-the-counter formulations and lifestyle recommendations. If your individual hormone profiled indicates that a more aggressive approach to hormone balancing will be required including a prescription strength of one or more bioidentical hormones, our medical experts discuss your options for either coming into our Ageless and Wellness Medical Center or helping you find a knowledgeable medical professional near you. Step #4: When You Need An Individualized Prescription Either way, we will be available to assist you in all the steps of the testing, consultation and recommendation process.
Hormone Well Basic: If you have checked two or more symptoms of hormone imbalance on the quiz - say, mood swings, low sex drive, hot flashes, and foggy thinking - you can choose the first of three NHI recommended test options, the BASIC saliva test to determine which hormones are out of balance, and whether or not you are estrogen dominant. Hormone Well Basic Plus: If you have checked symptoms like these AND you have also checked symptoms of adrenal imbalance such as morning and evening fatigue, sugar cravings, anxiety and sleep disturbances, you can choose the second of our three test kit options, the Hormone Well PLUS profile for testing not only your sex hormones in saliva but your stress hormone (cortisol) levels throughout the day. The PLUS profile has the added value of a blood spot component in the kit for easy collection and testing of Vitamin D levels. Hormone Well Comprehensive: Finally, if you have all of the above symptoms AND also checked symptoms of low thyroid on the quiz, such as feeling cold all the time, hair loss, and depression, you can order the Hormone Well COMPREHENSIVE Combo Kit to test the big three—reproductive, adrenal and thyroid hormone groups—in a combination saliva/blood spot test kit. It is not necessary to consult with a physician when ordering a test kit online from NHI, but if you have questions and would like to discuss your situation beforehand, please contact our office 1-866-628-6337so that we can personally advise you as to which Hormone Well Test Kit would best meet your needs. Or you can schedule a personalized consultation with one of our Natural Hormone Institute medical expert Nurse Practitioners and/or Physicians Assistants who will take the time to go over your medical (and if a woman, menstrual) history and help you determine your symptoms of hormone imbalance so that you can make the most informed choice when deciding which hormone test kit to order. The Natural Hormone Institute offers two main testing routes to gain clarity on your hormone health. The first is a simple saliva based testing procedure that allows you to collect hormone samples in the privacy of your own home at the optimal time of day. The main advantage of saliva testing is that it is convenient to collect and completely non-invasive, without the needles of conventional blood draws that can heighten stress levels and skew hormone results. Testing hormones in saliva vs. blood is increasingly preferred by scientists and medical professionals as a more reliable measure of “bioavailable” hormone levels, those that have left the blood stream (thus easily captured in saliva) to become available and active in the tissues (cells) of the body. Saliva is also the best way to measure the effectiveness of topical balancing creams in the body.
The second testing option combines saliva and blood spot testing methods
When you order a test kit online from NHI, it arrives on your doorstep with everything you need in it for home collection of your hormone samples. Step-by-step instructions are included in the kit, along with a requisition form that allows you to list all your symptoms, current treatments, and additional important medical information e.g. menstrual history, weight, etc. Once your samples are collected you can send them to the lab for analysis by regular mail in the prepaid postage pack provided. Your hormone lab results are received by NHI within 5 to 7 working days and a copy is then emailed directly to you. Your personalized hormone test report goes beyond the numbers to correlate self-reported symptoms with tested hormone levels, for a thorough evaluation of your hormonal status. Once you have your test results in hand, you may choose to use the data to refine your own self-treatment plan [link to lifecycle chart], or, you may schedule a telephone consultation with NHI to review your results with one of our trained NPs or PAs who can work with you on a lifestyle and OTC recommended balance plan. If a follow-up consultation has already been scheduled, NHI will make every effort to contact you within 24 hours to set up a time to discuss test results and natural options for balancing your hormones. Last but not least, you can always choose to come into our medical practice for an in-person consultation and the option of an individually prescribed treatment plan!
For information regarding insurance coverage, please contact ZRT Laboratory at www.zrtlab.com
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