Hormone Test Flashcards
What is Hormone Test?
Checking out your hormone levels is not just a health trend. A hormone test can help guide you toward making better lifestyle choices and getting in the best shape possible. Look to your team at ReBalance in New York City for a hormone imbalance test that addresses many of your concerns, ranging from thyroid issues affecting your weight to testosterone levels impacting your sex life.
Remember when you were younger, feeling full of energy and looking forward to an evening at home with your partner, enjoying a good meal and a round of lovemaking? You can rekindle those joyful living experiences by getting a thyroid stimulating hormone test. There’s a team of integrative specialists in NYC waiting to fill you in on the latest hormone tests and treatments.
Gaining weight for no reason? Not feeling very amorous lately? Feeling weaker than you normally do? You may have a hormone imbalance that can be easily adjusted with proper nutrition, supplements, a weight loss plan and targeted treatments. Get your hormones tested!
Ever wonder if hormone testing is right for you? Have you read about the wonders of hormone replacement therapy for low testosterone? If you’re a man over 30, you just can’t lose by getting your hormone levels tested on a regular basis. Want to know more?
Identify the Culprit
A hormone test can determine if your levels are properly balanced or skewed too high or low. Having this kind of testing done allows your doctor to accurately establish a baseline for your health and develop a tailored approach for its improvement. After establishing your baseline, further hormone tests help your doctor assess whether your hormone imbalance treatment has worked or needs to continue.
As a man, you may require a hormone imbalance test to ensure that you have proper reproductive health. Your hormone levels regulate your sex drive, muscle growth, even the growth of your facial and body hair. Additionally, low sperm levels can be identified through a hormone imbalance test.
When You Should Have Your Hormone Levels Checked
Older men are typically the ideal candidates for hormone testing. After age 30, testosterone levels decrease by about one percent each year. While you may assume testosterone levels are the main reason for hormone testing, other hormones play an equally important role in overall male health.
In addition to older adults, other candidates for hormone testing are men who experience a low sex drive, moodiness, erectile dysfunction, increases in body fat and loss of muscle. You may be a good candidate if you experience adrenal fatigue because of chronic stress.
The Hormone Testing Process
Preparation for a hormone test is easier than you might expect. You should stop eating or drinking by midnight the night before your test. Testosterone levels are at their highest point in your bloodstream between the hours of 7 AM and 9 AM, so the best time to test is within this window.
The test only takes a few minutes. Your doctor draws some blood, and that’s it. The test checks numerous levels of hormones within your blood to correctly establish a baseline for corrective treatment. The following hormones are tested to achieve a baseline:
Androstenedione. This hormone is a weak androgen. If it’s not carefully monitored, you may suffer minimal male hormone production and increased estrogen conversion.
DHEA. This hormone is created in your adrenal glands. It’s the precursor to progesterone and testosterone.
Dihydrotestosterone (DHT). DHT levels rise naturally as you get older. If they get too high, however, you begin to see the consequences — thinning hair and an enlarged prostate gland.
Estradiol. Men naturally produce estrogen, but in much lower levels than women. If too much is generated, gynecomastia or enlarged breasts, obesity and other areas of fatty tissue result.
Estrone. This hormone is a weaker estrogen than estradiol, but can still result in extra breast tissue and an enlarged prostate in men.
Follicle stimulating hormone (FSH). Your pituitary gland releases this hormone. It’s responsible for sperm production. If too little of it is released, infertility is a result.
Progesterone. This hormone counters the hormone DHT to make sure those levels don’t get too high.
Testosterone. Testosterone is a precursor to DHT. It elevates your libido and red blood cell count. It also preserves bone density while aiding in lean body mass. If your testosterone levels rise too high, you may feel increased levels of aggression, and your cholesterol increases. Problems with your prostate, as well as hardening of your blood vessels, also occur.
Thyroid stimulating hormone test (TSH). A thyroid stimulating hormone test checks your thyroid gland, which creates hormones that control how your body uses energy. It also regulates your muscle strength, body temperature, weight and your mood. When TSH levels are too high or too low, it’s a sign that your thyroid isn’t functioning properly.
