Comprehensive Hormone Testing
Hormones play an important role in energy, mood, sleep, metabolism, libido, fertility, stress response, weight, exercise recovery, and overall health. When symptoms are persistent or complex, functional hormone testing may help provide a more complete picture of sex hormones, adrenal hormones, melatonin, and hormone metabolites.
When appropriate, I may use the DUTCH Complete at-home test to evaluate hormone patterns throughout the day. This test provides an extensive profile of sex and adrenal hormones, including estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, DHEA, cortisol, cortisone, melatonin, and hormone metabolites.
Because functional medicine is a systems biology-based approach, testing is not ordered as a standalone service. I need to understand your full story before determining whether hormone testing is the right next step.
All new patients begin with a Discovery Session. This first appointment allows me to better understand your health history, symptoms, lifestyle, previous labs, goals, and hormone-related concerns before recommending a care path or any functional testing.
What DUTCH Complete Tests For
The DUTCH Complete test provides a comprehensive look at hormone production, hormone metabolism, and daily hormone patterns.
This testing may provide insight into:
Sex hormones: Estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and their metabolites.
Adrenal hormones: DHEA, cortisol, cortisone, and cortisol metabolite patterns.
Diurnal cortisol and cortisone patterns: How stress hormones fluctuate throughout the day.
Melatonin production: Melatonin patterns through the night.
Organic acids: Markers that may provide insight into nutritional deficiencies, oxidative stress, gut dysbiosis, neuroinflammation, and more.
This information may help identify underlying causes of hormonal imbalances and guide a personalized strategy to support long-term hormone health, healthy aging, and overall body function.
Who This Testing May Be For
Hormone testing may be considered for people experiencing or wanting support with:
Hormonal imbalances in men or women
Fatigue or low energy
Weight gain or weight loss
Hair loss
Mood swings, depression, or anxiety
Libido decline or sexual dysfunction
Fertility issues
Irregular, heavy, or painful periods
Polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS
Perimenopause or menopause symptoms
Chronic stress, burnout, or symptoms of adrenal dysfunction
Sleep issues
Decline in exercise recovery
Chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, or certain autoimmune diseases
Assessing or monitoring most forms of hormone replacement therapy, or HRT
Long-term hormone health, healthy aging, and body function optimization
Not every patient needs advanced hormone testing. If testing is recommended, it will be based on your symptoms, history, goals, current therapies, and overall care plan.
How Testing Works if Recommended
If hormone testing is appropriate for you, a DUTCH Complete test kit may be shipped to your home.
Your test kit typically includes collection instructions, filter paper collection strips, forms to document supplements, medications, and hormone replacement therapy, a health questionnaire, and return shipping materials.
You will collect four or five urine samples over a 24-hour period. Multiple collection times provide insight into how your hormones naturally fluctuate throughout the day.
You will then send your samples to the lab using the provided return materials. Results typically take about two weeks after the lab receives your samples.
Once results are available, we will review what the test is showing as it relates to your symptoms, health history, hormone patterns, and overall care plan.
What This Testing May Help Clarify
DUTCH Complete testing may be helpful when looking for more information about:
Sex hormone production and metabolic patterns
Adrenal hormone production and metabolic patterns
Diurnal free cortisol and cortisone patterns
Melatonin production through the night
Micronutrient availability and oxidative stress through a targeted organic acids panel
How hormone patterns may relate to symptoms such as fatigue, mood changes, sleep issues, weight changes, libido changes, or stress-related concerns
Start With a Discovery Session
Functional medicine looks at the whole person, not one symptom or one lab result in isolation. During your Discovery Session, we will look at your full health picture and determine whether hormone testing is appropriate for your care plan.