The female hormone system is an intricate one. Hormones undergo many troughs and peaks at different times of the menstrual cycle. This ensures that ovulation (the release of an egg from the ovary) takes place and, in the absence of a sperm to fertilize the egg, menstruation occurs.
Even very slight imbalances in any of these hormones results in symptoms of PMS, fatigue, change in mood, poor skin/acne, irritability, pain, irritable bowel, low sex drive and so on. Similarly conditions like Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, Fibroids, Endometriosis can all be a result of even very subtle disturbanes in the delicate female hormone rhythm.
At Invigorate Clinic, we look at various aspects of the female hormone cycle. A salivary test which measures 16 samples of oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone is taken over the course a one month menstrual cycle to give us a wealth of insight into your body’s hormonal balance. Although the total levels of various hormones is an important factor in test analysis, so too are the changes in the peaks and troughs (i.e the rhythm) as we can see in the diagram:
Most GP tests only look at blood levels of hormones. I like to use the analogy of a bank account to describe the differences in measuring markers in various body fluids. Measuring the blood hormone levels is the equivalent to counting up all your cash, stocks, bonds, property that you own. You can’t use your stocks or bonds to buy the weekly groceries because they are tied up at that time….they’re not not readily accessible. Measuring markers in saliva is equivalent to looking at how much cash we have. Saliva markers give us an indication of how much hormone we have available to use at that moment in time. It is readily accessible.
For more complex cases, a urinary hormone test may also be indicated. If we think of our bank account, urine markers are similar to our receipts. They are an indicator of what has been used up and how it was spent or used. This gives us more of an insight into the various pathways of hormone synthesis and degradation so that nutritional treatment can be targeted to a specific pathway that may be dysfunctional.
So, if you suffer from PMS, endometriosis, fibroids, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, menstrual irregularities, low sex drive, contact us today for a comprehensive work up.