Are you taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT)? HRT can help to relieve menopausal symptoms, like hot flushes, lethargy, sleep disturbances, and vaginal dryness.
Measure your levels of oestradiol, progesterone and FSH while you’re taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
Are you taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT)? HRT can help to relieve menopausal symptoms, like hot flushes, lethargy, sleep disturbances, and vaginal dryness.
Your HRT prescriber will tailor your regime according to your symptoms. However, if you continue to experience symptoms while on a higher dose of HRT, you may find this test insightful.
In general, HRT means the replacement of any deficient hormone. More commonly and in the case of our test, it refers to using oestrogen and progesterone to relieve menopausal symptoms such as hot flushes, lethargy, sleep disturbance, and vaginal dryness. Oestrogen hormones also help to prevent osteoporosis and atherosclerosis.
Our test checks for three hormones: oestradiol, progesterone, and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH).
You should take our Pregnancy Blood Test about six to eight days after you ovulate to find out if you’re pregnant. If you get a negative result but still think you might be pregnant, we recommend repeating the test.
The NHS and British Menopause Society don’t recommend routine blood testing when taking HRT. This is because HRT regimes need to be tailored individually according to symptoms, which are not always directly correlated with blood test hormone levels.
For this reason, there is no formal guidance on optimal oestradiol levels while taking HRT. However, some private menopause clinicians may wish to check your HRT levels if your symptoms haven’t improved, despite increasing your dose. There’s also some evidence that maintaining adequate oestrogen levels helps reduce the risk of osteoporosis — especially in women who have gone through early menopause.
Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) is produced in the pituitary gland and is important for women in the production of eggs by the ovaries and for men for men in the production of sperm. In the first half of the menstrual cycle in women, FSH stimulates the enlargement of follicles within the ovaries. Each of these follicles will help to increase oestradiol levels. One follicle will become dominant and will be released by the ovary (ovulation), after which follicle stimulating hormone levels drop during the second half of the menstrual cycle. In men, FSH acts on the seminiferous tubules of the testicles where they stimulate immature sperm cells to develop into mature sperm.
Oestradiol is a female steroid hormone, produced in the ovaries of women and to a much lesser extent in the testes of men. It is the strongest of three oestrogens and is responsible for the female reproductive system as well as the growth of breast tissue and bone thickness. In pre-menopausal women, oestradiol levels vary throughout the monthly cycle, peaking at ovulation. In women, oestradiol levels decline with age, culminating with the menopause when the ovaries stop producing eggs. Low oestradiol can cause many symptoms associated with the menopause, including hot flushes, night sweats and mood swings. Low oestradiol can also cause osteoporosis.
Progesterone is a steroid hormone produced in the corpus luteum and the adrenal glands. Its main role is to prepare the body for and support a pregnancy. It is produced in increasing amounts in the second half of the menstrual cycle. Progesterone is normally tested on day 21 of your menstrual cycle to assess whether ovulation has taken place. Although progesterone is considered a female hormone, men also produce progesterone in the adrenal glands and the testes. Progesterone in men plays a role in testosterone production.
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