You suspect you have estrogen imbalance but don’t know for sure. Or you need to monitor your estrogen levels on an ongoing basis. Of course, you could go to your doctor, but you’re wondering if you can test your estrogen levels at home. The good news is that you can take an estrogen test at home, and here’s how.
What Is At-home Estrogen Levels Test?
An estrogen at-home test kit is a hormone test that looks at how much estrogen you have in your blood, urine, or saliva. The test will measure all the different estrogens you have in your body. The most commonly tested estrogens are the following:
- Estrone, also called E1, is the primary female hormone produced after menopause.
- Estradiol, referred to as E2, is the primary estrogen produced by women not pregnant.
- Estriol, also called E3, is the primary hormone produced during pregnancy.
Women have various levels of estrogen depending on their age and other factors. The test will give you the exact amount circulating and provide insight into your fertility, menstrual cycle, pregnancy viability, and other health conditions.
The estrogen test is the same one you give at a lab or doctor’s office. Although how it’s administered may vary and the amount of time it takes to get results.
What Are The Different Types of Estrogen Levels Test?
Estrogen hormone tests have three primary types: blood, saliva, or urine.
- A blood estrogen test is a blood hormone test involving pricking your finger rather than withdrawing blood. Laboratories only need a small amount when testing for estrogen.
- A saliva test is another type of estrogen hormone test. Usually, an at-home hormone test will include a blood and saliva test.
- A urine test measures the amount of estrogen present in your urine. First, you’ll urinate into a plastic container and seal it.
Regardless of what type of test you take, you’ll send the sample to a certified lab to measure the results.
What Does the At-Home Estrogen Test Include?
What you receive will vary depending on what type of at-home estrogen test you decide to take. However, home hormone tests usually include the following:
- Detailed instructions going over the steps
- Saliva tube for collecting your spit
- Bandages and gauze
- Alcohol pad
- Finger prick blood card
- Single-use lancets for pricking your finger
- Biohazard bag for returning your sample
- Prepaid shipping and handling
- Digital and printable results
You must follow the instructions thoroughly. Before beginning, wash your hands and ensure you won’t be interrupted. Some tests will also include a group webinar with a professional to answer questions.
How Long Does It Take To Get Results?
Your results may take a few days. For the most part, the results come back in 2-5 days, but in some cases can take a few weeks. Some companies offer a faster turnaround if you pay for faster shipping or guarantee results online in 3-9 days.
The Covid-19 pandemic made hormone tests even more popular, so it’s best to plan if you want to test at home. Everywell and Lets Get Checked are two popular companies offering at-home hormone tests. If you plan on checking your estrogen levels on an ongoing basis, you can subscribe and save 15-20% in some cases.
Are There Any Risks Involved?
Checking your estrogen levels at home poses minimal to no risks at all. The only downside is that there’s a tiny bit of pain when pricking your finger, and the amount of blood taken is minimal. However, saliva and finger pricking blood tests are minimally invasive and pose minimal health risks.
What Do the Results Tell You?
The test results will tell you exactly how much estrogen you have available. But it may also measure the levels of other hormones in your body. Of course, this depends on the test and what it looks for in your blood or saliva. But a hormone test from most companies will measure estrogen and the following hormones:
- Progesterone (a female sex hormone that works in conjunction with estrogen)
- Luteinizing Hormone (helps women ovulate in the second half of their menstrual cycle)
- DHEAS (helps produce other vital hormones in the body)
- Follicle-Stimulating Hormone (helps build an egg for fertilization)
- Cortisol (the body’s stress hormone and helps regulate metabolism)
- Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone (helps control the thyroid gland and metabolism)
-
Testosterone (male sex hormone produced in the testes in men and adrenal glands for both men and women)
Who Should Take an Estrogen Test?
Estrogen level tests are for anyone who has or suspects they have a hormonal imbalance. Estrogen is vital for many crucial bodily functions, including fertility, menstruation, immune function, bone health, etc.
Low estrogen is most common for women going through menopause. Menopausal women experience everything from insomnia to unexplained weight gain resulting from low estrogen. But women can also become estrogen dominant and have high amounts in the body resulting in health concerns.
Anytime you have too little or too much estrogen, it causes your body to become out of whack. The only way to know if this is the case is to have your estrogen or hormone levels tested.
Treatments For an Estrogen Imbalance
Once you know your estrogen levels, you can make health decisions based on the results. Of course, it’s always best to consult your healthcare practitioner before making any decisions. However, the most common solution for low estrogen is bioidentical hormone therapy using a topical estrogen cream.
Estrogen hormone therapy adds back the missing hormone naturally with few side effects. Applying a cream is simple, effective, and fast-acting. The plant-based ingredients come from wild yams that have compounds that mimic the same ones in the body. Sometimes you also need to supplement with progesterone as well. Estrogen and progesterone work together to provide a complete hormone replacement care system.
The first step is to get your estrogen levels tested with your doctor or take an at-home test. You can then make decisions on how to boost levels. There’s no need to suffer when estrogen supplementation is available.
