home hormone level testing

[lindi]

ladies does this look like a good or bad idea to monitor testosterone?

http://www.johnleemd.com/store/prod_stest.html

[nuthinbutpink]

Well, it seems like there are a lot of good things said about that guy but I did find this-

Many online companies and consumer marketers have been pushing saliva testing to measure hormone levels. Saliva tests are easy to use and convenient, but how accurate are they? Most reputable doctors stopped using saliva testing over 10 years ago because they found the tests weren’t reliable. Many variables can affect the amount and quality of saliva and/or hormones present in the mouth: medications can drastically alter the amount of bound vs. free hormones in the saliva, antihistamines or dehydration will decrease the amount of saliva in the mouth available for testing, and other elements such as foods or supplements can also throw off the saliva test results.

The major drawback to saliva testing is that it can only measure the free hormones circulating in the body. Hormones are carried in the body in 3 ways: strongly bound to globulin, weakly bound to albumin, and unbound or “free”. Research has shown that both the hormones bound to albumin and the free hormones activate the steroid receptors, making them both “bioavailable” or available to the body for use. Relying on saliva tests, which only register part of the bioavailable hormones, would cause your doctor to prescribe the wrong strengths of hormones for you. This is why treatments relying on saliva testing often don’t relieve symptoms well or even cause other symptoms.

Serum (blood) testing remains the gold standard in fertility, endocrinology and menopause treatment settings.


So, I am not sure how reliable the tests are and if at the end of the day, it is just a way to sell product to aging women.

[atomic sagebrush]

I agree. Dr. John Lee is on several quack watch lists (that doesn't necessarily make him bad or wrong, but just to let you know).

If you want to give it a try, I don't think it could hurt anything other than your wallet and I would certainly be interested in your results, but at the same time, getting obsessed and worried over every little detail of swaying only seems to raise testosterone, KWIM??

[lindi]

Thanks for the information! That is so helpful. I certainly don't want to give money to quacks. It just seems the point of all of this diet and supplements is that they are going to change something within my body- it would be nice to know that it's working before I actually make attempts. My OB said that if I don't get pregnant the first month we try, I should come in on day 3 of my period and he'll do blood work. I'm in kind of a strange situation because I only get 3 attempts this year to ttc because of work issues. So it's gotta happen march, april, or may or I wait until next year. Thats the main reason why I seem obsessive right now- I had read the chapter in "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" that talked about timing and sex selection, but when I searched online about it I found all of this "swaying" information that just amounted to so much to wrap my head around. In a way, its a major leap of faith to find a random website and do what it says- even with reading the studies and the articles so much of this is "guesswork" for me. Do I REALLY have high testosterone? I have SOME symptoms, and a 6 year old blood test. If I were a fertility doctor, I'd order some tests before I started to meddle with hormone levels....I think if anyone is crazy enough to go through all of this supplements and awful diet you kind of want to know what you're actually doing to yourself kwim?

[nuthinbutpink]

Well, I understand your worry and I think we all fell upon websites much in the same way. That is great that your doctor is willing to do bloodwork! It is nice to get some solid results to see just what is going on!

[atomic sagebrush]

Boy that is nervewracking! Saying a little prayer for you that all goes well and in a few months you'll be TTC successfully!!!