Hormone testing for women over 40 in Henderson, NV

What a normal result really means

A reference range tells a doctor when a result is far enough off to point to disease. That’s what it was built for, and it does that job. But a result can sit inside the range while it’s drifting the wrong way for years. Normal ranges catch disease that has already arrived. Optimal ranges catch the dysfunction while it’s still dysfunction. I read your labs against both.

The same goes in the other direction. One result outside the range isn’t a full diagnosis either. Every number gets read alongside your symptoms, your medications, when the sample was drawn and why it was ordered.

Normal does not mean you’re healthy. It means nobody found a disease yet.

Why one hormone level can’t settle it

In perimenopause your hormones aren’t simply low. They’re erratic. A single blood draw catches one point on a line that’s swinging up and down. It’s like judging a whole football game from one photo of one play.

That’s why the major guidelines, including NICE in the U.K. and the Endocrine Society, say that for most women over 45, symptoms and cycle changes make the diagnosis, not a hormone level. I agree. FSH testing does have a role in women 40 to 45 with symptoms and cycle changes, and in women under 40 with possible early menopause.

What I test, and why

The look-alikes. Thyroid disease, low iron, anemia and blood sugar problems can look almost exactly like perimenopause, and I want them ruled out before anyone writes you a prescription. Depending on your history, that means thyroid, iron and ferritin, a blood count, a metabolic panel, lipids and A1c.

Fasting insulin. Almost nobody orders it. Your glucose and A1c tell me what your blood sugar is doing. They don’t tell me how hard your body is working to keep it there. Insulin can climb for years before glucose ever looks abnormal. This one is my clinical judgment, not a guideline requirement.

Hormone levels. A baseline before treatment, and follow-up levels where they help, for example to keep testosterone in the normal range for a woman.

Metabolite testing. It shows me how your body breaks hormones down, which a blood level can’t. Like fasting insulin, it’s my clinical judgment, not a guideline test. It doesn’t diagnose menopause, and I don’t use it by itself to set your dose.

I’ll always tell you which tests are standard of care and which are my own clinical judgment. You deserve to know the difference.

Questions to ask before any test

Convenience alone doesn’t make a test useful. Ask me these, or ask anyone who orders labs for you.

• What question is this test supposed to answer?
• Could the result change a treatment or referral decision?
• How do my medications or cycle timing affect the result?
• What are the limits of this test, what does it cost, and what happens next?
• Who will interpret the results, and is a consultation included?

Bring what you already have

Bring prior results with dates and reference ranges, your medication list and a short symptom timeline. Ask what’s already enough and what’s still missing. You can call the office with questions before you buy any test.

Serving Henderson and Las Vegas

I see women from Seven Hills, Anthem, MacDonald Highlands, Green Valley, Summerlin and Lake Las Vegas at my Henderson office, and patients anywhere in Nevada by telehealth.

Hormone Therapy Institute · 2850 W Horizon Ridge Parkway, Suite 200, Henderson, NV 89052 · (702) 568-6108