Find and treat the root cause.
This is the most important principle of naturopathic medicine that I follow. If we only treat the symptoms, they initially improve but eventually come back after the treatment is stopped.
Hormonal symptoms themselves can provide huge clues as to the root cause of the issue.
However, the hormone system is extremely complex due to:
the number of hormones our body makes (sex, adrenal, thyroid, vitamin D)
the intricate interaction between them all
hormone metabolism (how these hormones breakdown) – an important factor for a more precise clinical diagnosis of hormones and HRT monitoring
When assessing your sex, thyroid and adrenal hormones, there are 3 types of tests that can be useful: bloodwork, saliva and sex hormones. Here are pros and cons of each of them:
Bloodwork:
inexpensive
levels of hormones in the blood may not represent what is being absorbed at the level of the cells and it won’t measure metabolites
bloodwork reference ranges do not represent optimal ranges and therefore need to be carefully assessed
some hormones need to be tested on certain days of the month or certain times of the day for accuracy
health care practitioners may be weary of ordering these tests
Saliva:
can be useful for assessing cortisol patterns
isn’t able to assess metabolites
Urine:
comprehensive assessment of sex and adrenal hormones and their metabolites
does not assess thyroid markers directly
Running a DUTCH test removes the guesswork and tell us exactly what your hormones are doing, thereby allowing us to design an individualized treatment strategy based on your specific test results.
I have been running the DUTCH urine tests on patients with complex symptoms for the last 10 years. It saves us time and money in the long run, because we aren’t wasting time trying out different supplements and therapies. The DUTCH tests are extremely comprehensive and cover not only your sex and adrenal picture but also provide insight into nutritional deficiencies, oxidative stress, gut dysbiosis, melatonin, neuroinflammation and more.
There are a few different DUTCH tests depending on your precise symptom picture and I will recommend which one is right for you in our Initial Visit.
DUTCH Complete:
looks at sex hormones and their metabolites, the overall diurnal pattern of free cortisol, and the total and distribution of cortisol metabolites in addition to OATs, which provide insight into nutritional deficiencies, oxidative stress, gut dysbiosis, melatonin, neuroinflammation and more
4 urine samples are taken over a 24-hour period in the luteal phase of your cycle
This test is for women experiencing:
Fatigue or low energy
PMS
Vaginal dryness
Brainfog
Low libido
Weight gain
Fertility concerns
Hot flashes or night sweats
DUTCH Cycle Mapping:
charts estrogen and progesterone levels across nine data points taken throughout your entire menstrual cycle
this way, we can take a close look at what specifically is happening at certain times in the cycle, depending on your symptom picture
This test is for women experiencing:
PMS
Mood swings that follow a cycle
Irregular cycles
Month long hormone symptoms
PCOS
Trying to conceive
Partial hysterectomy
Mirena IUD (no bleeding but hormone symptoms present)
If you’re looking for more guidance or whether the DUTCH test is right for you, book a complimentary 15 minute Discovery Call with me to have your questions answered!
Disclaimer: All content in this blog is created and published online for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice and should not be relied on as health or personal advice.
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