Diagnostics & Lab Testing

Adrenal Stress Test

When under stress, the adrenals glands produce cortisol. This hormone controls the “fight or flight” response and is naturally supposed to diminish once you have achieved safety and the stress is over. In today’s world, the stress is rarely over, and many people’s adrenal glands become fatigued, or unable to mount the appropriate response. This is when fatigue sets in and it becomes difficult to drag yourself out of bed in the morning. You may become dependent on caffeine and sugar to get you through the day. The adrenals are also an important part of our circadian rhythms. Cortisol levels are supposed to rise in the morning, then taper off throughout the day. If levels stay high at nigh time, this can contribute to insomnia. This test measures cortisol in saliva collected at four (4) different times throughout the day. By evaluating the pattern of cortisol levels, your doctor can tell whether you are in an early adaptive stress response or are in mal-adapted adrenal fatigue. This information will help to guide your treatments for fatigue or insomnia, as well as give clues to immune function and blood sugar regulation. Along with diet and lifestyle management, several herbs and supplements can be very helpful for regulation adrenal function.

Comprehensive Thyroid Test

Healthy thyroid function is essential to good health. Thyroid hormones control our metabolic rate and are particularly important in making proteins in every tissue in our body as well as insuring proper tissue oxygenation. Thyroid diseases and imbalances are common, especially low thyroid function or hypothyroidism, which can affect our energy levels, weight, digestion, and immunity as well as other important body functions. When screening for thyroid problems, most doctors measure TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) to determine if the thyroid gland is over or under-functioning. Unfortunately, this is often not enough to properly assess thyroid health, especially in people where thyroid dysfunction has not reached the point of obvious disease. Together with history and physical examination, this test gives the most complete overview of thyroid health as well as point to the most effective treatment approaches. Please discuss this with your doctor if you are interested in this test.

Salivary Hormone Testing

Hormones exist in harmony with each other – partners in a delicate balancing act. When our hormones are balanced, our body systems are stable. When hormonal balance is lost, hormone deficiencies and excesses can become toxic to the body causing unwanted symptoms, disorders and disease. Saliva testing reliably identifies hormone imbalances, and is a convenient, inexpensive, and above all, accurate means of testing steriod hormones (e.g. cortisol, estrogen, progesterone, testosterone). Scientific studies have shown a strong correlation between steriod hormone levels in saliva and the amount of hormone in the blood that is active or “bio-available.” It is this fraction of total hormone that is free to enter the target tissues in the brain, uterus, skin, and breasts. Moreover, the non-invasive nature of saliva collection and the convenience of multiple samples facilitate the design of functional assays for the assessment of various endocrine functions. Hormones in saliva are exceptionally stable and can be stored at room temperature for up to a week without affecting the accuracy of the result. This offers maximum flexibility in sample collection and shipment to labs. While blood and serum samples contain total hormone levels, they only give us a glimpse into the total hormone picture, because they do not show what fraction of these hormones is active or bio-available. We primarily use blood tests to monitor thyroid as well as some pituitary hormone levels.

Why should you test?

Hormones are powerful substances that control multiple functions throughout the body. Hormone levels should be sufficient and balanced with respect to each other. Too much or too little of them is not conducive to long-term emotional, mental and physical health. Saliva testing is a window into the emotional, hormonal, immunological as well as the nutritional and metabolic status of the body. Without measuring the hormones before and after treatment your hormone picture is, at best, an educated guess. Hormone levels from woman to woman can vary 200 – 1500%. Just as you cannot balance your bank account without numbers on your bank statements, hormone testing provides both the basis for treatment as well as a measurement of its effectiveness.

What do we test for and what does it tell you?

We test for both male and female hormones. There are a number of hormone panels available for mean and women depending on your specific needs and goals. These hormones may include testosterone, DHEA, cortisol, progesterone, estriol, estrone, estradiol, dihydrotestosterone and androstenedione. The brain-derived regulating hormones FSH and LH, can also be measured to help assess efficacy of control and feedback between the brain and ovaries.