Hormone Help

[Jnanney44]

Hi everyone!

I’m hoping to find out more about the current state of my thyroid and sex hormones, but am feeling a little confused on the best way to get an accurate picture, as well as which markers to include.

Blood, saliva, hair, urine...which labs would give me the best bang for my buck?

Despite following a cyclical keto diet, working out regularly, and starting a monthly fasting regime, I have recently started putting on weight and my sex drive is very low. I’m hoping to find the culprit! My period has also been very out of wack!

Thank you for any info!

[slacker]

I’m hoping to find out more about the current state of my thyroid and sex hormones, but am feeling a little confused on the best way to get an accurate picture, as well as which markers to include.

There are many different approaches to hormone testing, especially sex and adrenal hormones. Dr Bredesen makes his recommendations in his book "The End of Alzheimer's" starting on page 205, with a summary table starting on pg 167 (look at the section on trophic support). All of these tests can be done with blood. Some providers prefer saliva testing of sex and adrenal hormones.
Some of these tests are routinely ordered by conventionally trained medical providers; some are not. If any of your tests are out of range, it will be most helpful for you to work with a provider who is proficient in both conventional and "functional" approaches to health.

[maddanwill]

Hey Jnanney! My FM doc used DUTCH testing (https://dutchtest.com/) to evaluate my hormone levels. It also looks at cortisol. It is an easy test as it only needs urine samples that are collected and dried on cardboard pieces. It collects 5 different samples over a 24 hour period so it shows fluctuations throughout the day. That said, you will need a doc to order. Not sure you can do it on your own.

I also have struggled with my thyroid. Implementing an anti AD protocol caused my Hashimoto's to flare up. I found so much great information on Stop the Thyroid Madness website. Remember, a traditional medicine doc will only want to look at some basic thyroid markers. Mine were all in range BUT when I pressed my doc to order Free T3, Reverse T3, Free T4, and TPO antibodies per Bredesen's recommendations, we discovered that I was severely hypothyroid. Do your research. Even after the blood results my doc wanted to wait until things settled down with my diet. I felt sick but waited. Only after I pressed her for a small dose of Free T3 (Cytomel) did I start to feel better.

My recommendation would be to look at your thyroid first because it can impact every other system of your body. Once you get your thyroid right, you can properly evaluate your sex hormones.

Good Luck!

[Jnanney44]

Thank you so much guys! So helpful!

[circular]

Hi Jnanney44, I'm not a doctor and it's best to work with one, but I just wanted to mention that some women will get irregular periods from have a BMI that's too low. I'm wondering if in your case your particular blend of keto, exercise and fasting is having this effect. It may be a possibility you can explore while you're sorting things out.