Why Hormonal Lab Tests Miss the Mark for Women Over 40

Armed with the results of my very thorough DUTCH hormone results, my doctor prescribed a potent supplement to address the irregularities.  We’re taught that “low estrogen” on a lab test must mean “raise it”, right? Which made sense…logically.

But this treatment wrecked me! Within 2 weeks of starting that estrogen-boosting supplement, I couldn’t fit into my size 6 jeans, I felt foggy and lethargic all day long, and I kinda just wanted to be grumpy at the world. 

The weight alone sparked a red flag - and I quit those supplements right away, before letting my doctor know what was going on.

Turns out, hormonal lab tests aren't such a great way to prescribe a treatment plan! Especially for a woman over 40.

Sure, knowing your levels via a blood, urine or saliva test can be useful as a starting point, but these point-in-time tests mean a important factors are glossed over…the very factors that matter when it comes to your hormonal health.

The Unique Demands of a Woman Over 40

Your life is busy, you’re dynamically switching gears between adding more clients to your roster, marketing your latest program, and meeting with colleagues for collaboration and growth opportunities.  

And, as a woman over 40, you also want to enjoy your personal life, too. Juggling the balancing act of work and family, presentations and soccer practice, and running the manager’s meeting while keeping your family fed takes its toll. 

Your bustling schedule just never seems to slow down, does it? 

So when your hormones kick in to wreck your plans with insomnia, fatigue during your busiest week of the month, and mood swings that inspire anger from your partner and guilt with your own (uncontrollable) behavior, you don’t have time to deal. 

You know it’s inevitable - the hormonal shifts that hit a woman over 40 can either creep up slowly until one day you’re slammed from every direction with exhaustion, brain fog, night sweats, no sex drive, and so much worry, OR they come on strong with a 30lb weight gain almost overnight, no control over your frustration, and cravings for foods you haven’t thought about in years!

After the doctors tell you this is all a normal part of aging (ha!) and you’ve had the hormonal lab tests come back with “everything looks great”, you decide to take matters into your own hands.

Hours spent researching symptoms and holistic, natural tips and hacks to beat your perimenopause hormonal issues.

One rabbit hole after another into the world of thousands of supplements all promising big results (at a steep price tag).

And nutrition coaches talking about how you need to eat a raw carrot salad every single (barf). 

All those hours spent trying to fix your health could be spent on growing your business to hit your next financial target OR spending more weekends adventuring with your kids. 

Instead, you’re holed up wondering “what the F is wrong with me, and why can’t I figure this out?”

Break Free from the Hormonal Lab Test Trap

You’ve tried it all - hormonal treatments, supplements, every food under the sun.  Yet the needle on the scale refuses to budge, and your energy levels resemble a deflating balloon at a children’s birthday party.  

It’s frustrating, and it leaves you feeling drained and disheartened. 

Yet everywhere you turn, someone is shouting “get your hormones tested!”

And you’re shouting right back “but I have - it’s all normal”!

Or you’re told to “slow down, you’re just doing too much…” 

Not helpful!

The most common reason why your hormonal lab tests come back normal is because your lab results are within outdated “normal” ranges, but NOT within optimal ranges. 

The other significant problem is that your body can have normal, even optimal, levels of circulating hormones - which your lab test picks up - but something else is preventing them from doing their job.

Relying solely on hormonal lab tests to decipher your health puzzle is like trying to solve a Rubik's Cube blindfolded. Those numbers on a page fail to capture the intricate dance of hormones within your body, leaving you with more questions than answers. 

Listen to Your Body, Not Just The Numbers

You're not just a statistic on a lab report – you're a dynamic, ever-evolving woman with unique needs and rhythms. Instead of fixating on numbers, tune in to your body's whispers and cues (aka signs and symptoms of a health imbalance). 

You know your body best. Pay attention to how you feel throughout the day, noting any fluctuations in energy, mood, and vitality. Every little niggle of “something’s not right” matters, so keep track of your health all month long.

A full symptomology assessment (like the Deep Dive Hormone Consultation I offer) is a better way to glimpse the root problem behind your symptoms - even if they don’t seem at all related to your hormones! 

3 Reasons Why Your Hormonal Lab Tests Are Normal When They’re Not

Like I said earlier, you can have normal lab results but still feel “off”.

Treating a hormonal imbalance doesn’t mean just regulating or “balancing” that hormone.  

Your hormones rely on proper signaling between endocrine glands like the adrenals and the pituitary.  They also rely on the cells properly responding to each hormone, and on being cleared out of your body when they’re no longer needed.

A lab test only tells you what’s going on for that specific point-in-time, but hormones fluctuate, both throughout the day and the month. 

Perhaps your pituitary isn’t getting the right, clear signal it needs to produce certain hormones when you need them.

It could be that inflammation is blocking hormones from connecting to cellular receptors.

Or maybe your detoxification and elimination system is clogged up, allowing “old” hormones to circulate (a huge factor behind estrogen dominance and high levels of testosterone in women over 40). 

The Most Effective Way to Rebalance & Restore Hormonal Health

Cookie-cutter “solutions” are your worst enemy right now.

Quick fixes are too narrow-focused (and very surface-level) so they, more often than not, damage hormonal health, specifically by boosting inflammation. 

Lab tests don’t pinpoint the root problem behind your hormonal woes.  

You want your treatment plan to be based on your individual hormonal status, and you want to know the full picture about why you’re struggling.

It’s normal for a woman’s hormones to shift as she approaches menopause, but it’s not normal to feel so crappy day after day without knowing why or how to fix it!

And, as a woman who has gone through 10+ years of holistic hormone support to avoid perimenopause problems like fatigue, weight gain, insomnia, dry skin, low sex drive, and moodiness, I am an expert at helping you identify exactly what needs nutritional support today to reverse your health challenges.

Plus, I know how to identify the pre-niggles to the signs and symptoms before they become a problem and how to reverse them with the right foods.

Reclaim Your Time and Your Best Health as a Woman Over 40

I want you to walk into Saturday brunch with your girlfriends and feel sexy, light, confident and energized.  I want you to look at them strangely when they ask you about your night sweats, weight gain, insomnia and anger and you say “Oh but I don’t have any of that - I feel amazing!”

I want you to fix your hormonal issues fast and reclaim the time you’re wasting researching and testing surface-level strategies that will never work (sorry, not sorry) and use that time to build your business or career success and connections to loved ones. 

If you’re ready to get to the root of your hormonal issues and stop wasting time (and avoid the perils of the hormone-test treatments that make you gain weight and feel sluggish), book your Hormone Consultation here.  

Or, grab my FREE GUIDE on the 5 Sneaky Energy Drains that Sabotage Your Sleep, Sex Life, Mood, and Focus here.