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What This Women’s Hormone Test Can Reveal About Your Health

Updated January 2, 2024. Medically reviewed by Neka Miller, PhD. Written by Kathryn Wall. To give you technically accurate, evidence-based information, content published on the Everlywell blog is reviewed by credentialed professionals with expertise in medical and bioscience fields.

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Hormones have such a powerful effect on your body that they can influence things like weight, energy levels, mood, sex drive, and more. Ever wonder why you’re tired all the time, for example? Your hormones might be one reason why.

Hormone levels can thus reveal a lot about your overall wellness, and checking a variety of hormones can give you more specific insights into your body’s well-being. For example, if you’re experiencing high estrogen symptoms or you’re having symptoms of a low progesterone level, taking an at-home hormone test will allow you to check for imbalances in these hormones and potentially find the cause of your symptoms.

And that’s exactly why our hormone test for women can be informative for a woman at any stage of life: it measures more than 10 hormones involved in reproductive health, weight, energy, and more.

Because the Everlywell Women’s Health Test measures more than 10 hormones involved in reproductive health, weight fluctuation, energy, and more, it can be informative for a woman at any stage of life.

Here’s a breakdown of the hormones this test checks, what they do in your body, and symptoms of hormone levels that may be out of balance.

Estradiol

What Estradiol Does in Your Body:

Estradiol – the main type of estrogen – supports the functions of female sex organs like the vagina, uterus, and breasts. Your estrogen level plays an important role in ovulation (release of an egg from an ovary) during the menstrual cycle.

If your blood estrogen levels are normal, then there is a good chance ovulation has taken place during the month of your sample collection. Testing your blood estrogen levels can help you see if this sex hormone is balanced to support reproductive health. If you’re experiencing low estrogen levels, your healthcare provider may recommend hormone replacement therapy to correct your body’s estrogen imbalance.

What If Estradiol Levels Are Out of Balance?

Low estrogen levels – which often occur during and after menopause – can result in menstrual irregularities, vaginal dryness, and reduced bone strength. If you have high estrogen levels, you might experience stomach pain and bloating, breast tenderness, mood swings, headaches, weight gain, and sleep disturbance. Estradiol levels that remain chronically high can also increase the risk of serious conditions like breast or uterine cancer. That’s why it can be a good idea to check if you have normal estrogen levels for your age.

Check Hormones with the At-Home Women's Health Test

Progesterone

What Progesterone Does in Your Body:

Your progesterone level is important for regulating menstrual cycles. Progesterone—another sex hormone—is also a top “pregnancy hormone” because it causes the uterine lining to thicken in preparation for a fertilized egg. The right level of progesterone is thus essential for a successful pregnancy.

What If Progesterone Levels Are Out of Balance?

If progesterone levels fall too low, you may have irregular bleeding during your menstrual cycle, your cycles might become more spaced apart, or you might not have any menstrual cycle at all. Miscarriage and ovulation problems are a couple other possible consequences of a progesterone hormone imbalance, as well as headaches, hot flashes, mood changes, and reduced libido.

And if you have high progesterone levels? You might experience common high progesterone symptoms like vaginal dryness, mood changes, and fatigue. To address these symptoms, your healthcare provider may recommend hormone therapy through progesterone supplements of some kind. If you're looking for ways to test your hormone levels, consider our at-home hormone testing for women.

Luteinizing Hormone (LH)

What Luteinizing Hormone Does in Your Body:

The pituitary gland, a part of the brain, releases varying amounts of luteinizing hormone (LH) throughout the menstrual cycle. LH levels help control the menstrual cycle. An LH surge in the middle of your cycle triggers ovulation (egg release), and LH levels typically drop after ovulation.

What If Luteinizing Hormone Levels Are Out of Balance?

A low LH level suggests that your pituitary gland might be malfunctioning, preventing the LH surge that’s involved with menstruation. Higher-than-normal LH levels – when seen with high FSH levels – can be a sign of ovarian failure (which can result in infertility. Another possible cause of an elevated LH concentration can be a syndrome known as polycystic ovarian syndrome – or PCOS.

Follicle-Stimulating Hormone (FSH)

What Follicle-Stimulating Hormone Does in Your Body:

Follicle-stimulating hormone, or FSH, prepares ovarian follicles (which house the ovary’s eggs) for ovulation. FSH secretion (and thus levels) tend to increase as egg quantity decreases throughout your life. This is because FSH is involved in ovarian stimulation – as ovarian function declines, higher FSH levels are needed to support ovulation.

What If FSH Levels in Women Are Out of Balance?

There are several possible causes of a low FSH level. Certain kinds of pituitary disorder can cause low FSH secretion. A high FSH level suggests that your ovaries may not have very many eggs left. If high FSH levels occur alongside high LH secretion, your ovaries may have stopped working normally – which may indicate a depleted ovarian reserve, a sign that you may be nearing menopause.

Learn More Here: Why Measure FSH?

DHEAS

What DHEAS Does in Your Body:

Your adrenal glands and ovaries make DHEA, which is then quickly converted to DHEAS. DHEAS helps your body produce other hormones – like testosterone and estrogen. DHEAS is also important for sustaining a healthy amount of muscle mass.

What If DHEAS Levels Are Out of Balance?

DHEAS levels that are too low can result in chronic fatigue, low libido, and mood changes. High DHEAS levels – often accompanied by acne, infertility, an absence of a menstrual cycle, or increased body and facial hair – can be a sign of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) or other problems with the adrenal glands.

Check Hormones with the At-Home Women's Health Test

Testosterone

What Testosterone Does in Your Body:

Testosterone helps control your body’s muscle-making and fat-burning activities, as well as other aspects of metabolism. EverlyWell’s Women’s Health Test measures free testosterone as opposed to total testosterone.

What If Your Testosterone Level Is Out of Balance?

Your testosterone level needs to fall within a normal range – not too high or too low – for optimal wellness. When testosterone gets too low, you might experience thinning hair, dry skin, mood changes, and – over the long-term – sexual dysfunction and bone loss.

What about too much testosterone? In this case, you might experience acne, menstrual irregularities, and hair growth in parts of your body that hair normally doesn’t grow. Over time, too much testosterone in a woman can contribute to diabetes, obesity, infertility, and more.

Learn More Here: Unhealthy Testosterone Levels In Women: Some Causes And Symptoms

Cortisol

What Cortisol Does in Your Body:

Cortisol is known as the “stress hormone” because it aids in the fight-or-flight response. It provides the body with energy by controlling how much sugar your body burns for fuel. Well-balanced cortisol levels help you fall asleep at night and wake up in the morning.

What If Cortisol Levels Are Out of Balance?

When cortisol levels are too low, you’re more likely to be fatigued, have a loss of appetite (as well as weight loss), and sexual dysfunction. Too much cortisol can result in an irregular menstrual cycle, acne, weight gain, headaches, mood changes, and a hard time concentrating.

Learn More Here: Why Understanding Your Metabolism Is A Key To Better Health

Thyroid Hormones

What Thyroid Hormones Do in Your Body:

The thyroid gland pumps two hormones into your bloodstream: T3 and T4. These thyroid hormones are extremely important to the body because they regulate key functions like metabolism and body temperature. They also help support normal menstrual cycles.

What If Thyroid Hormone Levels Are Out of Balance?

An underfunctioning thyroid gland – a condition known as hypothyroidism – can cause low thyroid hormone levels. Women are 5 to 8 times more likely than men to develop a thyroid disorder. A low amount of thyroid hormones can produce symptoms like weight gain, menstrual cycle irregularities, hair loss, constipation, and feeling cold.

Learn More Here: Low Thyroid Hormone Levels

If thyroid hormone levels get too high, your heart might beat faster, you may have a hard time sleeping, and you may feel more restless or nervous – among other symptoms, like weight loss and thinning hair.

Learn More Here: High Thyroid Hormone Levels

Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone (TSH)

What Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone Does in Your Body:

The thyroid gland releases hormones that control many of the body’s functions, such as metabolism (as mentioned above). Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), which also comes from the pituitary gland in our brains, regulates the amount of hormones the thyroid makes.

What If Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone Levels Are Out of Balance?

Abnormal TSH levels suggest that the thyroid is releasing too many or too few hormones – which can harm a woman’s fertility. Signs of a TSH imbalance include anxiety, trouble sleeping, weight loss or gain, fatigue, and an irregular menstrual cycle.

Learn More Here: What TSH Levels Indicate

TPOab

What TPOab Does in Your Body:

Thyroid peroxidase antibodies (TPOab) are a kind of antibody. The immune system uses antibodies to eliminate germs that invade your body. TPOab, however, can attack your thyroid gland – hurting or destroying its function – if your immune system malfunctions (this is known as an autoimmune disease).

What If TPOab Levels Are Out of Balance?

Elevated amounts of TPOab – along with low thyroid hormone levels – can mean that your thyroid gland isn’t working well because of an autoimmune disorder called Hashimoto’s disease. Weight gain, an irregular menstrual cycle, fatigue, and hair loss are all clues that an autoimmune condition might be hurting your thyroid gland.

Learn More Here: TPO Antibodies

Why Take This Women's Hormone Test?

An excellent starting point for understanding how hormone imbalances might be affecting your wellness, the Everlywell at-home Women’s Health Test can give you the insights you need to help your body and feel great. Our test checks key hormone levels to see if they’re within range for your age group.

Because it measures a lot of different hormones – at different points in your cycle – this test lets you check in on many aspects of your health (like weight, energy, and reproductive and sexual health). So it can help you discover areas of your health that might deserve more attention (from you and/or your doctor) – as well as give you peace of mind in other areas. If testing does reveal a hormonal imbalance, your healthcare provider may recommend replacement therapy to help balance your levels.

(You can do the entire testing process from the comfort of home. After you’ve mailed your samples to the lab for analysis – a prepaid shipping label comes with this kit – you’ll receive your results online.)

Check Hormones with the At-Home Women's Health Test

Estrogen vs. Progesterone: Key Points to Know

How to Check If You Have a Hormonal Imbalance

What Are Normal Estradiol Levels in Women?

References

Primary ovarian insufficiency. Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/premature-ovarian-failure/symptoms-causes/syc-20354683. Accessed Mar 5, 2019.

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