Healthplans, Treatment & Therapies Home Locator Home Locator Menopause Peri-menopause Breast Cancer Stress

                             Saliva Testing
       Saliva testing is the most accurate test to determine steroid hormones (i.e. progesterone, estrogen, DHEA, cortisol, and testosterone) levels. Saliva testing is much more accurate and useful than any blood test when attempting to determine who needs hormone replacement.
       Steroid hormones are fat soluble. This means that they dissolve in fat or oil and not water. Oil and water do not mix. The body makes carrier proteins that can dissolve in water, that attach to the fat soluble hormones. This allows the fat soluble hormone to travel in the watery bloodstream to their target tissues.
       Steroid hormones that are attached to carrier proteins in the blood are inactive. They are unable to enter the cells, because they are surrounded by a water soluble carrier protein.
       If we measure the amount of hormone in the blood, more than 99% is wrapped with a carrier protein. Proteinwrapped hormone is inactive and unable to have an effect on tissues. It is unable to deliver its message to the breast, uterus, ovaries, and brain. Therefore, blood testing does not reflect the levels of active unwrapped hormone that are available to the body, which is found in saliva. Salivary testing reflects the amount of unwrapped active hormone, which determine symptoms of perimenopause and menopause.
         There are a number of factors that determine how much hormone, especially estrogen, is unwrapped and active in the body. Increased weight, insulin, stress, low fiber, and high fat diets can all increase the amount of estrogen that is unwrapped . If too much estrogen is unwrapped, estrogen will produce symptoms associated with too much estrogen even though the total amount of estrogen in the blood is normal.
        Exercise, high fiber diets, eating the healthy fats, eliminating stress, and avoiding external estrogens decreases the amount of active estrogen in the body.
        Without salivary testing it is impossible to determine active hormones levels because there are so many variables. Not only can salivary testing measure estrogen levels , it can also determine the active amounts of progesterone, DHEA, testosterone, and cortisol .All of these hormones levels may be altered by menopause.Hormone replacement therapy is prescribed by many physicians without utilizing an accurate test that confirms that the therapy is needed. However, millions of women have been placed on hormone replacement therapy, despite significant short- and long-term side effects. Better and safer results can be achieved by using saliva testing and working with a compound pharmacist to customize your hormone replacement
        Saliva testing is available in several labs across the country. Most non- HMO insurance companies are now covering the cost of the test. Medicare pays for saliva testing. If your insurance company does not pay, the cost is approximately $150.

 
         Low Estrogen or Low Progesterone
         As we discussed earlier, FSH levels are commonly used
by doctors to diagnose menopause. FSH is elevated when
ovulation or egg production ceases. The hormone that is directly dependent upon ovulation is progesterone. While estrogen can be produced from a variety of sources within the body as well as externally, progesterone is only produced after ovulation.

         Estrogen and progesterone are produced together throughout the reproductive years and function best when they are produced in their normal balance.         
         Estrogen is produced prior to ovulation to replenish the inner lining of the uterus that was lost during the menstrual cycle. Progesterone causes the uterine lining and the breast to further develop to prepare for a possible pregnancy.
         Estrogen and progesterone also effect other organs like the brain, the endocrine system, the immune system, etc. When these hormones are present in the normal levels they balance each other’s activity and do not cause any symptoms.
         During and after menopause ovulation ceases and so does the production of progesterone. Progesterone cannot be made from other hormones and it is not available in the environment in any significant amount.
         During menopause women may have normal or even elevated tissue levels of estrogen while progesterone levels
are low or immeasurable. An imbalance of these two
hormones is more likely to be the cause of menopausal
symptoms than solely an estrogen deficiency.
                                  Progesterone
          Why is progesterone so important? Progesterone does more than just balance estrogen. Progesterone is vitally important in the normal function of several organ systems in the body. The functions of progesterone include using fat for energy, decreasing water retention, eliminating depression and anxiety, improving mental function, increasing sex drive, and increasing the effectiveness of other hormones like thyroid hormone, testosterone and estrogen.