Hormone Imbalance: Why take the DUTCH Test® ?

Table Of Contents

• What is the DUTCH Hormones Test?
• Why using the Dutch Test?
• What makes the Dutch Test unique?
  

Millions of women suffer from hormone imbalances. Whether it is menopause, weight gain, fatigue, low libido, premenstrual symptoms (PMS), mood swings, or depression, these symptoms can lead to more serious problems if misdiagnosed. Identifying the root cause of chronic health issues is certainly correctable, but only if properly identified.

The DUTCH Test® was created to provide insight into many of these concerns, working to deliver the most complete assessment of sex and adrenal hormones, along with their metabolites, in one easy-to-administer test. No blood to draw, spitting in tubes, or filling up jugs of urine. Our dried urine collection process is great for baseline measurements of women with hormonal imbalances and for Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) monitoring.

What is the DUTCH Hormones Test?

DUTCH is dried urine test for comprehensive hormones. It offers an extensive profile of sex and adrenal hormones, along with their metabolites, and is the world leader in hormone panels. DUTCH testing is unique because it helps identify symptoms of hormonal imbalances by providing a complete picture of a patient’s hormone levels which cannot be seen in testing serum (blood) or saliva alone.

Precision Analytical, creators of the DUTCH Test®, exists to make it easier for patients and their healthcare providers to find answers to complex clinical questions which affect their everyday lives. Our unique hormone testing and reporting methods create better tools for healthcare providers to explore hormone issues with their patients. We do this through our four main hormone panel kits: the DUTCH Complete™, DUTCH Plus®, DUTCH Cycle Mapping™, and DUTCH Cycle Mapping™ Plus.

Why using the Dutch Test?

• For women on hormone replacement therapy, the Dutch test is an effective way to monitor the levels of the hormones you are using. This is a test that works exceptionally well for oral progesterone, vaginal hormone creams, patches and pellets.
• The DUTCH test measures melatonin levels. Melatonin is produced 2 hours before bedtime helping you become relaxed and sleepy. If you are experiencing problems with sleep knowing your melatonin levels could be helpful in finding the right treatment for you.
• Another reason you should use DUTCH test is because it measures your DHEA-S levels. Your adrenal glands produce DHEA, which is known as the “feel-good” or “Vitality” hormone. Low levels can lead to fatigue, decreased muscle mass and bone density, depression, aching muscles, reduced immunity, and loss of libido.
• Some women have symptoms of estrogen dominance like PMS, heavy bleeding, menstrual cramps, fibroids, and endometriosis. In estrogen dominance women produce too much estrogen and too little progesterone and typically aren’t able to clear old estrogens out of the body. The DUTCH test will not only measure levels of estrogen and progesterone but your estrogen metabolism as well. When your estrogen metabolism is healthy you will be able to bind and clear estrogens effectively reducing symptoms of estrogen dominance.
• The DUTCH test measures your adrenal function. As we deal with stress through life and as our sex hormones decrease with age our adrenal glands work to fulfill the needs. If not properly supported they can become insufficient in their cortisol output increasing abdominal weight gain, causing blood sugar issues, and fatigue.

What makes the Dutch Test unique?

The current gold standard for assessing hormones is through measuring serum blood levels, as it offers accurate results. However, getting to a lab can be time-consuming and many people are hesitant to undergo a blood draw.

The DUTCH test may provide a simpler and less-invasive testing method that looks at hormone levels in dried urine. This testing process claims to offer a more in-depth analysis of your hormone levels, as it also evaluates for hormone metabolites, unlike most serum blood tests. It also avoids the cumbersome method of saliva testing, which requires you to fill an entire test tube with saliva during collection.

The DUTCH test is also unique in that it often evaluates hormone levels at multiple points throughout the day and/or month for a more detailed analysis. Some of the most popular tests focus on male and female sex hormones, such as:

• Estrogen (estrone, estradiol, and estriol)
• Progesterone
• Androgens (testosterone and DHEA)

The DUTCH test is often used to evaluate for hormonal disorders like PCOS, estrogen dominance, PMS, and menopause. However, DUTCH testing offers a wide range of hormone testing, and the cortisol test, in particular, claims to give insight into chronic fatigue.

Measuring both hormones and their metabolites can give you or your health care practitioner a much better overall picture of hormone production. For example, a DUTCH urine steroid hormone profile on someone with low salivary cortisol could show normal cortisol production, but high levels of metabolites. In other words, this would indicate that you are producing enough cortisol, but it’s just getting broken down into its metabolites very quickly.

There are also some metabolites that are important markers for cancer risk that can only be measured in urine. With serum (blood) and saliva hormone spot-testing, it’s possible to track variations in hormone release throughout the day – and this is a great way to measure how your hormones change during a 24-hour period (your circadian rhythm). In contrast, a standard 24-hour urine collection many physicians use reflects your total hormone output in a 24-hour period.

But by using the DUTCH urine steroid test, you get the best of all worlds: blood, saliva and urinary results with just a urine collection.