Posted by barbaracat on September 29, 2005, at 21:49:41
In reply to Re: bio-identical hormones, hormone testing, etc. » KaraS, posted by Sarah T. on September 29, 2005, at 19:50:36
Hi, BarbaraCat here. I think it was probably me who has been putting out the posts on saliva testing and bioidenticals, so I'll make the assumpion and answer as best I can on this tricky subject.
>
> Which hormones are tested? Estrogen, progesterone, and what else?** Saliva tests can test the estrogens, progesterones, DHEA, testosterone, morning and evening cortisol. You can get just the est and progest tests, but you get the real picture with all of these tested.
>
> I have some questions about those salivary hormone tests. I have taken several salivary cortisol tests, each kit made by a different company.**Yeah, this is the bugaboo with saliva tests and the main reason why they're shunned by MDs. It's only recently that new testing methods have evolved that provide much more accurate results. But they're not perfect and if you really want to get picky it's wise to use two different companies.
ZRT Labs and Labrix, the two URL I gave earlier, are dependable.
Labrix is the newest and is getting good reviews from naturopaths. The Dr. that runs Labrix used to be the co-owner of ZRT but went on to form his own company. He runs it with his naturopath wife. I've been to her and she's great with hormones, so even though I haven't used them I probably will soon cause I'm going through some yucky stuff from being prescribed the wrong dose by my ob/gyn. I've used ZRT and Aeron in the past. ZRT screwed up my results one time but I'm pretty satisfied with them but I'll still give Labrix a try.
Even though things aren't 100%, saliva tests are the best method to see what's going on cellularly since blood only measures free and bound compounds, not the metabolites.
> The problems you and Barbaracat mention regarding Prempro are sickening, inexcusable, unethical and probably illegal. I am disgusted with pharmaceutical companies.
**Amen, sister. These dudes have some heavy karma coming their way. The sad thing is that because of their greed and dishonesty (they usually go hand in hand I guess) so many women are now afraid of HRT. Our evolution hasn't kept up with our technology and we aren't meant to live much past menopause. Since we are living longer, might as well have the quality of life that comes with a good hormonal balance. After all, they are the chemical messenger system for the whole body and life sucks when the highway is broken down. - Barbara
poster:barbaracat
thread:559429
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050927/msgs/561119.html