Men’s Hormone Panel

Hormonal imbalances and reduced testosterone levels are becoming more common in modern male health, leading to various symptoms such as low energy, low sex drive, erectile dysfunction, infertility, and more.

Collect your specimen in the morning and drop it in the mail, on the same day, using the pre-paid envelope we provide in your test kit.

A cortisol test measures the level of cortisol in your blood, urine, or saliva to see if your levels are normal. Cortisol is a hormone that affects almost every organ and tissue in your body. It helps your body: Respond to stress (cortisol is sometimes called the “stress hormone”).

A DHEA-S test measures levels of a steroid hormone that your body converts into estrogen and androgens (testosterone). A high test result may indicate an adrenal tumor or polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), while a low test result may indicate Addison’s disease. DHEA-S is critical for the development of male sex characteristics during puberty and for reproduction in all sexes.

Measure your total testosterone to understand its impact on your health and wellness. A total testosterone test measures free testosterone and testosterone that’s attached to proteins. Testosterone is a hormone that plays a key role in the development of secondary sex characteristics, fertility, muscle strength, and bone health.

A Free Testosterone test measures only the “active” form of testosterone. It may be useful for diagnosing certain medical conditions.

This test measures the levels of SHBG in a sample of your blood. SHBG stands for sex hormone binding globulin. It’s a protein made mostly in your liver. It binds (attaches) to sex hormones in your blood. SHBG helps control the amount of sex hormones that are actively working in your body.

A prolactin (PRL) test measures the level of prolactin in a sample of your blood. Prolactin is a hormone produced by the pituitary gland, a small gland at the base of the brain. Higher-than-normal levels of prolactin in your blood can cause certain symptoms, such as irregular periods, infertility and erectile dysfunction.

Having higher-than-normal prolactin levels (hyperprolactinemia) can affect the body in different ways. In women, it can affect how the ovaries work and can cause menstrual problems and infertility.

Higher-than-normal prolactin levels can have different causes:
Prolactinoma, a benign (noncancerous) tumor growing on the pituitary gland. This is the most common cause. This type of tumor makes prolactin, which leads to higher-than-normal levels of prolactin in the blood.
Certain medicines
Certain health conditions, such as hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid), kidney disease, and chest injuries
Other pituitary gland tumors

A prolactin test is used to:
Identify a prolactinoma
Find the cause of irregular menstrual periods
Find the cause of infertility in men and women
Find the cause of a man’s low sex drive and/or erectile dysfunction
Monitor a known prolactinoma to see if:
Treatment is working.
The tumor has come back after treatment.

The Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) test is a blood test used primarily to screen for prostate cancer. The test measures the amount of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in your blood.
PSA is a protein produced by both cancerous and noncancerous tissue in the prostate, a small gland that sits below the bladder in males.

PSA tests can pick up some prostate cancers before they have any symptoms. This means that the patient can then make a decision about whether they should undergo treatment or watchful waiting for their cancer.

It can also mean that if the cancer is fast growing, it may be possible to start treatment early enough to stop the cancer spreading beyond the prostate and becoming advanced prostate cancer.

An estradiol test measures the amount of the hormone estradiol in your blood, the form of estrogen made mainly by the ovaries. It’s also called an E2 test. Estradiol is a form of the hormone estrogen. It’s also called 17 beta-estradiol.

The LH blood test measures the amount of luteinizing hormone (LH) in blood. LH is a hormone released by the pituitary gland, located on the underside of the brain. This is a hormone with key roles in both male and female reproductive systems. This test is recommended for men that have signs of infertility or lowered sex drive, or, have signs of a pituitary gland problem.

High Cortisol Levels Symptoms and Signs:
Fatigue
Mid-section weight gain
Bruising easily
Swelling in the legs
Mood swings
Irregular periods
Mental fogginess
Muscle weakness

What happens if DHEAS levels are low?
Low levels of DHEAS can cause sexual dysfunction, such as low sex drives (libido). Men may experience erectile dysfunction.

In addition, low DHEAS levels can cause:
Dehydration and salt cravings
Dizziness
Nausea and vomiting
Unexplained weight loss

What happens if DHEAS levels are high?
Men with high DHEAS levels may not have symptoms.

If your testosterone hormone levels are too high or too low, you may experience a variety of uncomfortable symptoms that feel disruptive to your daily life:
Decreased muscle mass
Weight changes Body Fatigue or feeling tired
Increased body fat
Hair loss or abnormal hair growth
Sleep disturbance
Difficulty concentrating
Depression
Low libido
Erectile or sexual dysfunction
Decreased volume of semen

What happens if you have low Free Testosterone levels?
Decreased sex drive (libido)
Erectile dysfunction, including loss of morning erections
Lean muscle mass loss
Body and facial hair loss
Fatigue (feeling tired all the time)
Weight gain or obesity
Depression
Anemia

High SHBG Level Symptoms and Related Diseases:
Decreased libido
Lack of motivation
Decreased bone mass
Memory loss
Fatigue
Mood changes and depression

Lower sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) is associated with many diseases including:
Cardiovascular disease
Cancer
Arthritis
Liver disease

In women, symptoms may include:
Changes in menstruation (irregular periods or absence of periods)
Production of breast milk when not pregnant or breastfeeding
Nipple discharge
Infertility

Symptoms also depend on whether you have gone through menopause, which is when your periods stop, normally around age 50.

If you have higher-than-normal levels of prolactin because of a prolactinoma, you may also have other symptoms. A prolactinoma that is not treated can grow large enough that it presses against nearby parts of the pituitary gland and the brain. This can cause:
Headaches
Changes in vision, if the tumor is pressing on the optic nerve (the nerve at the back of the eye)
Low levels of other pituitary hormones, such as thyroid hormones and cortisol

If you’ve already been diagnosed with high prolactin levels from a prolactinoma, you may need prolactin testing to check whether your treatment is working. After treatment, you may be retested to see if the tumor has come back.

An elevated PSA level does not cause symptoms, but it may be a sign of prostate problems like cancer.

An elevated PSA level doesn’t cause other symptoms. But it may be a sign of certain conditions that affect your prostate. These conditions might cause other symptoms.

Symptoms may include:
Difficulty urinating (peeing)
Peeing more than usual, including while you’re sleeping
Slow pee stream
Blood in your urine (hematuria)
Difficulty holding your pee in (urinary incontinence)

Having too much or too little estrogen can also lead to medical problems, such as weak bones, urinary tract infections, and even depression.

The test will evaluate how well your ovaries, placenta, or adrenal glands work:
If you have signs of an ovarian tumor
If female body characteristics are not developing normally
If your periods have stopped (levels of estradiol vary, depending on the time of month)

The test will also determine if:
Hormone therapy is working for women in menopause
A woman is responding to fertility treatment

The test may also be used to monitor people with hypopituitarism and women on certain fertility treatments.

The main symptoms of hypogonadism are reduced libido/erectile dysfunction, reduced muscle mass and strength, increased adiposity, osteoporosis/low bone mass, depressed mood and fatigue. If you are male, abnormally high LH levels along with low levels of testosterone may mean that your testicles aren’t responding to LH’s signal to make more testosterone. Low levels of LH may mean that your pituitary gland isn’t making enough LH. That can lead to too little testosterone production.