Hormones and Importance of Testing in Frisco TX
At Journey to Wellness, we believe that the reason most people struggle with their health is incomplete testing or failure to test hormones in Frisco TX. Most patients come in only having done a blood draw where their estrogen levels, and possibly progesterone or testosterone are tested. Many women struggle through life, because of the testing that is not carried out on their hormone levels. Even when these tests are requested, they are informed from their doctors that they aren’t necessary. If tests are conducted, it is for maybe one or two types of estrogen, when there are seven types of estrogen in a woman’s body.
A doctor might do a quick test on testosterone, progesterone levels, and DHEA levels. However, all these would be carried out at an elementary level and the finding is just a snapshot of what’s going on in your blood at that moment. This lack of, or this basic level of testing, can lead most women to become frustrated at the results. All your hormones act together and all are important. When you have imbalanced hormones, you can eat well and exercise, but you still don’t know the underlying reason for why you feel the way you do.
The Steroid Hormone Pathway in Frisco TX
The steroid hormone pathway shows us that there are certain hormones which are precursors to the body making more of another hormone. Without looking at the complete table of hormones, it is easy to see why women still feel the way they do. Just looking at one level of a hormone is not enough, and is the reason your health hasn’t improved. The basic tests that are conducted will never show if the body is making enough of a hormone, if the body is converting these hormones correctly, if the cells are in a position to use the hormones, or if you have inflammation issues that are blocking your body from using an adequate amount of the hormone that it’s making.
Women are often put on hormonal imbalance treatment that consists of creams for estrogen and progesterone and perhaps testosterone. In the short term, it may make you feel better, but sometimes you will feel worse, because you’re not looking at what’s actually going on.
Urine Testing for Hormones
Urine testing is our preferred method to test for female hormones here at Journey to Wellness. The urine testing is a 5-point sample, unlike a 1-point blood draw that only gives a small idea of what’s going on. Urine testing allows us to see your metabolites, that show the actual pathways of your hormones. We’re able to see how your hormones are converting in your body, are there pathways that are weak; what does your body favor more of; that’s how we can get your body balanced without using the synthetic creams and synthetic hormones that can lead to things like cancer.
You might be taking bioidentical hormones for 10 years, but then as soon as you stop taking them, your body is going to tank again because you never taught your body to create these hormones on their own. We focus on getting your body balanced so that it is able to create these hormones on their own for lifetime results.
Certain pathways that are broken down can be more harmful, so it’s important to look at all the pathways, not just a couple or just one pathway. If you are not happy with the medications your doctor has given you and you aren’t getting the results that you want, then we believe that you haven’t looked deep enough. Looking deeper is getting the urine test from us at Journey to Wellness. We can go further and even send the test to you, go over the test results with you on the phone or online.
Our Testing
Hormone testing occurs by collecting a dry urine sample that look at all pathways and adrenal mapping. We do our testing from day 19-22 of a woman’s cycle so that we know what levels we are looking for. If you take the results at the wrong time, they become invalid and mean nothing.
Here is a breakdown of our Test Results:
First page is a snapshot of your hormones, similar to what you would get from the doctor. This page is an overall view of what’s going on.
Page 2 shows you the pathways in the order that your body makes them. Every hormone in your body starts with cholesterol; your body needs it as a building block. If you have high cholesterol, it might be because you have low hormones. You shouldn’t try to reduce your cholesterol as it might hurt your body from making these good healing hormones. Everything starts with cholesterol, then it makes Pregnenolone; then filters down to DHEA and progesterone. DHEA is a precursor that converts to testosterone. Your testosterone can go down the pathways that can make your alpha and beta testosterone, or go down the pathway that makes estrogen. Testosterone does not work in isolation, it works with everything else, so testosterone physically converts to estrogen.
One case study shows a patient whose body makes high levels of testosterone. One would assume that it then makes high levels of estrogen, since testosterone is a precursor to estrogen. We found that her estrogen levels were extremely low and this showed us that there was something in her body blocking the pathway from testosterone to estrogen.
It’s important to understand that there are 7 types of estrogens in your body and you need to be tested for all seven. You need all levels tested to find how you detox out your hormones, as this all relates to tumors and cancers. Estrogen is only dangerous when it’s the inflammatory kind or your body can’t detox it out. There is always a reason why the estrogen levels are low in your body. If your body is purposely blocking the pathway between testosterone and estrogen and you begin using estrogen creams to increase your levels of estrogen, it’s possible that this can lead to cancer. Your body is amazing and does everything for a reason, and testing can help you find out what’s really going on.
Steroid hormone pathways are recorded on the final page of the report. This complex page shows what hormones are precursors to other hormones. For example, your progesterone, which is one of the most dominant hormones for women, is a direct precursor to cortisol – which is our stress hormone. So when you have a high level of stress hormone, it will physically drain the progesterone out of your body. When the doctor sees low progesterone, they put you on medicine. If you don’t fix why your body is converting to progesterone, medicine won’t help you, and the stress will continue and the imbalance will continue.
We Don’t Guess, We Test
here are times you need to stop and heal your body, not takes medications. Easy tweaks will sometimes work, but it’s important to find a doctor that knows what to test, and how to fix it. A doctor that knows the effects of making changes. Sometimes getting your gut healed, blood sugar under control and inflammation issues fixed will help your testosterone. Stress effects women more than men because of the hormone pathway. The pathways for women and men are different, and affects us differently.
We work with males and females and their varied issues. It’s important to understand what’s causing these deficiencies. Our bodies physiologically handle issues differently.Our process is to figure out what’s affecting you a deeper level. We figure out the cause and then treat it. We offer a free 15 minute discovery call to figure out what’s best for you.
If you have been tested and told your hormones are all at the wrong levels, don’t delay and call Journey to Wellness in Frisco TX so we can test you right, and get you off those creams.
OFFICE HOURS
Monday
Available by Appointment
via Telehealth
Tuesday
Available by Appointment
via Telehealth
Wednesday
Available by Appointment
via Telehealth
Thursday
Available by Appointment
via Telehealth
Friday
Available by Appointment
via Telehealth
Saturday
Closed
Journey to Wellness
7548 Preston Rd STE 141
Frisco, TX 75034
Phone: (859) 219-0617
Fax: (859) 724-5280