It’s been 19 months since I decided to ditch the contraceptive pill and go au natural with my cycles and almost 3 years trying to balance my hormones and sort out my periods. So when I decided to try a female hormone and fertility blood test at home with Hertility Health, I thought I’d share my experience and results…
It’s no secret that my journey to balance my hormones has, quite frankly, been a bit of a slog. A tearful slog at that. From acupuncture to homemade herbs and even reducing my exercise, my journey is still very much a work in progress and one thing I’ve researched a lot along the way is at-home hormone and fertility blood test kits.
If you’ve been following my hormone journey on Instagram, then you’ll know that at the end of 2020 I had to put my half marathon journey on hold and completely reduce all forms of intense exercise, including all forms of cardio. Halfway through my training, I realised my period hadn’t arrived and my usual irregular bleeding had annoyingly made more of an appearance than usual. That, and my bloating and sleeping issues had gone crazy! So in an act to quickly re-gain my period before I caused more harm than good, I stopped running and worked on my body in a way I had never worked on it before. Read next: How I’m Syncing My Exercise With My Menstrual Cycle & Why
Since then, I’ve continued my research into hormonal imbalances and actually went private to try and (finally) get more answers. You see, the issue I’ve had (and have sadly had for 3 long years), is trying to get my GP to take my issue seriously and help me support my hormones naturally. Instead, I’ve been encouraged to go back on the contraceptive pill numerous times (which by the way only masks the issue) and shrugged away with many GP’s insisting my issue is “normal for me”. In the end, I decided to go down a different route and take a closer look at my hormones and that’s when I came across Hertility Health and the ability to test your own hormones and fertility at home without a GP’s approval…
Why do a hormone and fertility blood test?
Whether you want similar answers to me, or you’re interested in finding out more about your fertility, then testing your hormones can help you understand more about your body and highlight any imbalances you may have. Taking a hormone and fertility blood test can also help you understand your fertility by giving you an insight into your ovarian reserve, ovulation, cycle, and your overall reproductive hormone health, so you can get to know your unique biology and help you move onto the next steps.
While starting a family isn’t on the cards right now for me and Doug, I have however for the past two years been interested in my own fertility, especially as I’ve had ongoing issues with my periods. To put it bluntly, I wanted to know how healthy my fertility health was!
Why Hertility Health?
Going back to my frustration with GP’s and the lack of women’s health support within the NHS, I wanted to work with a company that understood this frustration and worked a little differently. And what I loved most about Hertility Health is their belief that women (and men) deserve more than just test results. They believe we need clear explanations, support and guidance and they show clear dedication when it comes to supporting their customers in understanding every aspect of the results given. In my eyes, this is the kind of company I want to work with – one that won’t just forget about me once they’ve received my money!
Taking my own hormone and fertility blood test at home
Ordering my hormone and fertility blood test kit* from Hertility Health was quick and straightforward. After I took the virtual health assessment and answered a few personal questions about my health, menstrual cycle and any other symptoms, I was assigned a blood test kit suitable for me based on my answers. Once that was done, I waited a few days for my blood test kit to arrive at home and as soon as my period approached, I was instructed to take the test on day 3 of my cycle (that’s day 3 of your bleed).
Did you know 80% of women suffer from hormonal imbalance?
Hertility Health
Once day 3 rolled around, I took my test first thing in the morning (before any food) once I was hydrated. Making sure you’re hydrated is super important as it’ll help the blood flow quicker. To be honest, despite my fear of both blood and needles, the hormone and fertility blood test was really easy to do at home. Once I opened the kit, I simply followed the instructions, took my blood and that was that. Yes, really. Although, if you’re super squeamish like I am, then I highly encourage you to get a friend or partner to take your blood for you. Thanks, Doug!
Once I sealed my blood test up and popped it in the pre-paid envelope, I headed to my local post office and mailed it back. Easy peasy. The hormone and fertility blood test kit is then sent to Hertility Health’s lab for their experts to analyse and provide data accurate data based on your reproductive health. Once the data has been analysed, Doctor’s at Hertility Health will then review your results and provide a report for you to read.
I think I waited 14 days for my results, but once they came they were available on my online portal at hertilityhealth.com. Now, this is where things get interesting! Firstly, Hertility Health acknowledges the fact that most women like me, who don’t have a degree in science & medicine, appreciate a language that’s easy to understand when it comes to their hormone and fertility health – which meant my report was easy to understand and interpret. And secondly, the report is split into 3 key areas: your ovarian reserve, your ovulation and period health and your thyroid health, which again, made it a breeze to read.
Each section also highlights what is tested, why it’s tested and what each hormone does in the body – which is incredibly helpful as it gives you more of an insight into how your body works and most importantly, how well it works.
My personal Hertility Health blood test results
Thankfully for me, all of the markers taken in my hormone and fertility blood test came back within range. So while this is great news, especially for my fertility health, it still left me scratching my head as to why I experience abnormal bleeding in between my periods every damn month.
After I viewed my results online, I booked a consultation with a Hertility Health Dr to discuss my results further (this is an option for all HH customers). The consultation was 15 minutes long but in that time I was able to give the Dr more information about my symptoms. Just like my private gynecologist, the HH Dr suggested that I was suffering from a luteal deficiency – most probably caused by the stress, overtraining and under fuelling that I put my body through for the last 4 years.
To cut a long story short, it was recommended that I continue with my current nutritional plan of increasing my calories, syncing my exercise to my menstrual cycle to help support my body and to also consider taking a progesterone pill (again, this has also been suggested by my private gynecologist) to help support my body produce enough progesterone in the second half of my cycle.
I really appreciated this part of using Hertility Health when it came to taking my own hormone and fertility blood test at home. It meant I was able to find out more about my symptoms, ask for further advice about my next steps and also have another professional insight when it came to my symptoms, which is really quite wonderful actually.
My honest thoughts
In all honestly, taking a hormone and fertility blood test at home gave me that (very much needed) peace of mind when it came to my fertility health. But the only thing I do wish was available at Hertility Health was a progesterone blood test kit – perhaps this would have given me more of an insight into my hormone health and symptoms. Note: the hormone and fertility test kit does not test progesterone. But based on the HH test kit alone, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend any women struggling with fertility or hormone issues to take one at home. Not only is it much easier to gain knowledge about your own reproductive health without a GP’s approval, but it’s also nice to know that extra help and support is there just in case you need it at Herility Health.
Have you ever taken an at-home blood test for your hormones? Let me know in the comments below!
Hannah x
*Note: PR product included
2 comments
[…] following me on Instagram, then you’ll know that in September 2021, after 4 years of battling a hormonal imbalance, I decided to take a big break from exercise in the hopes that it would help reset my hormones and […]
Hi, I just came across your post on hormone imbalance. I’m Yamuna btw, I’ve kind of been struggling with bleeding in between my periods, and for a few months my period have been late and are slowly coming back to when they should be but who knows haha. I also have been told that I had a polyp and it had grown a little so should have that hopefully snipped off in a few months. I’m writing because I was thinking of doing the hertility health thing, im currently struggling with quite a bit of overwhelming stress and don’t really know what to because I also have health anxiety so all in all I’m just worried all the time about my health especially my hormones and in between bleeding. Do you think the kit is completely worth it? For someone like me to find out what’s going on?