Bioidentical Hormones: Why Saliva Testing, and What to Do

Saliva Testing provides a more accurate measurement of most hormones:
From Jay Mead MD. at Labrix, a hormone test site that uses saliva sampling.

The individualized approach of bioidentical hormone treatment requires a saliva hormone test.

This will measure only active (free/unbound) hormone levels unlike serum tests, which reflect inactive (total/bound) levels. Measuring inactive hormone levels is not useful in assessing function or balance. When testing the sex hormones through saliva, it is also important to assess adrenal status (DHEA and diurnal cortisols). Even if the chief complaints seem to be an imbalance of the sex hormones, the adrenal and sex hormone pathways are so closely linked that an imbalance in one area will affect the function and efficiency of the other.

For audio remarks on these issues listen to my interview with compounding pharmacist, Nat Jones, RPh.

Then, after accurate measurement of the hormones, the treatment can best be delivered:

The state of the art delivery system for bioidentical hormones is transdermal. This site Stop the Hormone Madness discusses the importance of salivary testing for precision in correction of challenged function.

By applying hormone to the skin rather than ingesting it, the liver first-pass is averted, thus therapeutic levels can be reached with far less hormone. Studies have shown that measurement of transdermal hormones is best done through saliva rather than serum. Overdosing of hormone supplementation is often seen when using serum to monitor topical hormones (often 4-5 times higher than is needed).

More next post with the references for these several notes on saliva testing for hormone review-