HRT Hormone Check

Usually not, if you are over 45 and have typical symptoms; UK guidance does not require blood tests to start. Under 45 blood tests do have a place, and some people simply want the numbers before a conversation.

Follow whatever your prescriber has advised, and use the same timing relative to your dose each time so results are comparable. Levels vary enormously between patches, gel and tablets.

If you are still having periods, day two to five of a bleed. If your periods have stopped, any day is fine.

No. Dose decisions belong with the clinician who looks after your treatment, who reads levels alongside your symptoms. The report explains what the numbers mean so that conversation starts from a better place.

It can. Gel on the skin near where the needle goes in can make oestradiol read falsely high. Tell the nurse where you applied it, so the sample is taken from an arm you have not used it on that day.

It can. High-dose biotin (vitamin B7), often sold for hair, skin and nails, can make some hormone results read too high or too low. Laboratory advice is usually to leave at least 8 hours after a dose of 5 mg or more, and some advise longer, so the simplest approach is to skip it on the day of your sample. Tell us if you take it, and do not stop a medicine that a doctor has prescribed.

The laboratory typically takes 1 to 2 working days from receiving your sample. This does not include kit delivery, sample collection or return postage. A doctor reviews your results before they are released.

This test is a clinic blood draw, as it needs a venous sample for accuracy. We arrange a convenient appointment for you.

Yes. Every result is reviewed by a GMC-registered doctor who signs it off and explains what it means and what to do next.

Your results are available through your secure patient portal. Our privacy policy explains how your information is handled and when it may be shared to provide your care.

Your sample is analysed at a UKAS-accredited laboratory (ISO 15189). A GMC-registered doctor then reads every result and signs the report before it is released, so nothing reaches you unreviewed. There is no option to receive results without a doctor reading them first. The report arrives in your secure portal in plain English: each result with its unit and the laboratory's own reference range, and the doctor's note on what the set means read together. If a result sits outside its range the report says so and explains what usually happens next, which is most often a conversation with your own GP, who can act on it alongside your history and examination. Most reference ranges are set to cover about 95% of healthy people, so about 1 in 20 healthy people fall just outside any one of them. On a report with many results it is common for one to sit just outside its range, and a single number on its own rarely tells the whole story. If a result needs urgent attention, the reviewing doctor is alerted straight away and we contact you by phone the same working day rather than leaving it in the portal for you to find. If a specific result needs rechecking, the reviewing doctor says so in your report.