BECOME YOUR OWN MEDICINE WOMAN: THE BEST OVULATION + HORMONE TESTS YOU CAN DO AT HOME
Isn’t it completely bonkers that most doctors won’t order any labs until a woman’s been trying to get pregnant for at least a year? If you’re lucky, they might agree to run tests at 12 months if you’re over 40 and 6 months if you’re over 35 (depending on if insurance will cover it), but either way—that’s a lot of idle time.
And when you do finally get your bloodwork done, it’s more than likely that your test results will come back “normal” when obviously that’s not the case. This is because those labs barely scratch the surface when you look at them through the context of fertility. What’s considered a “normal reference range” is based on the average of the entire population across a variety of ages and stages of life, not what’s necessarily best for you and your fertility.
“Normal” lab results are very different from optimal lab results. For instance, women with high but still “normal” A1C (a blood test that measures blood sugar levels) were half as likely to get pregnant according to a 1999 study that included 165 Danish couples. However, this is just one of many examples where your doctor will probably tell you that everything looks fine . . . even when you haven’t been able to successfully get pregnant, stay pregnant, and have a baby.
In the off chance your labs come back with some sort of fertility red flag, odds are you’ll be encouraged to mask the symptoms with pharmaceutical drugs instead of getting to the root cause and actually fixing it. But there’s good news! This doesn’t have to be your only option anymore. You no longer have to outsource your fertility to someone in a white coat.
Whether it’s getting pregnant or staying pregnant that’s been difficult for you—times are changing, and it’s time you learn how to be your own medicine woman.
WHAT’S THE BEST AT-HOME FERTILITY TEST TO TRACK OVULATION AND MEASURE YOUR HORMONES?
When it comes to at-home testing, there are a few ways you can decide what will ultimately be right for you. The absolute best functional fertility testing isn’t always what’s best for a couple’s financial circumstances—so lately, I’ve been working with several women who have opted to use a variety of fertility monitors that can easily and affordably be ordered online. And while these options are nowhere near as detailed and thorough as the tests I prefer to run, they really can be quite impressive.
MY FAVORITE DIY FERTILITY MONITOR BY FAR IS INITO
I’ve already mentioned Inito in a previous blog post explaining how convenient it is for tracking ovulation, but this little device clips right into your iPhone and is like having your very own fertility lab right in the comfort of your own bathroom.
Android users, I see you too, but at the current moment, Inito doesn’t work with Google Play. Your best bet is probably Proov, but if you have an iPhone, most women I work with agree that Inito is easier to use and kinder on the wallet long term.
For women on a tight budget, at-home fertility monitors like Inito are a fantastic way to gather preliminary information. If you’re thinking about getting pregnant in the near future, I suggest tracking your hormones and ovulation with Inito for 2-3 months and then booking a virtual Fertility Consult at Magnolia Wellness so I can see where there might be hormone spikes or irregular patterns happening throughout the month and give you recommendations for what to do about them.
Ultimately, what I like best about Inito is that it offers way more than just your typical ovulation predictor kit (OPK). In addition to confirming ovulation, Inito measures 4 different fertility hormones at the same time, on the same strip, in less than 10 minutes.
Another perk of Inito is that it’s a much less stressful way to confirm that you’ve ovulated compared to measuring your basal body temperature. Instead of waking up and having to remember to reach for your thermometer at the right time every morning (which will spike your cortisol if you’re stressed about it at all), Inito is able to confirm ovulation AND give you a breakdown of all your hormone levels in a easy-to read chart.
Inito measures:
Estrogen, which rises 3-4 days before ovulation
LH, which surges 24-36 hours before ovulation
PdG, which rises after ovulation
FSH, to track follicle growth
Being able to see the actual values for these hormones is so much more helpful than a simple positive/negative (or a smiley face) on a test strip. And in addition to being able to track your hormone levels, Inito helps you identify your fertile window so you can know exactly when it’s time to grab your horizontal dance partner for some sexy time. Plus it’s so empowering to be able to see first hand exactly how your hormones fluctuate throughout your cycle.
You definitely don’t need to have this data before booking a call though. It just makes it convenient for me to take out my magnifying glass and really hone in on what’s going on. Either way, we’ll discuss your menstrual cycle, ovulation, and hormones . . . plus any other concerns you might have about your and your partner’s fertility.
THE MOST IN DEPTH AND ACCURATE AT-HOME TESTING INCLUDES A FULL PANEL OF FUNCTIONAL FERTILITY LABS
While this article may have read like an infomercial for Inito, please remember that I said this fertility monitor is great for gathering preliminary information. It is by no means even remotely close to being as comprehensive as the Functional Fertility Labs I typically run (which can also be done at home!).
Where Inito tests estrogen and one type of progesterone, I routinely test for 10 different types of estrogen and 2 of progesterone. And with the functional labs, I’m able to dive deeper beyond the numbers to understand exactly why your hormone levels are out of whack—you may not be producing them, but often you are, and your body’s metabolizing them incorrectly.
So if you’ve been trying to conceive for quite a while now (or are considering investing in IVF because you were ready to have a baby like yesterday), I’d suggest skipping the at-home monitors and going right for a Fertility Consult where I can recommend specific Functional Fertility Labs that I can order for you and have sent directly to your home.
These really are the gold standard for fertility lab work. And the women I’ve been able to guide through my Overcoming Infertility program (that includes all of this testing) have all gotten pregnant. That’s right—a 100% success rate of women conceiving within 1 year of working together!
I’ve been helping women have happy, healthy babies for over 20 years, and I can’t wait to help you. Book a Fertility Consult online to get started, and l can guide you every step of the way.