At-Home Hormone Testing ft. Modern Fertility
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When I started diving into hormone testing and such, I 1) realized that SO much isn’t shared / isn’t known in the average population and 2) it can be expensive. Back up a little bit though, because I realized just how expensive medical care can be in 2020 when I had several hospital visits, lots of doctor visits, and tons of medications thanks to Ulcerative Colitis… and I had a good insurance! All that to say, it can be hard to get the medical attention you need and hopefully today I’ll share something that helps change that for you.
Keep scrolling to learn more about testing your hormones at home and Modern Fertility! Use this link for $10 off your at-home hormone kit!
If you haven’t read my post about getting your hormones tested, last fall (2020), I finally did the bloodwork. I was lucky in the sense that I found a hormone specialist who is also an OBGYN, so I was able to not only finally find a gyno here in LA (I hadn’t since moving), but also find a place that actually takes insurance. You can find naturopaths and such who specialize in hormones, but the likeliness that they take insurance / your specific insurance is slim to none. During this time, my eyes were opened to what a privilege this was…. that I could afford it and that I was equipped with the knowledge to know what to ask for. My goal in writing these somewhat personal posts is that you will take control of your body and be an advocate for what you do and do not know.
Madewell Jeans (c/o) | Tank Top | Black Top (old, similar here) | Uncommon James Crossover Huggies
Today I’m excited to share Modern Fertility with you! They are a reproductive health company that is trying to make reproductive information more accessible. They have ovulation kits and pregnancy tests, but what I want to chat about today are their at-home hormone test kits! Why? You can do it in the comfort of your own home for a fraction of what it could cost you (only $159, plus use this link for $10 off!) Oh AND they accept FSA and HSA if you have that insurance to use!
Maybe you’re like me and you want to test your hormones. (I had acne issues and short cycles.) Maybe you want to check out your AMH levels to check out your ovarian reserve to see if you’re still good to put off having kids. Whatever your reason is, most insurance plans don’t cover the tests unless you have been trying to get pregnant for at least a year. Afton Vechery, co-founder of MF, wanted to check on her fertility even though she wasn’t trying for kids and was surprised at how expensive it was and how little people knew. . That’s why Modern Fertility (MF) was born. I love when companies are founded to help others, especially female empowerment companies!
WHY MODERN FERTILITY
Here are the headlines as to why Modern Fertility is a great resource.
personalized quiz to make sure everything about you is taken into account for your test (ie are you on birth control, when did you get off of it if you took it, do you know if you have PCOS, etc)
can test while on birth control (a lot of places won’t run the test if you are on some)
takes FSA and HSA insurances (don’t have to have been trying for a year like most insurances require!!)
on the affordable side of testing if you don’t have insurance ($159, plus use this link for $10 off!)
walks you through your results in layman’s terms (super easy website that talks you through all your results and then some)
free 1:1 call with a fertility nurse
easily accessible dashboard so you can access and share your results any time
board certified doctor backed
has an app and a virtual community for support
WHAT IS THE AT HOME TEST LIKE
You receive your kit shortly after you order it, but be sure to wait to do your test until the 2nd or 3rd day of your period. MF walks you through which day is best for you. You can do this day or night, but you should fast at least 8 hours prior, which usually makes the morning easiest. Before beginning your test, make sure you register it online with the code it gives you in the top of the box. The box has super straight-forward // easy instructions. You follow those directly and complete the blood tests as written. Be sure to drop your results off within 24 hours of the test, so the lab can get it in time and get you your results as quickly as possible. Once the lab receives your test, you should receive the results in about 7 days time. This is huge because when I took my hormone test at my doctor’s office, it took about a week for the results to come in and then about 2-3 weeks for me to schedule a time to go over the results, as I didn’t really know how to read the results or what steps to take.
Does the test hurt? It does prick your finger / the prick did bruise my finger, but for me it isn’t the pain, but the clicking noise. I have the fight or flight issue / vasovagal response, so I actually had Nick administer this test for me; however, you can totally do it yourself if you want. If you don’t want to actually administer the test, the Modern Fertility customer service team will actually work with you to find a Quest Diagnostics near you so they can draw the blood, but you can still use MF to process everything, so it will still be cheaper than a doctor’s visit. There is a chance that you won’t produce enough blood from the prick (I actually didn’t) and if that is the case, you can talk to the customer service team and they will send you another test to do. You would obviously have to wait until the next cycle, but MF has you covered regardless. This isn’t a normal issue, but I just wanted to mention it. My mom actually has the same issue and doesn’t produce a lot of blood from finger pricks. No worries, because Modern Fertility has your back!
Modern Fertility tests the following:
Anti-Mullerian Hormone (AMH): tells you what your ovarian reserve looks like / what your egg quantity looks like
Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone (TSH): tells the health of your thyroid
Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH): tells how your ovulation is going (you can only test this if you aren’t on hormonal birth control (HBC))
Estradiol (E2): tells if you FSH is actually high and being masked - you don’t want high FSH ( they test this along with FSH, you can only test this if you aren’t on hormonal birth control (HBC))
Free Thyroxine (ft4): tells a more in-depth picture of thyroid health than just TSH (you can only test this if you aren’t on hormonal birth control (HBC))
Prolactin: tells milk production to start and pauses ovulation (you can only test this if you aren’t on hormonal birth control (HBC))
Luteinizing Hormone (LH): tells your cycle to be a “regular” length (you can only test this if you aren’t on hormonal birth control (HBC))
Once you test these, MF not only gives you a picture of your fertility, but they can also give you predictions regarding menopause timing. Additionally they can assist with potential egg freezing and IVF outcomes. So many options and you now have the knowledge at your fingertips!
NOW WHAT
You are in the know!! This information changes overtime, so be sure to stay on top of it. Modern Fertility actually gives you a recommended timeframe to test again to make sure everything is going swimmingly. If your levels are good, yay for you! If you have some imbalances, you may want to bring these results (there’s an easy way to share them!!) with your doctor for further steps and other steps. For example if your TSH was off, you will probably want to talk to your doctor about thyroid health. It’s a great start point if you want to do further testing. I recently had my progesterone tested and it turns out I was low. This has to be tested a day during 19 - 23 of your cycle, so just know there are more tests and imbalances that you could uncover once you get the basics checked out.
IN CONCLUSION
I’ve said it before, but I think that every woman should get her hormones checked. Chances are they are off in some type of way, shape or form. There are so many things going on these days // root causes that just aren’t talked about and you may not even realize that a symptom you are suffering from could be fixed by balancing your hormones! Modern Fertility takes the guess work out of your hormone testing and makes it more accessible for ALL. You might even want to use this, while having a doctor. My OBGYN in Dallas (2nd OBGYN, my first OBGYN was amazing, but closed her practice) was a great doctor in the literal sense, but was very dismissive of my thoughts about issues I thought I had and didn’t really care about doing any testing. I know that I lucked out with my OBGYN here in LA and that she did the tests for me. If you don’t have a doctor that specializes in hormones or one who doesn’t want to go down this path you, taking the test yourself and presenting factual evidence is a great way to get their attention. Factual test results speak loudly! ALSO I’m now able to go back and read my previous test results from my doctor without needing an explanation. I still need help regarding supplementing and moving forward, but I can confidently read my results because Modern Fertility spelled it out for me. I love being able to actually comprehend my results!
Still skeptical? Scroll to the bottom of this page and you can actually receive a PDF of the co-founder’s profile. You can check out the format // what your results would look like and know what to expect. They truly do a great job with it. I think it is 100% worth the money and gives peace of mind.
Just a side note - Modern Fertility has an app that is pretty cool. You can log your period, sex, pregnancy tests, and ovulation. They have an ovulation kit and the app actually reads the strip for you, so you don’t have to play the game of is it a line or isn’t it // what color is it. This is really helpful for someone like me who has low LH (what is measured to see if you are ovulating), because you actually get a reading / amount and the aoo makes a graph of LH so you can compare. Although I don’t surging to what is considered “normal” , it is surging according to my body. It helps that I also compare this with discharge and temperature readings which are my bigger indicators. Remember you can use this info as when to get pregnant, but also use to know when to not have sex // when to use protection. It works both ways! I actually have been using their app alongside my Kindara App, as I track my temperature and discharge, plus I utilize the note feature // take details of each day. I think that the MF app is a great start into paying attention to your body and what it is telling you, so definitely check it out.
Whether you are feeling poorly, want to check in on acne or weight gain and if hormones are causing them, or just want to know your fertility situation, I highly recommend Modern Fertility. Good luck!
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