Essential Well Woman Blood Test

All 17 markers, grouped by what they tell you:

The kit arrives in the post with lancets, a small collection tube, plasters, instructions and a prepaid return envelope. First thing in the morning, after fasting overnight, wash your hands in warm water, prick the side of a fingertip and let the drops fall into the tube up to the line, seal it, complete the form and post it back the same day. Every one of the 17 markers is measured from that sample. It takes about ten minutes.

The Essential is a 17-marker finger-prick kit you take at home for £129. The Advanced is a 51-marker venous test taken at a clinic or by a nurse for £175, and adds the ovarian marker CA-125, oestradiol and prolactin, HbA1c for diabetes risk, a full blood count, high-sensitivity CRP, ferritin and full iron studies, calcium and more liver and kidney markers. Under 40 and feeling well, the Essential is a good baseline. Over 40, or with any gynaecological symptoms, tiredness that will not shift or heavy periods, choose the Advanced.

It measures LH, which rises sharply around ovulation and stays high after the menopause, so it can support what your cycle is telling you or suggest that hormonal change is under way. It does not include oestradiol, FSH, progesterone or prolactin, which are needed for a full picture of the menopause, PCOS or fertility; the Advanced Well Woman adds oestradiol and prolactin, and our Female Hormone and Fertility test or the Signature Well Woman include the full set. Tell us your cycle day when you order so LH is interpreted correctly.

Yes. We ask you to fast for 8 to 12 hours before you take the sample, so take the sample first thing in the morning and have nothing but water from the evening before. Fasting keeps the triglyceride and glucose-related results comparable with the reference ranges. Take any regular medication as normal unless your GP has told you otherwise, and eat as soon as it is done.

Raised cholesterol and the heart risk that goes with it; an under- or over-active thyroid, which is up to ten times more common in women and a frequent cause of tiredness, weight gain and hair loss; early liver strain; reduced kidney function; low iron, the most common deficiency in women who menstruate; and low vitamin D, B12, folate or magnesium, which drive tiredness, low mood, cramps and poor sleep. It does not include a full blood count or ferritin, so it cannot confirm anaemia; the Advanced does.

It covers the most common blood causes: thyroid, iron, vitamin D, B12 and folate, plus cholesterol and liver markers that often travel with them. If everything is normal, that is useful, because it points towards causes a blood test cannot show. If you have heavy periods or suspect anaemia, choose the Advanced Well Woman for the full blood count and ferritin, or our Tiredness and Fatigue Blood Test.

For the markers in this kit, a finger-prick sample analysed in an accredited laboratory gives results comparable to a venous sample when it is collected properly and posted promptly. The limitations are volume, which is why the kit cannot include a full blood count or a large panel, and the small risk of a clotted or short sample; if that happens we send a replacement kit at no charge.

£129 for the Essential Well Woman home kit, including the kit, prepaid return postage, laboratory analysis and a GP report. If you would rather have the sample taken for you, the Advanced Well Woman is £175 at a clinic or £195 with a nurse, and includes 51 markers.

Not as a blood package. Cervical and breast screening are offered by age, and the NHS Health Check for 40 to 74 year olds covers blood pressure, cholesterol and BMI. Thyroid, iron, vitamins and hormones are only tested when you present with symptoms that justify each one. This kit gives you all of them at once, and the GP report can be shared with your own GP.

Once a year is a sensible rhythm to build a baseline and watch trends in cholesterol, thyroid, iron and vitamin D. A borderline result may be repeated in three to six months. Test again when symptoms change, for example new tiredness, heavier periods or hair loss.

Results are emailed within 3 to 5 working days of your sample reaching the laboratory, with a GP report that explains every marker and what to do next. Post the sample the same day you take it, Monday to Thursday if you can.