Female Hormone and Fertility Blood Test

How the hormones that run your cycle are behaving. FSH and LH, made by the pituitary, drive the ovaries; oestradiol is the ovaries' response; the balance between them shows whether you are ovulating normally, approaching the menopause, or have a pattern such as PCOS. Prolactin, when raised, stops ovulation and periods. Testosterone, SHBG and the free androgen index show whether androgen levels are contributing to acne, excess hair or irregular cycles. Read together, with your cycle day and symptoms, they explain most hormonal causes of irregular periods and difficulty conceiving.

For FSH, LH and oestradiol, days 2 to 5 of your cycle, counting the first day of full bleeding as day 1, because that is when the reference ranges apply and when a raised FSH is most telling. Prolactin, testosterone and SHBG can be tested at any time. If your periods are irregular, test whenever you can and tell us your last period date; if you have no periods, or use hormonal contraception, timing does not matter but the report will interpret accordingly. Take the sample in the morning, before 10am if possible, when testosterone and prolactin are highest.

Order this test and choose how to give the sample: a finger-prick kit posted to your home, a five-minute venous draw at one of 250+ Goodbody clinics, or a nurse visit. The seven markers cover the reproductive hormones. If you also want thyroid, which affects periods and fertility, our Menopause Blood Test includes TSH and free T4 with FSH, LH and oestradiol, and the Advanced Well Woman test covers hormones, thyroid, iron, vitamins and more in one panel. AMH, for ovarian reserve, can be added at a clinic appointment.

Yes. The finger-prick kit reports all seven markers, including oestradiol, from a few drops of blood, and gives the same result as a clinic sample when it is taken on the right day of your cycle and posted promptly. If you would rather not do the finger-prick yourself, book a five-minute venous draw at one of 250+ Goodbody clinics or a nurse home visit; the price and the report are the same apart from the collection fee.

Your GP can test FSH, LH, prolactin and sometimes testosterone if you have irregular or absent periods, or after a year of trying to conceive (six months if you are over 36). Oestradiol and SHBG are less often included, and GPs do not test hormones for a general check or before you start trying. If you want the full panel now, at the right point in your cycle, without a wait, this test provides it, and the GP report can go to your own GP if anything needs following up.

Irregular, missing or very heavy periods; difficulty conceiving; acne or oily skin past your teens; excess facial or body hair, or thinning hair on the scalp; unexplained weight gain; hot flushes, night sweats or vaginal dryness; low libido; breast tenderness or milky discharge when not breastfeeding; and persistent tiredness or mood changes. Each pattern points to particular hormones: acne and excess hair towards testosterone and the free androgen index, absent periods towards prolactin or FSH, flushes towards a high FSH and low oestradiol. This test covers all of them.

It provides two of the three criteria. Polycystic ovary syndrome is diagnosed when at least two of the following are present: irregular or absent ovulation, raised androgens (testosterone or free androgen index) or signs of them, and polycystic ovaries on ultrasound. A raised free androgen index, a low SHBG and an LH higher than FSH on days 2 to 5 are the typical blood pattern. Our dedicated PCOS Blood Test adds HbA1c and other markers; your GP can arrange the ultrasound.

It shows whether the hormonal side of fertility is working: that you are ovulating, that your ovarian reserve signals (FSH and oestradiol) are within range for your age, and that nothing such as raised prolactin or androgens is interfering. It does not measure egg quantity directly, which is what AMH does, or tubal or uterine factors, or your partner's sperm, which is the cause or a contributing factor in around half of couples who struggle. For a complete picture, add AMH and a semen analysis.

The kit is posted to you with lancets, a collection tube, plasters, instructions and a prepaid return envelope. On the right day of your cycle, first thing in the morning, wash your hands in warm water, prick a fingertip and fill the tube to the line, then post it back the same day. All seven markers are reported from the sample. No fasting is needed.

From £79 with the home finger-prick kit, £109 at one of 250+ Goodbody clinics or £129 with a nurse home visit, including laboratory analysis and a GP report that interprets every hormone against your cycle day and age. Comparable seven-hormone panels in the UK cost £70 to £130.

Results are emailed within 3 to 5 working days of your sample reaching the laboratory, with a GP report that explains what each hormone shows for your cycle day and symptoms, and what to do next.

It measures the key markers, FSH and oestradiol, and will show the menopausal pattern if it is present. Our Menopause Blood Test (£79 to £139) measures the same two plus LH and adds thyroid function, because an under- or over-active thyroid causes many of the same symptoms, and is the better choice if flushes, sweats and cycle changes in your 40s are the main concern.