Hormone testing and treatment in Edmonton

Naturopaths take the guess work out of hormone health.

As a Naturopathic Doctor, Dr. Muradov is knowledgeable in hormone health.

All of the Naturopaths at our Edmonton Clinic work with hormones.

TruMed clinic proudly offers Edmonton blood, salivary and urinary hormone testing.

Your Naturopath at TruMed will help you choose the best hormone testing for your particular needs.

Often times we combine different hormone testing methods for cases.

Hormone Testing is commonly used for:

Thyroid Concerns	Adrenal Issues	Fatigue	Menstrual Issues
Menopause	Healthy Aging	Anxiety & Depression	PMS
Endometriosis	PCOS	Men's Health	Sleep Issues
Athletic Performance	Cognitive Function	Libido	Stress & Anxiety

Top Hormones Tested

Our Naturopathic Doctors commonly test for:

Estrogen, Progesterone, Thyroid hormones, Testosterone, DHEA, Cortisol and their hormonal metabolites to be able to make specific natural treatment recommendations for our Edmonton patients.

Cortisol - Althought it's a stress hormone, it's crucial for energy production as it increases availability of all fuel substrates by mobilizing glucose, free fatty acids, and amino acids.

The Cortisol Awakening Response (CAR) is the rapid rise in cortisol that lasts 30 – 45 min immediately after waking up.

Cortisol is also needed for proper Thyroid function as it is involved in the entry of Thyroid Hormone (T3) into cells.

Mostly commonly our Naturopathic doctors see low Cortisol production throughout the day in our Edmonton patients, indicative of what can be termed "Adrenal Fatigue" or hypoadrenalism which results primarily in fatigue and easy reactivity to stress and sleep disturbances.

See our Adrenal Testing section for more information.

We screen salivary or urinary Cortisol testing primarily to see Free Cortisol quantities active at the level of the tissues.

DHEA - Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is a hormone primarily secreted by the adrenal glands (and in smaller quantities by the testes and ovaries).

Double-blind trials have found that DHEA-replacement therapy can improve overall well-being, depression, anxiety, energy level and sexuality.

Our Naturopathic Doctors screen for DHEA levels in our Edmonton patients and results seen with supplementation (which requires referral to a MD) mirror what was seen in clinical trials.

DHEA levels can drop along with cortisol levels as a result of prolonged stress, and levels also decline naturally with age - and is always included by our Naturopathic doctors in an Adrenal Fatigue workup.

DHEA is screened for accurately through blood, saliva or urine hormone tests.

Testosterone - Low Testosterone is an issue our Naturopaths see frequently in our Female Edmonton patients.

Low testosterone may be associated with decreased sex drive, fatigue, low moods and motivation & mood - it can also be associated with vaginal dryness, as well as bone loss.

Low Testosterone can be associated with low DHEA as DHEA is an upstream hormone to Testosterone.

Of course we always screen for "Low T" in our male patients.

There is a fairly robust nutrient workup when we are looking for causes of low Testosterone in our patients. Our Naturopathic doctors consider levels of Magnesium, Zinc, Manganese and Boron in our "Low T" patients as well as Vitamin K and D.

Saliva can measure bio-available "Free" Testosterone but we also use Blood for "Total" Testosterone levels and Urine for Free Testosterone and its androgenic metabolites.

Estrogen & Progesterone - Estradiol is the most potent estrogen and is the major estrogen secreted by the ovaries. It's the Estrogen we screen for most commonly in both men and women.

With Urinary "DUTCH" hormone testing we can also look at other Estrogens such as Estriol (E3) and Estrone (E1) and their downstream metabolites.

We screen for Estrogen deficiency in our Menopausal patients but look at Luteal Phase Estrogen in Female patients especially with regards to cycle irregularity and female concerns such as PMS, PCOS, Endometriosis.

We usually consider total amount of the Estrogen as well as that particular quantity relative to a patient's Progesterone as Progesterone balance the effects of Estrogen in a simple sense.

Low Progesterone is a common occurrence and can be rectified herbally, nutritionally and hormonally with hormonal replacement.

Urinary "DUTCH" Hormone testing allows us to look at metabolism of Estrogens down the 2-OH, 4-OH and 16-OH pathways.

By understanding your particular Estrogen metabolism pathways our Naturopathic Doctors can make more specific recommendations on how to approach your female symptoms.

We do consider Estrogen and Progesterone in males as well.

Excess Aromatization of Testosterone into Estrogen is a common issue in males (contributor to Low T) and Progesterone can serve as a surrogate marker of Pregnenolone.

We use Blood, Urine and Saliva to measure Estrogen and Progesterone depending on the clinical scenario.

Bottom line: We use blood, salivary and urinary hormonal testing to get to the root of female and male health concerns.

There is no single best method for testing hormones, therefore we use all available methods at our naturopath practice in Edmonton.

Complete Hormone Testing in Edmonton.

Salivary Hormone Testing at TruMed

DUTCH Urine Hormone Testing in Edmonton

Comprehensive Thyroid Testing

Hypothyroidism is characterized by insufficient thyroid hormone to meet the body’s needs.

Symptoms of hypothyroidism: fatigue, weakness, depression, constipation, weight gain, memory loss/poor mental concentration, cold extremities and intolerance to cold, dry skin, thinning hair or hair loss, menstrual irregularities, edema, muscle aches, headaches, and decreased libido.

Fatigue and Weight Gain are by far the most common hypothyroid symptoms our Naturopathic doctors see in our Edmonton patients.

Often, our Naturopaths are running comprehensive Thyroid panels to address Thyroid concerns that may have been missed through conventional testing methods.

We are able to run Thyroid laboratory testing that is not available in Edmonton through Alberta Health.

TSH - TSH is released from the pituitary gland, and is a signal that helps regulate the activity of the thyroid gland through a feedback mechanism.

The pituitary secretes more TSH in response to a hypothyroid state (TSH goes up as Thyroid hormone levels go down) and decreases as Thyroid hormone levels increase.

However our Naturopaths have noted that the TSH is a unreliable gauge of Thyroid hormone as situations occur where the levels of Free Thyroid hormones are low normal (indicative of low Thyroid function), and the TSH is also low normal (indicative of high Thyroid function).

Therefore we always measure the TSH simultaneously with the Free Hormones (Free T3 & Free T4) to get a clearer understanding of your true Thyroid function.

Free T3 - Free T3 is the thyroid hormone that is most metabolically active, Dr.Muradov calls it the "work horse" Thyroid hormone.

T3 is the hormone we're usually most concerned about and want to maitain in an optimal quantity.

Our clinic also offers reverse T3 testing for out patients when the situation calls for it.

Iodine - Iodine levels are crucially important for Thyroid hormone production - T3 is actually three iodine molecules bound to one tyrosine (an amino acid).

T1 & T2 - We actually can't measure T1 or T2 but they are made by the Thyroid as well.

We often supplement patients with T2 based preparations. T2 is thought to be why desiccated Thyroid seems to work better than a combination of T4 & T3 in patients.

Subclinical or Sublaboratory Hypothyroidism is a common concern our Naturopaths see in Edmonton that results in fatigue and weight gain amongst other issues.

Bottom line: Free T3, Free T4, TSH , Ferritin and Cortisol and basal body temperatures are all used to assess Thyroid status.

Our Naturopathic Doctors always do adrenal function screening in patients with Thyroid concerns as the two hormonal systems work intimately for energy production in the body.

See our Thyroid Testing section for more information

Natural Hormone Treatment

We often begin with natural treatments (herbs and supplements) to balance hormone levels gently.

Our Naturopaths use various herbal treatment to balance both male and female hormones.

We have numerous estrogen modulating herbal therapies as well as dietary changes that can improve male and female hormone balance.

If needed, we may suggest stronger hormonal treatments such as bioidentical hormones and Dessicated thyroid through referalls to collaborative Health Professionals.

Bottom line: we can test you for levels of Estrogen, Progesterone, Thyroid hormones, Testosterone, DHEA, Cortisol and hormonal metabolites to find precise naturopath treatments for you.