Comprehensive Hormone Panel

Salivary Hormone Panel

How Stress & Sex Hormones Shape Your Energy, Mood, Sleep & Metabolism

Most people are told their hormones are “fine” because a single blood test fell in range.
But hormones don’t work in snapshots—they work in rhythms.

A Salivary Hormone Panel measures your key stress and sex hormones at multiple times during the day, in the form that’s actually active in your tissues. This gives us a moving picture of how your system is really functioning—not just a one-time number.

Why Saliva?

Saliva primarily reflects the free (bioavailable) fraction of hormones—the part that can actually dock on receptors and create change. That makes it incredibly useful for understanding:

• Why you’re tired but wired

• Why you crash in the afternoon

• Why sleep, mood, or libido disappeared

• Why perimenopause/menopause or andropause hit so hard

• Whether your hormone replacement or adaptogens are doing what they should

No needles, no lab draw—just simple timed collections at home.

What This Panel Measures

1. Your Daily Cortisol Rhythm (4-Point Cortisol Curve)

Cortisol is your primary stress and rhythm hormone. It should:

• Peak in the morning (to wake you up, focus your brain, and mobilize energy)

• Gently decline through the day

• Reach its lowest levels at night so you can sleep and repair

The panel measures cortisol at four times:
Morning (AM30), Midday, Evening, and Night.

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From this pattern we can see if you are:

• In overdrive – high cortisol, anxiety, insomnia, blood sugar swings

• In burnout – low cortisol, exhaustion, brain fog, feeling “flat”

• Upside-down – low in the morning, high at night (tired all day, wired at bedtime)

• Transitioning – a mix that shows evolving HPA axis (adrenal) dysfunction

This is your stress capacity and resilience map.

2. DHEA – Your Resilience & Repair Hormone

DHEA is produced alongside cortisol in the adrenal glands. It:

• Buffers the negative effects of stress

• Supports immune function, muscle maintenance, and mood

• Serves as a precursor for testosterone and estrogen

When we compare DHEA to your cortisol pattern, we see whether your body is still able to rebuild and repair, or if it’s using all its resources just to keep up with daily stress.

3. Estradiol (E2) – Your Primary Estrogen

For women (and in smaller amounts for men), estradiol:

• Regulates menstrual cycles and perimenopause/menopause transitions

• Supports bone density, brain function, mood, and vaginal/skin health

• Interacts with serotonin and other neurotransmitters affecting anxiety and depression

Low or fluctuating estradiol can show up as:

• Hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness

• Mood swings, low motivation, forgetfulness

• Bone loss, joint pains, or accelerated aging

We look at absolute E2 levels and how they interact with progesterone.

4. Progesterone (Pg) – Calm, Sleep & Nervous System Buffer

Progesterone:

• Balances estrogen’s stimulating effects

• Promotes calm, deeper sleep, and a sense of well-being

• Supports fertility, cycle regularity, and brain protection

One of the most important values on this panel is the Pg/E2 ratio—the balance between progesterone and estradiol.

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Even if both hormones are technically “in range,” a low Pg/E2 ratio (often called estrogen dominance) can drive:

• Anxiety, irritability, and insomnia

• Painful or heavy periods

• Breast tenderness, fibrocystic changes, or bloating

• Weight gain around hips, thighs, or midsection

Saliva helps us see this relationship, not just individual numbers.

5. Testosterone – Drive, Strength & Metabolic Signaling

Testosterone in saliva reflects your free, active fraction:

• In women: supports libido, energy, motivation, and lean muscle

• In men: is essential for strength, mood, erections, and metabolic health

Too low can mean low drive, weak muscles, and loss of confidence.
Too high—especially in women—can signal insulin resistance, PCOS tendencies, or metabolic syndrome and can contribute to acne, hair loss on the scalp, and hair growth on the chin or abdomen.

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What This Panel Can Explain

A salivary hormone panel often answers questions like:

• “Why am I exhausted but can’t sleep?”

• “Why did my mood and patience disappear?”

• “Why is my cycle changing or disappearing?”

• “Why is weight sticking around my belly even with diet changes?”

• “Is my hormone replacement or herbal support actually working?”

By seeing both levels and rhythms, we can understand:

• Stress-driven crashes and anxiety

• Perimenopause/menopause symptom clusters

• PMS, PMDD, and cycle-related mood changes

• Libido changes and erectile difficulties

• Blood sugar and metabolic risk patterns tied to hormone imbalance

Who Is This Test For?

You may benefit from a salivary hormone panel if you:

• Feel constantly stressed, overwhelmed, or “wired and tired”

• Struggle with poor sleep, night waking, or early-morning dread

• Have hot flashes, night sweats, cycle irregularity, or painful periods

• Notice mood swings, irritability, anxiety or depression that seem hormone-related

• Have stubborn belly weight, sugar cravings, or signs of insulin resistance

• Have low libido, vaginal dryness, or erectile difficulties

• Use (or are considering) bioidentical hormones and want to dial in the right dose

How the Process Works

1. At-Home Collection

   • You’ll collect small saliva samples at four set times across one day (and sometimes on a second day if we’re doing expanded panels).

   • No needles, simple instructions, done in your own home.

2. Lab Analysis

   • The lab measures cortisol at each time point, plus DHEA, estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, and key ratios like Pg/E2.

3. Personalized Interpretation

   • We overlay your hormone pattern with your symptoms, history, and other labs (like blood sugar, vitamin D, lipids, etc. when relevant).

   • We identify where you are on the stress spectrum: overdrive, adaptation, or burnout, and how sex hormones are responding.

4. Targeted Plan
   Depending on your results, your plan may include:

   • Stress-reset practices, sleep timing, and circadian rhythm repair

   • Herbal adaptogens, nutrients, and lifestyle changes to support the HPA axis

   • Support for detox, blood sugar, and inflammation that impact hormone balance

   • Discussion of bioidentical hormone therapy when appropriate, or fine-tuning existing prescriptions/creams

   • Re-testing at intervals to measure progress, not guess

Why This Test Matters

When hormones are off, life feels harder than it should.

A salivary hormone panel doesn’t just show “high” or “low”—
it shows how well you’re adapting to life, how much reserve you have left, and whether your body is in a state of survival or regeneration.

If you’re tired of being told “everything looks normal” while you feel anything but…
this panel is one of the most powerful ways to finally see what your hormones are doing—and how to guide them back toward balance.

Next step:
If you’re curious whether this test is right for you, we can review your symptoms, history, and goals and decide together. When we pair your story with precise hormone data, we can create a plan that’s not generic—but genuinely yours.