WHEN TESTING HELPS
When a hormone test actually tells you something
We'll be straight with you, because plenty of clinics aren't. National guidance is clear that if you are over 45 with typical menopausal symptoms, you do not need a blood test to be diagnosed — your symptoms are the diagnosis. If your GP has told you that, they are following the guidance correctly, and a test is unlikely to change your care.
Where testing genuinely earns its place is narrower, and specific. If you are under 45 and your periods have changed, hormone levels matter — early menopause and premature ovarian insufficiency are diagnosed partly on FSH, and they carry long-term bone and cardiovascular implications that make getting the answer worth it. The same applies if your symptoms don't fit the usual pattern, or if something else could explain them.
That last point is why this panel includes thyroid function. Fatigue, weight change, low mood, brain fog and irregular periods are the overlap between perimenopause and an underactive thyroid, and it is genuinely common to assume one when it is the other.
- Thyroid included. Rules out the condition that most often gets mistaken for perimenopause.
- No referral, no wait. Book directly and get seen at the pharmacy in Bromley.
- An objective baseline. Useful to have on record before starting HRT, and to compare against later.
- Honest interpretation. If your results don't change anything, we'll tell you that rather than sell you a follow-up.
