Many women experience noticeable changes in energy, mood, and physical symptoms throughout their menstrual cycle. These changes are driven by natural shifts in hormones like progesterone, estrogen, and cortisol. For some, the changes are mild, but for others, they can feel overwhelming and disruptive to daily life. Functional hormone testing offers a new way to understand these patterns and get a personalized guide for your hormonal health.
Key Takeaways:
- Hormonal changes throughout the menstrual cycle can impact energy, mood, sleep, and overall well-being.
- Functional hormone testing, like LC-MS Profile 7 and diurnal cortisol, provides a clearer picture of imbalances often missed in standard labs.
- Personalized naturopathic care can help regulate hormones to reduce symptoms like PMS, fatigue, and anxiety.
- Understanding your unique and individual hormone patterns allows for a personalized guide, natural therapies, supplements, and lifestyle adjustments for long-term hormone balance.
Understanding the Menstrual Cycle and Hormones
The brain, ovaries, and uterus work together to regulate the monthly rhythm of the menstrual cycle.
Key players include:
- Estrogen: Promotes mood, bone, and brain health and helps to form the uterine lining.
- Progesterone: Prepares the body for pregnancy, balances estrogen, and promotes mood and sleep.
- Cortisol: also known as the “stress hormone” that follows a daily pattern, rising in the morning and lowering at night.
Hormones have a significant impact on more than just periods. Additionally, they can affect mood, appetite, focus, headaches, sleep, and more.
Common Hormone-Related Symptoms
If you experience any of the following, hormones might be involved:
- Menstrual migraines (often triggered by an abrupt decrease in estrogen)
- Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) or PMDD (physical and emotional symptoms that linger up to two weeks before your menstruation)
- Mood fluctuations, Fatigue, exhaustion, or insomnia, especially prior to or during your period
- Cravings, bloating, or irritability during the second half of your cycle
These symptoms are not “just in your head”— These symptoms are genuine and frequently tied to hormone fluctuations.
How Functional Testing Can Help
Functional lab tests offer insights into how your hormones are functioning.
Two key types of testing include:
1. LC-MS Hormone Testing (Steroid Hormone Profile)
This test uses liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS)—a highly accurate way to measure your sex hormones. It assesses:
- Estradiol (E2), Estrone (E1), Estriol (E3) – types of estrogen
- Progesterone (Pg) – essential for the second half of your cycle
- Testosterone (T), DHEA-S – important for vitality and libido
- Cortisol (C) – your stress response hormone
Why it’s important:
These results can reveal imbalances that result in undesirable symptoms, such as low progesterone, estrogen dominance, or androgen excess.
2. Diurnal Cortisol
The diurnal cortisol rhythm reflects your body’s daily stress hormone (cortisol) pattern, which should peak in the morning and gradually decline throughout the day. When we pair menstrual hormone analysis with cortisol testing, we get a comprehensive picture of how stress affects hormonal health, which is frequently the missing piece in cases of:
- PMS or PMDD
- Irregular or absent periods
- Low libido or fatigue
- Difficulty sleeping
- Anxiety around the luteal phase
- Hormonal acne or weight fluctuations
Many women experience “normal” hormone levels in blood tests, but still have symptoms. This is frequently due to the fact that conventional testing doesn’t reveal how hormones are metabolized or how cortisol is affecting them. While LC-MS profile 7 and diurnal cortisol testing are great tools, they are only two of many available. Depending on your symptoms, health history, and goals, there are plenty of other hormone tests that may be more suitable for you.
How This Testing Relates to the Menstrual Cycle
In reproductive-age women, LC-MS testing is ideally scheduled during the mid-luteal phase (around Days 19–21) or conducted cycle mapping across multiple days to observe how hormone levels fluctuate throughout the menstrual cycle.
This will help us understand:
- Progesterone sufficiency (key for fertility, PMS, and essential for mood control)
- Estrogen dominance or clearance issues (which can lead to heavy periods, fibroids, fibrocystic breasts, or endometriosis symptoms)
- Androgen imbalance (often involved in acne, hair loss, or PCOS)
- Cortisol disruption (which may impair ovulation or alter the length of the luteal phase)
By using LC-MS and diurnal cortisol testing together, we can pinpoint dysfunctions more precisely and customize natural treatments like:
- Herbal support
- Nutraceuticals (B6, magnesium, DIM, omega-3s)
- Lifestyle and dietary changes
- Stress-reduction protocols
Why Test? Benefits of Functional Hormone Testing
- Determine the root causes of symptoms like migraines, insomnia, fatigue, or PMS.
- Track hormone patterns instead of guessing.
- Create tailored individualized plans using diet, lifestyle, and supplements.
- Track your response to therapy or treatment over time
Takeaway: Your Hormones Deserves Your Attention
Hormonal symptoms aren’t “just part of being a woman.” They are signals or indicators from your body that something might be out of balance. Accurate testing, such as LC-MS hormone and diurnal cortisol, can help you and your healthcare provider better understand your body and take steps to support it naturally. Whether you’re struggling with cycle-related mood fluctuations, headaches, or just want to maximize your hormonal health, functional testing can provide genuine solutions and better results.
Interested in testing?
Reach out to schedule a discovery call or learn more about whether LC-MS hormone testing with diurnal cortisol is right for you.
