Hormone Test for Women: Which Test, How to Order, What Next

There is no single “hormone test” for women. There are separate blood tests for separate hormones, and each one answers a narrow question. The right one depends on why you are asking: a late or irregular period, trouble conceiving, symptoms in your 40s, extra hair growth, or a result you already have.

This guide matches common questions to tests, explains when one test is enough and a panel is not, and covers ordering, timing and what to do with the result.

Which test fits your question?

Match the question to the test. Each row says what the source behind it says the test is used for.

Your question	Test to consider	What it can show
How many eggs do I have left?	AMH	AMH generally reflects how many eggs remain in the ovaries. It cannot tell you about egg health or predict pregnancy.
Is low progesterone part of why I am not getting pregnant?	Progesterone	Progesterone rises after ovulation, so the result depends on where you are in your cycle.
My periods are irregular or have stopped	FSH and LH. A clinician may also look at prolactin and testosterone.	MedlinePlus lists irregular or stopped periods as a reason for FSH, LH and prolactin tests.
I am under 45 with menopause-type symptoms or period changes	FSH, often with LH	MedlinePlus lists early menopause (before 45) and premature menopause (40 or younger) as reasons to test FSH.
I am 45 or older with symptoms	Usually no test needed. See the perimenopause test page.	MedlinePlus says FSH testing usually isn’t needed at 45 or older. The Office on Women’s Health says your provider can usually tell if you are in perimenopause from your age, symptoms and changes in your periods.
Extra body or facial hair, acne, scalp hair loss, voice change	Testosterone, sometimes with SHBG or DHEA-S	These are the symptoms MedlinePlus lists for testosterone testing in women. See PCOS tests.
Breast milk when not pregnant or nursing, or nipple discharge	Prolactin	MedlinePlus lists these among the symptoms that prompt a prolactin test.
A general check, or many symptoms and no clear question	A panel, or the test finder	See one test or a panel below.

If you already take hormone therapy, your prescriber decides which labs to run. Order what they name.

Sold by HealthLabs. Prices checked October 2026. Not available in ND, RI, NY, NJ, MD and HI. We earn a commission on sales.

What the main tests measure

These descriptions follow MedlinePlus.

Estradiol is the main estrogen in nonpregnant females of childbearing age. Estrone is the only estrogen females keep making after menopause. Estrogen levels in females fluctuate, so you may need more than one test to see a trend. See estrogen tests and the estradiol test.
FSH helps control the menstrual cycle and triggers the growth of eggs in the ovaries. Results are read together with your age, symptoms and other hormone tests, especially LH.
LH triggers the release of an egg and rises sharply just before ovulation. LH testing is usually done together with FSH.
Progesterone rises in the second half of the cycle, after ovulation. See when to test progesterone.
AMH is made by the ovaries. See what AMH can and can’t show.
Testosterone comes as total (bound and unbound) and free (unbound only). Total is the more common test. MedlinePlus says low testosterone is normal for women, but “extremely low levels” may signal an adrenal, pituitary or ovarian disorder.
SHBG is a protein made mostly in the liver that attaches to testosterone and estrogen. Hormone-containing medicines such as birth control pills and estrogen therapy can change it.
DHEA-S is used to look for the cause of masculine features in women and girls, to check adrenal gland function and to evaluate ovary disorders.
Prolactin is checked when symptoms could be explained by higher-than-normal levels, and it is usually drawn about three to four hours after you wake up.

One test or a panel?

A single test answers one question and costs the least. A panel bundles several tests into one order. The seller’s three female hormone panels are mostly general health markers, and that is the main thing to know before you buy one.

The Basic panel’s page lists eight items. Only two of them are sex hormone tests: estradiol and testosterone, which the page describes as total testosterone. The rest are IGF-1, thyroid tests, and routine health tests (a metabolic panel, a blood count, a cholesterol panel and a urinalysis). The Standard panel adds growth hormone and total estrogens. The Comprehensive panel adds free testosterone, DHEA-S and a set of general markers such as hemoglobin A1c, vitamin B12, folate, homocysteine, uric acid and high-sensitivity CRP.

None of the three panels lists FSH, LH, progesterone, AMH, prolactin or SHBG. If your question is about your cycle, ovulation, egg supply or periods, a panel does not answer it.

A panel can make sense if you want several of its general markers anyway and prefer one fasting draw to several orders. If you only need two or three hormones, add up the single tests first. They can cost less than a panel. The panel picker does the sum and shows which tests cover everything you tick.

How to order

The seller’s tests are lab blood tests, not home kits. The seller’s pages describe a simple blood draw, and say no urine sample, swab or physical exam is involved for the single tests. You order online, go to a lab to have blood drawn, and see the result in your online account. The seller’s single-test pages say you can access results within one to three business days. Its pages also carry a banner saying most results arrive in one to three days. The panels also include a urinalysis, which the seller says examines a urine sample.

A few practical points:

The tests are not sold in every state. See where testing is unavailable before you order.
For a full walk-through, see how walk-in lab testing works and results timing.
You may be able to pay with an HSA or FSA. See HSA and FSA.
If you want a kit at home instead, see at-home vs lab hormone tests.

When to test, and how to prepare

Your cycle. MedlinePlus says people who menstruate may need FSH and LH tested at a specific point in their cycle, because levels change through the month. Progesterone rises after ovulation, so the day matters. The seller’s progesterone page describes testing about one week before the expected period in women with regular cycles, to confirm ovulation. That is a description, not an instruction for your order, so follow what your clinician or lab says. The seller’s AMH page says AMH results are stable through the cycle and do not need timing around ovulation. Its estradiol and total estrogen pages say levels vary through the cycle but give no timing instruction. For help, see when in your cycle to test and the cycle timing tool.

Fasting. The seller says the Basic, Standard and Comprehensive panels require fasting: water only, for at least 8 hours, and that not fasting may affect results. Its single-test pages say fasting is not required, but that wording is shared across many pages, so treat it as a general note. MedlinePlus says for a prolactin test you may be asked to fast for several hours. Follow the instructions on your lab order. See fasting for hormone tests.

Medicines. MedlinePlus says some supplements and medicines, such as birth control pills and menopause hormone therapy, may need to be stopped before an estrogen test, and that you should tell your provider about everything you take. Do not stop any medicine unless your provider tells you to.

Pregnancy. Hormone levels read differently in pregnancy. If you are or might be pregnant, talk to a clinician before relying on any result here.

What happens next

Read the range on your own report. Labs often use different methods and ranges, so MedlinePlus says to use the range printed on your report and not compare with ranges from elsewhere.
Do not read one number alone. Results are interpreted with your age, symptoms, medical history and other tests. Females’ hormone levels fluctuate, so you may be asked to test again.
Outside the range is not always a problem. MedlinePlus notes that healthy people sometimes fall outside the reference range.
Take the result to a clinician who can weigh it with everything else.

What these tests can’t tell you

Hormone tests are not usually needed to identify perimenopause. The Office on Women’s Health says your provider can usually tell from your age, symptoms and changes in your periods, and that blood hormone tests are not usually needed. MedlinePlus says FSH testing usually isn’t needed at 45 or older, because high FSH is a normal sign of perimenopause and menopause. MedlinePlus says you have reached menopause when you have not had a period for 12 months.
They cannot diagnose PCOS. MedlinePlus says there is no specific test for PCOS. A provider uses your history, an exam, a pelvic ultrasound and blood tests together.
AMH cannot predict pregnancy or when menopause will happen. MedlinePlus says so directly.
A testosterone test alone cannot diagnose any condition.

If your question is about thyroid health, note that MedlinePlus says TSH is usually the first thyroid test a provider orders. The panels list thyroid items (T3 uptake, total T4 and a free thyroxine index) but do not name TSH.

When to see a clinician

See a clinician if your periods change or stop, especially before 45. The Office on Women’s Health says to tell your provider if your periods stop or become irregular before 45. Your provider may order blood tests, which it says are most useful before 40. See one if you have been unable to get pregnant after 12 months of trying, if you have signs such as extra facial or body hair, or if you are pregnant or might be. Bring your results with you.

Hormone test for women: which test to get, how to order and what happens next