Hormone tests

Chorionic gonadotropin is the main laboratory test for normal pregnancy. It can also be used as a marker for cancer.

If your periods are irregular, the blood test should be carried out daily, starting on the 8th day before the expected start of your period. Determining the maximum concentration allows you to assess the best time of day to get pregnant.

Blood levels of progesterone are used to confirm that the body is ovulating. The progesterone test can be used to determine the exact day of ovulation at various intervals.

Prolactin testing is needed to diagnose a tumour of the pituitary gland called prolactinoma, and after a diagnosis of prolactinoma, to monitor the treatment of the disease and to assess whether the treatment is effective.

Testosterone levels in women’s bodies may indicate the development of certain tumours. It may be reduced in cirrhosis, estrogen treatment, and in marked obesity.

The thyrotropin test is needed for screening and diagnosis of thyroid diseases (it is the most sensitive indicator of thyroid dysfunction), for monitoring the treatment of hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism, and for investigating the causes of female infertility.

A hormone produced by the thyroid gland. The free thyroxine test is much more accurate. Two parameters (TTH and FT4) are very important in differentiating between thyroid diseases.

It is a thyroid hormone produced in the tissues from thyroxine. Testing for free triiodothyronine is more accurate than total triiodothyronine. It is prescribed when thyroid disease is suspected.