If you've ever asked your doctor about getting a hormone panel during perimenopause, chances are you were met with hesitation or a flat-out refusal. The reasoning? "Hormones fluctuate too much to be useful." But if that logic holds, then why do we track other health metrics that fluctuate just as much?
Heart rate, blood pressure, and weight all shift throughout the day, week, and month based on activity, stress, hydration, and a dozen other factors. Yet doctors still encourage us to track these numbers because trends over time provide meaningful insights. So why is hormone testing held to a different standard?
Fluctuations Don’t Make Data Useless
A single blood pressure reading doesn’t define whether someone has hypertension. A single weight measurement doesn’t capture metabolic health. That’s why doctors look at trends rather than isolated numbers. Hormones should be no different.
During perimenopause, estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone levels swing unpredictably. One test might show normal levels, while a test two weeks later could look completely different. That doesn’t mean the information is meaningless. Regular testing could help connect hormonal shifts with symptoms like brain fog, mood swings, and sleep disruptions, making it easier to create an effective treatment plan.
Hormones Control Everything, Yet We Ignore Them
Heart rate and blood pressure are important, but hormones regulate nearly every system in the body. They impact metabolism, bone density, cardiovascular health, brain function, and more. If we justify tracking fluctuating metrics like blood sugar or cholesterol because they give insight into long-term health, hormones deserve the same attention.
For some women, perimenopause symptoms can be debilitating even when a one-time hormone test says everything is "normal." If we monitored these levels over time, we might see patterns that align with symptoms, giving doctors better tools to provide personalized care.
The Medical System Is Slow to Evolve
One reason doctors don’t rely on hormone panels is that traditional medical training doesn’t emphasize them. Historically, women’s health—especially menopause and perimenopause—has been understudied. Medical models have largely been based on male physiology, which follows a more predictable hormonal pattern.
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) was controversial for years due to flawed studies, and many doctors were trained to avoid it. Even though research has evolved, the medical system hasn’t fully caught up. Instead of exploring personalized hormone management, many doctors still rely on a symptom-based approach that often leaves women feeling unheard and untreated.
The Future of Personalized Healthcare
In functional and integrative medicine, hormone tracking is already being used to tailor treatments, much like continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) are changing how we manage blood sugar. More people are advocating for data-driven, personalized healthcare rather than outdated, one-size-fits-all approaches. Hormone testing could be an essential part of this shift.
If your doctor dismisses hormone panels because hormones "fluctuate too much," it’s worth pushing back. Fluctuations haven’t stopped us from tracking other health markers, and they shouldn’t be an excuse to ignore hormone trends. If we want to improve perimenopause care, we need to stop treating hormones like an unpredictable mystery and start treating them like the essential health markers they are.