Menopause is the cessation of periods for at least 12 months due to the absence of ovulation and lower production of hormones like estrogen and progesterone. Menopause is considered by most medical societies as a clinical diagnosis not a laboratory diagnosis. However, testing can clarify when someone has stopped having periods.
Then, there’s perimenopause, which refers to the body’s transition into menopause. Perimenopause takes place over several years, so you may not always know how close you are to menopause. You may go several months without a period, and then have a period, which means you are not yet in menopause.
Because of this, some women may use at-home menopause tests to try to better understand where they are in perimenopause and menopause.
[READ: Can a Plant-Based Diet Help With Hot Flashes?]
Menopause Symptoms
Common symptoms related to the transition to menopause include:
— Decrease in sex drive
— Irregular periods
— Mood changes
— Sleep disruption
Each woman’s experience of these and other symptoms can vary, says Dr. Talia Aron, a family medicine specialist and medical director of PlushCare, a virtual health platform.
[Related:Signs and Symptoms of a Hormonal Imbalance]
How Health Care Providers Define Menopause
Health care providers typically diagnose menopause based on a woman’s symptoms and menstrual cycle. If you haven’t had your period for 12 consecutive months and there’s no other proven cause of the lack of periods, you’re considered to be in menopause.
Most of the time, lab testing isn’t needed to determine a menopause diagnosis, says Dr. Stephanie Faubion, director of the Mayo Clinic Center for Women’s Health and medical director of The Menopause Society.
The average age in the U.S. for women to stop their periods is 51, while early menopause is considered a stop of your periods between ages 40 and 45, says Dr. JoAnn Pinkerton, professor of OB-GYN and director of Midlife Health at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville and past president and executive director emeritus of The Menopause Society.
[READ: Hormone Replacement Therapy for Menopause]
Menopause At-Home Tests
Hormones that change in menopause include:
— Estrogen, which decreases as you get closer to menopause
— Progesterone, which also lowers as you reach menopause
— Follicle-stimulating hormone, or FSH, which increases as estrogen decreases
— Anti-mullerian hormone, used to estimate remaining egg supply. This is more commonly measured with a workup for infertility.
Tests can measure the level of these hormones in your blood, saliva or urine.
There are some commercially available tests, as well as clinician-ordered lab tests, that can test hormone levels related to perimenopause and menopause. Some examples of at-home perimenopause and menopause tests include:
— Clearblue Menopause Indicator (around $20), which has users test their urine every other day with a dipstick to measure FSH levels. With help from the related app, the test says it can reveal the menopause stage that you’re likely in: premenopause, early perimenopause, late perimenopause, or postmenopause.
— Everlywell Perimenopause Test ($99), an at-home blood test that measures FSH, estradiol (the main form of estrogen in the body) and luteinizing hormone, the hormone that stimulates ovarian follicles in the ovaries. Using a finger prick, you get a blood sample and send it to a lab to get results. This particular test works with CLIA-certified labs, which means the labs are regulated and you can have some trust in the results.
— myLAB Box Perimenopause Test ($99), which measures estradiol, FSH and progesterone levels using your blood and saliva samples. You send in the samples and then get your results in a couple of days. If the test shows you’re in perimenopause, you receive a free consultation with a health care provider to discuss the results. myLAB Box also works with CLIA-certified labs.
[READ: The Menopause Diet: The best diet plan for mitigating symptoms and weight gain.]
When to Use an At-Home Menopause Test
There may be some situations when you would consider using an at-home menopause test:
— You don’t get your periods.
— Your periods have stopped but you’re at an age that’s typically early for menopause.
— You’ve skipped a period or two but you’re near menopausal age. You’re curious to know if you’re pregnant or entering menopause. (To be clear, at-home menopause tests can’t tell you if you’re pregnant.)
Pros and Cons of At-Home Menopause Tests
While tests may vary slightly in the way they’re done or what they cost, there are some general pros and cons associated with at-home menopause tests.
Some pros of at-home menopause tests include:
— Convenience and privacy
— Taken into account along with your period history, they can provide a snapshot of what’s happened to you hormonally. “The menopause test results might help a woman understand that she’s in the menopause transition even if she’s still having periods or if her provider isn’t listening to her symptoms or discussing menopause with her,” Pinkerton says.
Some drawbacks of at-home menopause tests include:
— Some tests can be expensive.
— Due to hormone fluctuations, the results aren’t always reliable. Your level of hormones measured in these tests can vary widely based on normal fluctuations. These fluctuations happen naturally depending on your monthly menstrual cycle but also can vary a lot when you’re in perimenopause. “The tests may not provide a comprehensive understanding of menopause or its stages,” Aron says.
— You don’t typically need an at-home menopause test to tell you if you’re in menopause.
Can At-Home Tests Tell You If You’re in Menopause?
“There’s no single blood test or at-home menopause test that reliably predicts when a woman is going to go through menopause or exactly where she is in the menopausal transition,” Pinkerton says. “I don’t usually recommend over-the-counter testing, but I’m happy to look at the test results, menstrual history and bothersome symptoms to understand where they are in the menopause process.”
Although PlushCare strongly believes in at-home medical testing, Aron says the best course of action for a woman who wants to know her menopausal stage is to see a healthcare provider who can provide a full assessment. This includes medical history, symptoms and possibly blood tests to measure hormone levels.
When to See a Healthcare Provider for Menopause-Related Symptoms
You don’t always have to see a healthcare provider for menopause-related symptoms. However, it’s a good idea to do so if:
— You’re having bothersome symptoms that interfere with your daily activities. “There’s no reason to suffer with symptoms. There are many options for treatment, both hormonal and nonhormonal,” Faubion says. Another reason to see a provider for menopausal symptoms is to confirm the symptoms are actually associated with menopause and not another medical condition.
— You’ve reached menopause before the age of 40. When this happens, hormone therapy is often recommended to stop the potential bad effects of estrogen loss on the bone, brain and heart.
— You’ve missed three periods in a row and you’re not sure why.
Speaking with your healthcare provider about symptoms during your annual check-up is a great chance to assess where you are in perimenopausal and menopausal transition and to discuss what treatments may help.
“Unfortunately, many times women are just told the cycle changes and symptoms are ‘normal.’ There’s no attempt to educate about perimenopause and menopause or suggest lifestyle changes that could help until the symptoms become severe enough that a woman is asking — sometimes begging — for help,” Pinkerton says.
Helping to Manage Menopausal Symptoms at Home
You can help manage your menopausal symptoms by:
— Avoiding or cutting down on the use of alcohol
— Getting regular physical activity
— Doing what you can to manage stress
— Asking a health care provider about non-hormonal or hormonal treatments to help manage your symptoms
The Menopause Society also has a section called “Menopause & Me” with helpful articles and video resources. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists also has more information on their website, in a section called, “The Menopause Years.”
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At-Home Menopause Tests: Pros and Cons, What They Test and When to See a Provider originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 08/22/24: This story was previously published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
