Hormone Testing in Los Gatos
You’ve been told your bloodwork is fine, but you’re exhausted, your weight won’t budge, and you’re wide awake at 3 AM.
Hormone testing is often treated like a checklist: test a few markers, compare them to a reference range, and move on.
Hormones do not work that way, and what we don’t test, we can’t treat. YNC runs comprehensive hormone panels and reads them as a system, against your symptoms rather than a printout.
Hormone testing is one key component of our comprehensive longevity testing protocol, which evaluates biological age, metabolic health, cardiovascular risk, and cellular function alongside your hormonal profile to give you a complete picture of how you are aging.
What a Hormone Panel Includes
Say your testosterone comes back low. That could point to a problem with your reproductive organs, but could also mean cortisol is high or SHBG is too low. Or one of a number of problems!
One number can’t tell the full story, which is why we run and analyze these together.
| Hormones Tested | What It Tells Us | Women’s Testing | Men’s Testing |
| Cortisol, DHEA-S | Information that may help evaluate adrenal function and related symptoms. | ✓ | ✓ |
| Thyroid (TSH, Free T3, Free T4) | Metabolism, energy, weight, and mood; thyroid trouble can mimic sex-hormone symptoms | ✓ | ✓ |
| Estradiol, progesterone, FSH | Relevant to reproductive function, menstrual status, and clinically indicated hormone evaluation. | ✓ | ✓ |
| Prolactin | Pituitary signaling, which affects both cycles and testosterone | ✓ | ✓ |
| Sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) | Active hormone availability | ✓ | ✓ |
| Testosterone | Bone and muscle strength, mood, sex drive, energy | ✓ | ✓ |
| Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) | Affects hair, skin and prostate | ✓ | ✓ |
| Prostate-specific antigen (PSA), free and total | Prostate health marker | ✗ | ✓ |
| Hba1c, Leptin, Insulin HOMA-ir, Vitamin D | Related to glucose regulation, insulin sensitivity, metabolic health, and vitamin D status | ✓ | ✓ |
What other blood work do we need?
All the basics: iron panel, organ function through a comprehensive metabolic panel, inflammatory markers, and a cardiovascular marker panel. While we are at it – knowing your nutrient status wouldn’t hurt!
What We Can Also Test for During a Hormone Evaluation
Hormones don’t act alone, so we look at what they affect and what affects them:
- DEXA scan: Measures bone density, which moves with estrogen and testosterone.
- Coronary calcium score: Detects plaque in the heart’s arteries. Hormonal changes affect vascular health, so we assess them together.
- Polygenic risk from Allelica for early menopause, osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, cognitive health, cancer risks, and predisposition to diabetes.
- ApoE4 and polygenic risk: Maps genetic risk for Alzheimer’s and heart disease, reviewed with your provider so a result is never read in isolation.
- Cardiometabolic testing: Assesses insulin sensitivity, lipids, and inflammation, all of which respond to hormonal changes.
- Nutrient and gut health analysis: Reviews vitamin D, magnesium, B vitamins, and digestive function, which affect hormone processing.
Who Should Get Tested, and When
If you’re 35 or older, this is a reasonable time to test even without obvious symptoms. It gives us a baseline to compare against later.
You don’t have to wait for an age if any of this sounds familiar:
- Fatigue that sleep doesn’t fix
- Brain fog or trouble focusing
- Unexplained weight changes
- Changes in libido or sexual function
- Mood changes, anxiety, or depression
- Trouble staying asleep, or night sweats
- Hair thinning, dry skin, or new acne
- Irregular cycles, heavy periods, or perimenopausal changes
- Muscle loss or slower recovery
- A family history of hormone-related conditions
Why Interpretation Matters More Than the Numbers
A normal testosterone level can still be too low for a 45-year-old training for an Ironman. Estradiol swings week to week in perimenopause, so one in-range reading proves very little.
Normal means you’re not an outlier, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re well. A result within the laboratory reference range doesn’t explain every symptom on its own. Test results should be evaluated alongside your medical history, symptoms, physical findings, and other clinically relevant information
At our Los Gatos clinic, we review your results against your symptoms, age, stress load, and what you want your next ten years to look like, not against a range.
Why Patients Choose YNC
Hormones are our specialty: YNC is doctor-owned, and Dr. Renee Young has treated hormones in men and women for close to 25 years. The doctor who orders your panel is the one who reviews it with you.
Breadth so that we can rule things out: Most clinics stop at three or four hormones. We run a wider panel across your whole health, so we rule out causes instead of guessing.
Testing and treatment at one address: Consultation, blood draw, hormone replacement, and follow-up care all happen here in Los Gatos. No chasing records between offices.
You don’t need more numbers. You need a doctor who knows what to do with them. If you’re in Los Gatos, San Jose, or Almaden, that doctor is close by.
“After 3 months… better body composition, a calmer mood, and sleep that doesn’t feel like I’m wrestling a bear all night.”
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