Ten has had irregular menstrual periods since she was 20 years old. Now, 10 years later, it is still a problem. Her periods come infrequently, about once every 3 or 4 months (which is very scary). The amount varies, sometimes normal, sometimes light.
Actually, Ten has had a pelvic exam, Thin Prep test, and vaginal ultrasound, but no abnormalities were found. So she decided to try hormone level testing because she wanted to know what was wrong with her. She didn’t want to ignore it until it became a serious problem that couldn’t be fixed. She thought hormone testing would be the answer.
Why choose Phyathai 2 Hospital?
When looking for a hormone test package, Ten looked for a package with many tests so she wouldn’t have to test multiple times to find the cause. The package included sex hormone tests, thyroid disorder tests, growth hormone tests, and insulin tests.
Here are the details of the tests Ten had:
- Insulin or fasting blood sugar level test
- Sex hormone level test
- Estradiol (E2) hormone level test, a female sex hormone that the body can produce itself
- Luteinizing Hormone (LH) level test, a hormone related to reproduction that surges during ovulation. Without this hormone, one cannot conceive, but high LH levels may indicate ovarian cysts
- Progesterone hormone level test, another female sex hormone related to menstruation and pregnancy
- Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) level test, a hormone that stimulates egg maturation. Without this hormone, infertility may occur
- Sex Hormone Binding Globulin test, used to assess abnormal androgen conditions. Androgens are male sex hormones, and if women have too much, it can cause tumors or male-pattern hair growth like mustaches or beards
- DHEA-Sulphate hormone level test, measuring precursors for producing other hormones in the body, especially sex hormones
- IGF1 (Insulin-like Growth Hormone Factor) hormone level test, commonly known as growth hormone
- IGFBP3 test to check for growth hormone deficiency or excessive growth hormone conditions (Acromegaly)
- Thyroid function tests, usually measuring three key hormones:
- TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone), the most sensitive hormone for evaluating thyroid function
- T3 (Triiodothyronine Free), produced by the thyroid gland, normally less than T4 but 10 times less active
- T4 (Thyroxine Free), produced by the thyroid gland
Although Phyathai 2 Hospital is located in the city next to BTS Sanam Pao, this time Ten decided to drive herself. Not wanting to get stuck in traffic, she scheduled an appointment with the doctor at 8 a.m. on Saturday. The hospital has parking in two buildings, so no need to drive around looking for a spot.
Upon arrival, she went to Building B, 8th floor, without needing to register downstairs because this is the Premier Life Center, which has a separate registration point so there’s no waiting in line. The doctor was already waiting to see her, and within 5 minutes, the appointment started as scheduled.
View Google Maps for Phyathai 2 Hospital (https://goo.gl/maps/gzNxYzWxKPP2)
Hormone testing procedure
The nurse measured weight, height, and blood pressure before taking Ten to the doctor’s office, which had a large comfortable white sofa to sit on. Then the doctor sat down to talk with her on the sofa in a relaxed atmosphere, asking about her lifestyle, whether she exercises regularly, drinks alcohol, works hard or is stressed, and if she takes any vitamins.
Ten couldn’t remember which vitamins she was taking (because she took many), so the doctor asked her to add the center’s LINE account and send photos of all the vitamins she was taking.
After the conversation, the doctor had the nurse draw blood for testing. After the blood draw, Ten could go home. She liked that the doctor was not in a hurry, listened carefully, took notes on what she said, and gave initial advice (for example, if drinking alcohol, don’t drink too much, 2-3 glasses are enough).
She remembered talking with the doctor for almost 20 minutes, which was different from when she was sick and went to see a doctor who sometimes didn’t fully explain the symptoms before leaving the room.
Hormone test results
The hospital scheduled a follow-up appointment to discuss the results one week later. She returned to the same long white sofa at 8 a.m. on Saturday, where the doctor personally explained the results. Ten really liked how the doctor explained the results clearly and in an easy-to-understand way.
Here are the hormone test results, neatly filed.
The first page shows the program name and her physical information.
The other page shows hormone test results. The red numbers indicate abnormal hormone levels. It may look a bit complicated, but the doctor explains the results to us.
From the moment of hearing the results, Ten was impressed because the doctor had done a lot of homework. She saw many messy notes written on the iPad. The doctor didn’t just look at the results with her at that moment but read the test results alongside the vitamin list Ten sent, notes taken during the lifestyle and symptom discussion, and notes from consulting with the center’s head doctor, which provided various opinions before explaining to her. Importantly, she heard that the center head doctor’s profile is impressive, having graduated from Harvard.
The most exciting part of the test was the sex hormone results because she wanted to know why her periods were irregular. The results showed that her sex hormone levels were quite high but nothing to worry about. The doctor explained that the blood test was probably done during ovulation when sex hormone levels naturally fluctuate throughout the month and life stages, such as ovulation and menopause.
But it wasn’t that her 10,000+ baht was wasted because the next unexpected finding was that she had subclinical hypothyroidism, or commonly called “obese thyroid.” This was seen from an elevated TSH level, meaning the thyroid gland had to work harder than normal to regulate T3 and T4 hormone levels within the normal range.
Simply put, if thyroid symptoms are divided into 10 levels, level 10 means having thyroid disease. Ten’s level was only 6-7, so it was not considered full thyroid disease yet, and she didn’t need to be referred for treatment (a bit of relief). This condition might cause her to feel cold easily, have a slow metabolism, and hair loss.
That explained everything. When working in the office, her coworkers felt hot, but Ten felt cold alone and had to wear several layers of blankets. If treatment was needed, the doctor explained that the advantage of testing at the hospital is that the case can be referred to hospital doctors for treatment. The hospital doctors and the anti-aging center doctors work together to treat her with medication and lifestyle changes to promote health.
The doctor also advised what to do to improve thyroid function, such as possibly iodine deficiency. The doctor recommended using iodized salt or eating more seaweed and then rechecking blood results to see if it improved. For the next test, she could choose to test only specific hormones she wanted to follow up on without buying the whole package.
The next unexpected blood test result was that she was “stressed” based on low DHEA and IGF1 levels, meaning low growth hormone production. This was surprising because she always thought she could manage her stress well, but in reality, even if her mind wasn’t stressed, her body could be stressed without her knowing, likely due to insufficient rest from working and staying up late almost every day. When the body is stressed, it affects many things, such as slower body repair due to low growth hormone or even irregular menstruation! Although it’s not certain if stress is the cause, Ten felt hopeful.
After that, Ten tried to go to bed before midnight every day to allow growth hormone more time to work. She also took care of her diet, eating clean food more often, such as hormone-free meat, organic vegetables, miso soup with seaweed, and every morning she drinks a Metabolism Booster containing apple cider vinegar, Himalayan salt, and cream of tartar to improve thyroid function. For some reason, 2-3 months later, her periods returned regularly every month, although she hasn’t had further tests to see if abnormal hormone levels improved.
Ten liked that this hormone test was actionable and could be used to promote health. She had never met a doctor who cared about her while she was still healthy or advised her on what to adjust. The doctor also recommended vitamins based on the photos Ten sent, calculating which vitamins were excessive, deficient, or unnecessary, and which should be added. The center focuses on lifestyle adjustment, vitamin and supplement enhancement without using medication. If interested, the clinic can prepare personalized vitamins. For Ten, the doctor recommended iodine (for thyroid), Indian ginseng, and cordyceps (for stress), costing about 3,000 baht per month.
But since Ten already takes many vitamins, she wanted to try taking them herself first. The doctor didn’t object or try to push vitamin sales or courses, which Ten appreciated.
This review is very long. In summary, Ten felt very impressed with the hormone testing at Phyathai 2 because it was the first time a doctor really tried to understand and listen to her lifestyle and needs and took care of her before she got sick. She really liked it and has recommended many friends to get tested here.
