Announcing New, Easy at-Home Hormone Testing with ZRT Laboratory Tests!

Whether you’re on hormones, just curious about your health, or you want to check your adrenal glands (stress hormones)—I wanted testing that’s easy, accurate for your therapy type, and customer-friendly. 

After reviewing labs, I chose ZRT Laboratory. We can now see what’s happening with your hormones, stress, and metabolism using simple at-home kits: saliva, fingerstick dried blood spot, and (when needed) dried urine.  

Why ZRT? 

1. Right test for the job. ZRT offers saliva, dried blood spot, dried urine, and serum—so we match the test to how you take your hormones (topical, pellet, oral, etc.). Typical turnaround is 5–7 business days after the lab gets your kit.  

2. Better estrogen testing in saliva. ZRT uses an extraction step so very low estrogen levels (common after menopause) can be measured more accurately. If you use a troche/sublingual, we’ll use blood spot instead (troches can contaminate saliva).  

3. Topicals make sense here. With creams, gels, patches, or vaginal dosing, standard serum can underreport what reaches your tissues. Saliva and capillary/fingerstick blood reflect tissue uptake better. A randomized study of topical progesterone showed saliva ≈10× and capillary blood ≈100× higher than serum—so serum alone can mislead.  

4. Clear rules by therapy. Quick guide: 

   • Topical/vaginal: use saliva or blood spot; don’t use dried urine to monitor dosing 

   • Troche/sublingual: use blood spot, not saliva 

   • Pellet/IM: any of the above works 
     These rules come from ZRT’s testing guide.  

5. This is a real CLIA-certified lab. At-home kits, no needles for most tests. (And no—this is not that Silicon Valley fiasco you’ve heard about.)  

What We’re Launching at TREVI

We’re starting with fingerstick blood spot in-clinic. It’s quick, clean, and a good match for most patients whose bloodwork hasn’t matched how they feel. 

1) Female Blood Panel 1 (DBS) 

Looks at: Estradiol (E2), Progesterone (Pg), Testosterone (T), SHBG (binding protein), DHEAS, morning Cortisol. 

Good for: Baseline hormone check; monitoring when on topicals or pellets.  

2) Male Blood Panel 1 (DBS) 

Looks at: Estradiol (E2), Testosterone (T), PSA, SHBG, DHEAS, morning Cortisol. 

Good for: Baseline hormone check; monitoring on topicals or pellets.  

3) Diurnal Cortisol (Saliva x4) 

Looks at: Your stress pattern across the day (morning, noon, evening, night). 

Good for: Fatigue, poor sleep, “tired-but-wired,” or suspected adrenal issues.  

4) Estrogen Essentials

(Dried Urine) is a simple at-home dried urine test that shows how your body breaks down estrogen. Some breakdown routes are “gentler,” and some are “harsher.” Seeing your pattern helps us finetune your plan (food, lifestyle, and, if needed, supplements or hormone dose/route) to keep you safer. ZRT designed this panel to look at 12 estrogen markers that map those routes. 

Looks at: Which path your estrogen prefers (there are three main routes). And how well your “cleanup step” works (your body’s way of making estrogen byproducts easier to clear). 

Good for: You have a family history of breast cancer or you’re worried about your risk.

• OR You are on hormones and want to know how you process estrogen.

• OR You’re not on hormones but want a safety check on estrogen handling.  

Want more options? (like urine metabolites or melatonin)? We’ll link our microsite so you can see the full menu and order those directly. 

“Which test should I pick?” (plain talk) 

• I use a cream/gel/patch or vaginal: choose Blood Spot (add Saliva if we need tissue-level detail). Don’t use dried urine to monitor these.  

• I use a troche/sublingual: choose Blood Spot (no saliva).  

• I have pellets or IM shots: any of our options work.  

How it works 

1. Pick your kit (we’ll help). 

2. Collect at home with simple steps. 

3. Mail it in the prepaid envelope. 

4. Review results together and adjust your plan. 
   Most results are back in 5–7 business days after the lab receives your samples.  

Quick answers 

• Do I have to stop hormones? Usually no. We time collection to your routine.  

• Is fingerstick real testing? Yes. It’s capillary blood on a card—ideal for hormone therapy, and it avoids a lab draw.  

• Can urine check my cream dose? No. Urine is for metabolites and daily cortisol, not for monitoring topical/vaginal dosing.  

Ready to start? 

Contact us today and get started with the test that’s right for you.