Fertility tests like Hertility are booming – but what can they tell me about my body? (Picture: Hertility)
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There’s nothing like doing a fertility test on a whim to find out you perhaps shouldn’t be living in blissful ignorance when it comes to your reproductive health.
Being 33 years old I really should care a lot more about this than I do. I’ve been amongst friends who’ve thought about their future families for years, and many had taken these at-home tests, such as Hertility, to gauge where their baby-making future sat.
I’ve always been boringly beige in the health department, from having no real issues after coming off the pill after more than a decade, to past blood tests suggesting previous issues with my lady bits were nothing but a rogue glitch. But when the opportunity to try Hertility appeared I jumped at the chance to get more clued up on my body. Give me intel on the intricate workings of it any day, I say.
And when NHS stats suggest 1 in 7 struggle to conceive naturally, there’s no harm in taking a little at-home test to see what might be happening below, right?
Before even getting a test, I filled out a pretty comprehensive online health assessment, which Hertility used to put together a personalised hormone panel and at-home blood collection kit. They mean business.
After the kit arrived in the post, taking the test was easy enough (if you’re not worried about blood, that is): on a specific day dictated by your cycle you use a little device to prick your finger safely, gently massage said finger as little drops of blood plop into a tube, package it up, pop it back in the post and in 10 days your results, analysed by one of Hertiilty’s gynaecologists, arrive in an email.
It’s a long 10 days, I’ll say that much.
Hertility Hormone and Fertility Test
I was never worried about my fertility, so what’s the harm in a test, eh?
Once they arrived, all aesthetically set out in an online portal, I combed through feverishly only to find that – mostly – my results were, again, boringly beige.
Mostly.
There were some areas I really wasn’t expecting to be a cause for concern.
Mostly, everything was ‘in range’, including my Follicle Stim. Hormone, my 17-Beta Oestradiol and my Thyroid. Here you get a little marker that shows your range, with a short explainer. Personally, I’d love some more information on those elements as to what that specifically means for my body and fertility, but I guess that’s why they suggest you follow up with a doctor.
My results displayed in bite-size, aesthetic fashion
When I clicked onto the next section however, I discovered my Anti Müllerian Hormone which was ‘high’.
According to the explainer underneath, ‘AMH levels provide a good indication for your ovarian reserve (how many eggs you have left)’, so being high is good…right?
Where things went a little higher than ‘in range’
Well, they actually provide an indication on whether someone has polycystic ovaries (high) or experiencing menopause (when you’ll have very low AMH).
Team that with a higher level of testosterone I appear to have, and we’ve got two indicators of PCOS. Two for two, dear reader.
And, to be frank, PCOS has never been on my radar…until now.
While I’m sure the purpose of the test isn’t the freak me the eff out, PCOS is a fairly common health condition that affects 1 in 10 women in the UK, according to the NHS. Linked to hormonal imbalance and metabolism problems that may affect overall health and appearance, it’s also linked with infertility.
So while my cycles are regular – literally to the day – and I’ve not experienced other symptoms, such as excess body hair, Hertility’s gynae suggests I undergo a pelvic ultrasound scan to investigate further.
Along with the results, the site also shares a bunch of tips on managing symptoms and hormone imbalances – but intel around AMH, what I now care only about, was missing and when it came to high testosterone, it was suggested I build up more lean muscle. Noted.
While I write this, I’m booked in with my GP to discuss my results further (Hertility does offer a further consultation with one of their private gynaecologists at an additional cost of £139, as well as an ultrasound for £219) to investigate whether these results are cause for concern.
Now I recognise this sort of testing is prohibitively expensive for some to do on a whim, but for me it was helpful in identifying areas of my reproductive health I wasn’t really thinking about – but evidently, should be.
For those wanting a little insight into their fertility and nothing major it’s a nice accompaniment, but if you’re fearing there may be something a little more complicated at play, I’d still speak with a GP.
I was living in blissful ignorance, until now.