When Spit Won't Work
A lot of "hormone specialists" or "bioidentical replacement specialists" will tell their patients to spit into a tube at certain times for a period of days, and then send the whole set of tubes to a lab for testing. The theory here is that the free hormones in spit will reflect the levels of free hormone in the blood and presto! Treatment can be made based on these numbers.
If only that worked.
Let's start with some obvious clues. Do diabetics use spit to test their insulin levels, or do they use blood?( Correct answer-blood). Do fertility specialists use spit testing, or do they use blood tests? (Correct answer, blood) Do endocrinologists(doctors specializing in the treatment of hormonal problems) ever use spit tests to measure hormone levels in blood for treatment of a patient? (Correct answer, no, not unless they want to lose their license).
If spit testing, which is much cheaper than blood testing, really worked, insurance companies would be demanding that we use it and would stop paying for blood testing. I'd be really happy if I didn't have to go get blood taken from my arm a couple of times a year, personally. But until a better technology has been developed, that's what you have to do to get an accurate measurement of the hormone levels in your blood supply. Blood testing is also essential to get an accurate measurement of the whole hormone picture-bound hormones, weakly bound hormones, and free hormones. We used to think that only the free hormones mattered, but now we know that even weakly bound hormones affect the function of hormone receptors
Why else is spit testing so inaccurate? For starters, if you are using plastic tubes, the spit will cause a breakdown of the plastic and the saliva will get contaminated with the chemicals in the plastic, chemicals which are usually estrogen-like. Reputable blood testing companies ALWAYS use glass for just that reason.
The saliva itself can be affected by lots of common medications like antihistamines, antidepressants, and some cold and sleep remedies, and this will change the results. Not to mention the disruption in the saliva that may occur thanks to your diet, your toothpaste, your glass of wine....you get the picture.
Although saliva testing of the so-called stress hormone, cortisol, is widely used in research studies, it is not properly used for the diagnosis and treatment of hormone problems. Do yourself a favor, and stick with blood tests. Other wise, you may end up with the wrong hormones in the wrong dose-not a pretty picture!
You can read about one doctor who compared saliva tests and blood tests of her patients, and what she discovered here:
http://www.blogher.com/can-i-use-saliva-tests-get-reliable-check-my-hormones