Have a question about your test results? You can find answers to some common questions here.
Saliva testing has been used in scientific testing for decades and has been shown to be highly accurate. It is the most reliable way to measure free, bioavailable hormone activity — those hormones actually doing their job at the cell level. Standard blood testing does not measure bioavailable hormone levels. Numerous scientific studies have shown a strong correlation between the levels of steroid hormones in the bloodstream and the bio-available levels of steroid hormones in saliva. Peter T. Ellison, Ph.D. of the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, at Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, has used this method of hormone testing in cross-cultural comparisons of hormone levels among women living in industrialized vs. non-industrialized countries. (Human Reproduction vol.8 no.12 pp.2248-2258, 1993; Human Reproduction Vol.17, No.12 pp. 3251–3253, 2002.) His research in the field is the subject of his 2001 publication, On Fertile Ground: A Natural History of Human Reproduction (Harvard University Press). In addition, saliva hormone testing more accurately reflects tissue uptake and the response of hormones delivered through the skin in creams, gels, or patches than blood tests.
We test the following seven hormones in saliva:
Estradiol (E2)
Estrone (E1)
Estriol (E3)
Progesterone (Pg)
Testosterone (T)
DHEA-S
Cortisol (C)
Saliva testing for DHEA-S and cortisol as well as blood spot testing for thyroid, Vitamin D, and CardioMetabolic markers is definitely beneficial for women taking oral birth control pills. Collect your sample on day 20 of your cycle, counting your first day of bleeding as day 1.
Please note, if you and your medical professional decide to discontinue your oral contraceptives, you should wait until your next menstrual period to collect. It may take approximately 7 weeks before you are able to collect your sample after discontinuing the pill as failure to ovulate is common in many women immediately after discontinuing birth control pills.
Inconclusive results occur less than .3% of the time based on our testing to date and can be due to a variety of factors. In this case, what we'd like to do is send you a new test free of charge to redo the test to make sure you are able to get a result back.
Please contact us by emailing us at support@nimbushealthcare.com.
Our tests are processed through CLIA certified and CAP certified laboratories, which adhere to the same clinical standards as intravenous samples. To validate the accuracy of our miniaturized tests, we became one of the first at-home small-volume blood testing company to have our data and methods peer-reviewed by the scientific and medical community.
We do our best to deliver test results within 7 business days of the sample being shipped to the lab.
If 7 business days have passed and you still have not received your results, please email us at support@nimbushealthcare.com
To login into your patient portal, head to the URL located on your "Register your kit." card that came with your kit.
If you have trouble logging in, please reach out to our support team at support@nimbushealthcare.com who will be happy to help you.
