WHAT IS THE DUTCH TEST?
The DUTCH test is one of the most advanced and comprehensive functional tests available. DUTCH stands for Dried Urine Test for Comprehensive Hormones and offers an extensive profile of sex and adrenal hormones and melatonin, along with their metabolites. Quite simply, the DUTCH test is the most accurate way to assess your hormonal health.
The test analyses:
• 35 different hormones including estrogen, progesterone,
testosterone, DHEA-S, and cortisol along with their metabolites
• Daily free cortisol patterns to provide insight into adrenal
insufficiency or symptoms of chronic stress
• Oxidative stress marker – 8-Hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), melatonin (6-OHMS), and six organic acid tests (OATs) including markers for vitamin B12 (methylmalonate), vitamin B6
(xanthurenate), kynurenate, glutathione (pyroglutamate), dopamine (homovanillate), norepinephrine/epinephrine (vanilmandelate)
WHY SHOULD I CHOOSE THIS TEST
While blood or saliva tests for hormones are a useful tool, they are not the same as the DUTCH test. Blood and saliva tests don’t measure cortisol rhythms and estrogen metabolism and do not track hormone replacement as thoroughly. They are not sensitive enough to observe the different levels of estrogen, which is an issue for women when it comes to determining their estrogen state as it can impact on their overall health.
What makes the DUTCH test better than blood or saliva tests is the comprehensive information that is collected with a single DUTCH test. The DUTCH test is well-recognised for its ease of collection, coupled with comprehensive reporting that is not currently available from other tests.
HEALTH PROBLEMS THE DUTCH TEST CAN HELP ASSESS
ADRENAL FATIGUE, SLEEP OR STRESS ISSUES
Testing the adrenal hormones provides specific information about how to support stress and sleep issues, by looking at the HPA axis (hypothalamicpituitary-adrenal axis). The HPA axis is a term used to represent the interaction between the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and adrenal glands and it plays an important role the body’s response to stress.
FERTILITY PROBLEMS, POLYCYSTIC OVARIAN SYNDROME (PCOS)
The DUTCH test is beneficial for people suffering from fibroids, PMS, irregular periods, painful periods, endometriosis, anxiety and moodiness. It provides a comprehensive picture of how adrenal and reproductive hormone imbalances may be contributing to these problems.
HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY
The DUTCH test is extremely useful for determining the best hormonal replacement therapy to undertake, such as oral progesterone, vaginal hormones, patches, pellets or injections. The test can also monitor the effectiveness of the therapy, to see how well it is working. Note that this is only for hormone replacement therapy, not hormonal birth control pills.
SLEEP PROBLEMS
By checking melatonin levels we can assess how your sleep patterns may be affected. Low melatonin levels can be related to sleep problems.
DHEA LEVELS
This “feel-good” hormone is produced by your adrenal glands. When levels are low, it can cause fatigue, decreases in muscle mass or bone density, depression, aching joints, loss of libido, and lowered immunity.
ESTROGEN DOMINANCE
Estrogen dominance occurs when we have too much estrogen in the body relative to the levels of other sex hormones, such as too little progesterone to balance out the estrogen. Estrogen dominance can be a factor in endometriosis, PMS, painful periods, fibrous breasts, fibroids, tender breasts, moodiness, and more. It can also make perimenopausal symptoms significantly worse.
METABOLISATION OF ESTROGEN THROUGH THE LIVER
This is important for assessing how well you are clearing estrogens from your body. If you don’t metabolise estrogen well, you risk estrogen dominance, as well as increasing your risk of estrogen-related cancers such as breast, cervical and uterine cancers. We can also see the methylation pathway of estrogen by undertaking the DUTCH test. This can highlight any nutrient deficiencies or identify a MTHFR gene mutation, which would then need to be addressed in order to maximise health.
WHAT DOES THIS TEST INVOLVE?
The DUTCH test is renowned for its easy sample collection. Patients collect a small amount of urine, four times over a single day. Strips of special paper are dipped into the urine samples and then dried overnight. Once the specimen samples are dry, they are shipped to the testing laboratory for analysis.
DUTCH tests are only processed through the Great Plains Laboratory in the US. To obtain a DUTCH test in Australia, a registered practitioner such as Dr Holland can order a test for you through the only company that distributes the DUTCH test in Australia: RN Labs.
After Dr Holland orders your DUTCH test, RN Labs will invoice you directly and request postal details, and the test will be delivered to you following payment (delivery can take up to 5 business days, depending on location).
After completing the test, you will need to post the swabs back to the lab following instructions provided in the kit. Dr Holland is notified once the test results are ready (which can take up to 4 weeks). The Holland Clinic staff will then contact you to arrange an appointment with Dr Holland to review the results.
WHEN SHOULD I DO THE TEST?
The DUTCH test kit comes with a complete set of instructions which are clear and easy to follow. However, Dr Holland has additional requirements for the test so that the most accurate measure of your hormonal health can be obtained.
Dr Holland requests that you discontinue any hormonal therapy treatment three full days prior to completing the test, unless you are aiming to test the effectiveness of your hormonal treatment. Further, if you are still menstruating, you will need to perform the test between Day 19 and 22 of your cycle. If you have irregular cycles or you are no longer menstruating, you can perform the test at any time.
WHAT DOES IT COST?
An Initial Consultation with Dr Holland is required before a DUTCH test can be ordered. Initial Consultations cost $495 and can be completed via Telehealth or in person at The Holland Clinic. Appointments can be booked online via: https://drkirsteyholland.com/book
The retail price for the “DUTCH Complete” test is $385.00 (approx US$270) and is paid directly to RN Labs.
A DUTCH Test Review appointment will cost $495 and takes approximately 60 minutes (and includes 2 hours of analysis and preparation by Dr Holland).
The appointment will also include a treatment action plan and individualised prescription. Test review appointments can also be booked online via: https://drkirsteyholland.com/book
WHY DO I NEED AN INITIAL CONSULTATION FIRST?
A test review appointment will not capture your full medical history and related health symptoms. There is no time within the appointment for Dr Holland to gather this important information about your overall health and wellbeing. The DUTCH test results consist of 19 pages of technical data specific to the patient therefore the whole appointment time is spent going through them.
Information gathered during an Initial Consultation provides this important history and context, giving Dr Holland a full picture of your overall health and wellbeing. Dr Holland interprets the results of the DUTCH test with this picture in mind. The Initial Consultation allows Dr Holland to get to know the patient, to understand what they are experiencing and to ascertain what is happening in their life. It is important to consider the whole picture including underlying health conditions and lifestyle factors that may be contributing to symptoms and to the results of the DUTCH test. Dr Holland can then combine all test results and information obtained in the Initial Consultation to determine diagnoses and to devise the best treatment possible.
WHAT HAPPENS WITH THE RESULTS?
Your test results are analysed in detail by Dr Holland, who looks at any imbalances to effectively determine a personalised treatment plan tailored to your specific needs. Subsequent recommendations can include the use of supplementation, herbs and low-dose bio-identical hormones, nutritional changes, lifestyle adjustments, sleep support, and alterations to exercise and stress management.
Dr Holland can recommend the best treatment for you: individualised treatment based on information collected in your Initial Consultation and from your DUTCH test results. Dr Holland will help you understand how the results relate to your health and what they mean for you. You will work together to identify the underlying causes of any hormonal issues and will be offered a treatment plan to restore balance.
WHERE TO FROM HERE?
If you would like to undertake a DUTCH test, begin by booking an Initial Consultation online via: https://drkirsteyholland.com/book
If you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to contact the clinic here.
We look forward to seeing you at the clinic for your first appointment.
