Does anybody know if there's a better time in your cycle to get a blood test (hormones) than others?

[ProfessorPlumb]

Exactly that. Have some menopause symptoms and am due to go to the doctor for bloods at my convenience. There are times in the month when I feel a lot worse than others - I'm wondering if I'd be better to go then or if it makes absolutely no difference (I'm aware these blood tests can be a bit hit and miss). Google has been unhelpful so thought I'd consult here :-)

Yes, once I spoke to a nurse practitioner who knew what she was doing I was advised to get certain tests at certain times of month and others on a different day of my cycle. The doctor who did my hormone tests a few years ago had no idea at all and my results were pretty meaningless.

Oh that's really good to know, I don't suppose you remember any good key points - I'll aim for one of them and hope for the best!

I can't remember now but I would see if there's anyone at your practice who specialises in menopause/hormones. There's lots of books and websites about it that can give more specific advice.

I was told to go on day 2 of my cycle.

There are two sets, from memory I think they are Day 2 and Day 21. But you’d be better off ringing your surgery to talk it through first as at mine you can’t just rock up for blood tests, they have to be requested by the doctor.

Thanks all, they have been requested so I'll plump for one of those days. I did ask the doctor and she just shrugged and said "there's no good time, it's really hard to identify" which made me think it was kind of pointless. So I've put it off, stupidly. But having suffered with a headache that won't shift for a week and increasing tiredness and weepiness I'm ready to start the ball rolling!

It depends on what they are testing for. The only info I have is that on day 21 (asssuming a 28 day cycle) your progesterone is at it’s peak and then it begins to fall rapidly. So if you want to know whether you have low progesterone, the correct day to test is day 21 (or whatever day is 7 days before your period is due) because that shows you highest level.

Do keep an eye on the doctors’ competence. I have very low progesterone and by the time I finally saw a consultant, it turned out that my GP had written on my medical records that mynrault was invalid as I had tested on the wrong day. I hadn’t, the GP just assumed I had because my result was so low and so he ignored the result for a long time 🤦‍♀️

If anyone tells you to test your hormones and says that it doesn’t make a difference which day of your cycle you test on, they don’t know what they are talking about.

Thanks @Thirtytimesround - they're testing for peri menopause, just 'off' hormones

Also my cycle is about 35 days