2: The Truth About Women's Hormone Testing: Why Your "Normal" Labs Are Missing The Real Problem with Dr. Carrie Jones
5/5/20261 hr 13 min
Every time a woman is told her labs are normal while she feels anything but, the problem is rarely that nothing is wrong; it is that she was given the incorrect tests, checked at the wrong time in her cycle, and compared against reference ranges that were never built for her biology in the first place. The healthcare system was not designed around the female hormonal cycle, and that gap is costing women answers, years, and their health.
We dive deeper into this in The Ovary Club with Dr. Carrie Jones. We also chat about why fasting insulin is the most important test nobody is ordering, how perimenopause rewires every system in the body and what that looks like in lab work, and how to use testing to advocate for yourself when your doctor is not asking the right questions.
If you have ever walked out of a doctor's office feeling dismissed, this is the episode you need to hear, and Dr. Carrie Jones is exactly the person you need to hear it from. She served as the first Medical Director of the DUTCH Test, has spent over two decades in clinical practice specializing in women's hormonal health, and is one of the most trusted voices in the field when it comes to understanding what your labs actually mean.
Want all the lab details written out for you so you don't have to worry about jotting it down? Ovary Club Insiders get a special download that includes everything we discussed and more: Your Hormone Lab Cheat Sheet — walk into your next doctor's appointment knowing exactly what to ask for and how to read your results.
Become an Insider here: https://alisavitti.kit.com/products/the-ovary-club
What's Discussed:
(00:48) Why women can feel awful while being told their labs are "normal".
(04:13) How male-based lab reference ranges can miss what female biology is actually doing.
(11:05) Why testing on the wrong day of your cycle can make hormone results misleading.
(16:27) Why a single blood draw can miss what your hormones are actually doing across the day and cycle.
(19:26) The core labs Dr. Carrie checks first, including thyroid, iron, vitamin D, fasting insulin, and lipids.
(40:19) What urine testing can show that blood work alone cannot, especially when it comes to hormone metabolites.
(50:30) Why women should start testing in their 20s instead of waiting for a crisis.
(01:02:23) Why FSH becomes especially important after 40 and how it can help track the perimenopause transition.
If you have been told your labs are normal but your body is clearly saying otherwise, this episode will help you understand exactly where the testing is falling short.
Thank you to our sponsors:
FLO Living (supplement): Get 25% off with the code podcast25 at floliving.com
Ovary Club Insiders: Ovary Club: Join us at https://alisavitti.kit.com/products/the-ovary-club
MyFLO App: Download the My FLO App and use the code FREEMOTNH
Learn more about Alisa Vitti:
Instagram: @alisa.vitti
Website: alisavitti.kit.com
Learn more about Dr. Carrie Jones:
Website: drcarriejones.com
Instagram: @dr.carriejones
Podcast: Hello Hormones with Dr. Carrie Jones