Male Hormone Home Blood Test Kit

A male hormone test measures key hormone levels in your blood that influence energy, mood, libido, muscle mass, fertility and overall wellbeing. These tests are designed to help identify hormonal imbalances – including low testosterone – and provide insight into how your hormones are affecting your health.

For the most accurate testosterone reading, it’s best to take your sample in the morning between 7am and 10am. This is when testosterone levels are at their highest. Forth’s tests are designed with this in mind, so you can collect your sample at home at the right time.

What are the main male hormones?

• Free Testosterone – the active form that’s available for your body to use
• Oestradiol – an important form of oestrogen in men
• SHBG (Sex Hormone Binding Globulin) – controls the amount of available testosterone
• LH (Luteinising Hormone) – stimulates testosterone production
• Prolactin – involved in reproductive health
• FSH (Follicle Stimulating Hormone) – important for sperm production

The best way to check your hormone levels is through a venous or finger-prick blood test. At Forth, our at-home male hormone tests analyse key biomarkers like testosterone, free testosterone, SHBG, LH, and oestradiol – giving you a clearer picture of your hormonal health.

Yes – our male hormone test can help men on testosterone replacement therapy track markers and manage their health. It includes key markers such as total testosterone, free testosterone, oestradiol and SHBG, helping you and your clinician monitor how your treatment is working and make any necessary adjustments.

Our male hormone blood test checks your free and total testosterone – which can indicate if your testosterone levels are too high or too low.

It also checks other key hormones that can impact or are impacted by your male hormones, such as cortisol, oestrogen, luteinising hormone (LH) and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG).

Your thyroid function – Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH), Thyroxine (T4 free direct) and Triiodothyronine (T3 free) – is checked too, as low testosterone is often linked with hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid).

Male hormone imbalances can be caused by various lifestyle factors such as a poor diet, too little or too much exercise, being overweight, and stress. Medical conditions such as hypogonadism where the testicles don’t produce enough testosterone can also cause an imbalance. Testing your male hormones can help you understand the cause of an imbalance, such as low testosterone.

A male hormone imbalance, particularly involving testosterone, can cause a variety of symptoms. You should consider getting your blood tested if you have any of the following symptoms:

• Low energy levels – Persistent fatigue and lack of motivation.
• Reduced muscle mass and strength – Difficulty gaining or maintaining muscle.
• Increased body fat – Especially around the abdomen.
• Low libido – Decreased interest in sex.
• Erectile dysfunction – Difficulty achieving or maintaining an erection.
• Mood changes – Irritability, anxiety, or depression.
• Brain fog – Trouble concentrating, forgetfulness, or mental sluggishness.
• Sleep disturbances – Trouble falling or staying asleep.
• Hair loss – Thinning hair or receding hairline.
• Slow recovery from exercise – Increased soreness and longer recovery times.

Yes, our male hormone blood test is suitable for all men aged 18 or over, including those using TRT. If you’re using TRT gel, we recommend taking the blood sample from a finger on the hand you don’t apply the gel with, or using a glove when applying it. This is to avoid contamination of your blood sample.

Testing your hormone levels can be extremely beneficial to men using TRT, as it provides clear insights into how it impacts your hormone levels and overall health.

There are many ways you can treat a male hormone imbalance. If your test results show an imbalance, such as low testosterone levels, you should consider lifestyle changes, such as eating a healthy diet, exercising (or reducing exercise if you already exercise a lot), reducing stress (cortisol) and improving your sleep.

In some cases, you may need to speak to your doctor or hormone specialist about testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). TRT is available in different forms, including gels, patches and injections, which all help with restoring your testosterone levels to their “normal” levels.

Yes. We offer two options if you do not want to do our finger prick test. The first is a home appointment where a nurse comes to your home to take a blood sample. The second is to visit a Phlebotomy clinic near you that offers a blood sample service.

We take your privacy seriously and all data is private and confidential. You’ll be asked to create an account when you order your test, which is where you can view your results. You’ll be able to share your results with your GP or healthcare specialist if you want to, but we won’t share your data with anyone.

You can also opt out of having a doctor comment on your results for extra privacy.

We use the Royal Mail Tracked-24 services to post your kit to you, which includes a Tracked-24 pre-paid envelope for you to return your blood sample to our labs.

Once your sample reaches our labs, we aim to get your male hormone results to you via the app within 2 days.

Although finger-prick testing can measure testosterone, a venous collection is preferred when users are concerned about sample volume or contamination. Forth offers finger-prick collection for its male hormone test, alongside AutoDraw and venous collection options. A nurse-collected sample is a reliable alternative where this limitation matters.

NHS laboratories advise avoiding testing during acute illness and while taking short-term medicines that suppress testosterone. Therefore, male hormone testing should be delayed if an individual is recovering from an illness or if their circumstances may affect the result. This is because acute stress, some medicines, and supplements can influence hormone measurements. Individuals should speak to a GP before buying a home test if the symptoms are concerning or if they have an underlying condition.

While a male hormone blood test measures hormone levels, it does not by itself diagnose the cause of an abnormal result. Equally, an in-range result does not rule out a problem. The results should be interpreted alongside symptoms, medical history, and, where appropriate, repeat testing. According to the NHS guidance, conditions such as testosterone deficiency are assessed using both symptoms and blood-test results. Therefore, a result outside or inside a reference range should not be treated as a diagnosis on its own.