At-Home Tests for Menopause Are Available Online and In Stores —Are They Worth Taking?

Fact checked by Nick Blackmer

• Clearblue and other brands now offer at-home tests where people can determine if they're going through menopause, and if so, which stage they’re in.

• At-home menopause kits work by checking a person's hormone levels, either via a urine, blood, or saliva sample.

• However, experts warn the tests could be inaccurate or may not be that helpful in getting a diagnosis.

When menopause is on the horizon, people may find themselves obsessing over any new health changes—but several companies are aiming to clear up the confusion with at-home menopause tests.

The idea is that these self-administered tests can help people determine whether the hot flashes, mood swings, and other symptoms they’re experiencing should be attributed to menopause or if there’s a different health issue at play.

At-home menopause kits are now available online and in drugstores, ranging in price anywhere from about $10 to nearly $200. Clearblue, known for its home pregnancy tests, made news when its kit rolled out in August. Other brands such as Everlywell, Reveal, Thorne, Oova, and more also offer at-home tests.

The testing methods vary, but generally speaking, these kits measure reproductive hormone levels to give insight into where a person might be on their menopause journey.

That could be premenopause, when you’re still in your reproductive years; perimenopause, the years-long lead-up to menopause that usually begins after age 45; or postmenopause, the period after the menopause transition that lasts for the rest of your life.

Clearblue hopes the test will arm women with information so “they’ll feel more empowered to turn up the volume, talk about [menopause], and embrace this new stage in life,” said Clearblue Brand Director Leah Wood in a press release.

Yet doctors who treat women for menopause-related changes question the usefulness of the tests, which they say lack reliability and won’t help with symptom relief.

“It’s understandable that a product like this would come to market because there is such a lack of access for people who are going through menopause to get in to see a provider who’s educated and can help answer their questions,” Karen Adams, MD, clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Stanford University School of Medicine, told Health. “But the clinical utility is just not there.”

Here’s what experts had to say about how these at-home tests try to determine your current menopause stage and whether you should consider using one.

How Exactly Do At-Home Menopause Tests Work?

To determine a person’s menopause status, most tests measure follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), a chemical that plays a key role in the menstruation cycle. In the ovaries, FSH helps stimulate egg growth and prepares those eggs for ovulation.

During typical menstruation, FSH levels rise in the first half of the cycle and then fall once estrogen is released. But in perimenopause and menopause, FSH remains elevated—the ovaries produce fewer eggs, and the body makes even more hormones in an attempt to trigger ovulation.

So consistently high FSH levels could be an indication that someone is experiencing a transition into menopause.

In addition to FSH, some kits measure levels of other hormones involved in the ovulation process, such as luteinizing hormone, which also rises during menopause, and a form of estrogen called estradiol.

In order to check these hormone levels, at-home menopause tests use a variety of collection methods. Some products require a urine sample, including Clearblue, which asks you to test FSH levels in urine every other day for 10 days. You also have to enter your age and menstrual cycle history into an app, which then analyzes the data to reveal your likely stage of menopause.

Other kits use a saliva sample that can either be tested right away or sent off for analysis. Tests that require a blood sample (usually via finger prick) instruct you to mail it to a lab. That's the case with Everlywell’s kit, which says you'll receive doctor-reviewed results “within days.”

Related: When Does Menopause Start—And How Long Does It Last?

Are At-Home Tests Worth It?

The actual utility of these at-home menopause tests depends on your personal situation, however, experts say they’re skeptical that these kits offer any real benefit.

“They are just something that’s monetizing fear and confusion around menopause,” Tara Allmen, MD, board-certified gynecologist and author of the book Menopause Confidential, told Health. “I don’t see how it helps women.”

For one, experts are unconvinced that the tests can reliably gauge menopausal stage. The Menopause Society calls salivary hormone level tests “not accurate,” and Adams said that doctors don’t typically use urine samples to measure hormone levels.

Adams acknowledged that a blood test could be accurate, but she said the results still can’t confirm whether you’re in the transition to menopause.

That’s because hormones “are going to be all over the place” during perimenopause, Allmen explained. One high FSH level, for example, doesn’t necessarily mean someone is nearing menopause, just like a low result doesn’t always equate to being non-perimenopausal.

Even kits that measure levels over multiple days aren’t always an accurate way to detect menopause state, Adams added.

“It can be discouraging to someone having debilitating hot flashes and night sweats if they get testing done and it shows they aren’t in menopause, but it doesn’t mean they aren’t in menopause,” Monica Christmas, MD, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Chicago Medicine, told Health.

Hormone testing can help rule out menopause if a person stops having periods prematurely, Christmas said. But otherwise, doctors don’t rely on these tests to make a perimenopause diagnosis; instead they look at age, menstrual cycle history, and a description of what a patient is feeling.

“It’s really a clinical diagnosis in partnership with your healthcare professional,” said Allmen. “Your symptoms need to be sussed out and sorted out with solutions.”

And using urine or saliva kit results to start a menopause conversation with your healthcare provider could, in a worst-case scenario, even “aggravate the situation,” Adams added. “Women may get the reaction of eye-rolling or dismissing it because it’s not the method most doctors would use,” she explained.

Related: Constipation, Stress Linked to More Severe Menopause Symptoms

What to Do If You Think You’re Perimenopausal

Most simply, keeping an eye out for certain symptoms can help a person determine if they're approaching the menopause transition. Common signs of menopause include irregular periods, hot flashes, night sweats, sleep problems, and mood swings, but a slew of other symptoms can also happen.

If you suspect you’ve reached perimenopause, Allmen advised talking about the changes with a “gynecologist or another healthcare professional who’s focused on midlife women’s health.”

To prepare for an appointment, make a list of symptoms and any steps you’ve taken to try to alleviate them, Christmas recommended.

If your doctor seems dismissive or not very knowledgeable about women's mid-life changes, she suggests asking for a recommendation for a different doctor, or finding one through the Menopause Society’s website. The organization has a database of member providers accepting new patients, some of whom have been designated as certified menopause practitioners.

Related: Menopausal Women May Benefit From Weight Loss Drugs Like Ozempic, Wegovy

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