Free testosterone test: measure your free testosterone

As a busy professional, you often notice changes in your energy or focus only once they affect your work. Measuring your free testosterone can give you a concrete data point to work from.

Testosterone can play a role in your energy, libido, mood and muscle building. The free fraction can be especially informative, because it is the part your body can actually use.

The result is not a diagnosis, but a snapshot you can discuss with a doctor alongside your symptoms and other values.

This test may suit men who:

• want to know whether their energy, libido or mood is linked to their hormones
• want to record a baseline during a preventive check
• have a normal total testosterone but still experience symptoms
• want more insight into their male hormones

Women may also have their testosterone measured for medical reasons, although this test focuses on men.

This test measures one biomarker in your blood:

• Free testosterone: the part of your testosterone that is not bound to SHBG or albumin and that your body can use.

Your free testosterone is measured directly by the lab. You can read more about this biomarker on the page about free testosterone.

Your free testosterone value can say something about the part of your testosterone that is available to your body. That can complement your total testosterone.

A low free testosterone can sometimes occur while your total testosterone looks normal, because your SHBG partly determines how much testosterone stays free.

Your result is a starting point, not a final verdict. Combined with your total testosterone and your symptoms, a doctor can give it more meaning.

For this test, blood is drawn at a certified sample point. There are 700+ locations across the Netherlands, which you choose yourself after ordering.

You do not need to see your GP first; you pick a location and a time that fit your schedule. The draw is done by trained staff and usually takes only a few minutes.

Testosterone fluctuates during the day and is usually highest in the morning. A measurement early in the day can therefore often be more representative.

The test can be useful when you want to link symptoms to a concrete data point, or when you want to record a baseline during a preventive check to compare against later.

Because a single measurement is a snapshot, it can sometimes help to repeat your value under similar conditions. A doctor can advise you on this.

Your result shows your free testosterone alongside a reference range and a short explanation. What counts as a suitable value varies by lab, age and time of the draw, so a number alone says little.

A lower value can fit certain symptoms, but does not have to mean anything. A doctor therefore always reads your result in the context of your symptoms and your other values.

Your results are available online within a few working days. You see your free testosterone, its reference range and a clear explanation.

Every blood test result includes a professional assessment from a BIG-registered doctor. For treatment decisions, discuss your results with your GP.