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Functional Medicine Testing

Cortisol and Stress Hormone Testing

You feel exhausted. Sleep doesn’t fix it. You crash mid-afternoon, then can’t fall asleep at night. Your cycles, your weight, and your mood have all shifted, and your annual labs came back called “normal.”

What you’re feeling is real. In many cases, cortisol testing can help us better understand one piece of why.

Cortisol follows a natural rhythm throughout the day. When that rhythm shifts, it can influence how you feel physically, mentally, and emotionally.

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Dr Hehmeyer explaining test and results to patient

What Cortisol Testing Actually Reveals

A standard cortisol blood draw at your annual physical pulls one value at one moment. That’s not how the hormone works. Cortisol naturally rises and falls throughout the day. While a single blood draw provides one snapshot, understanding the overall rhythm commonly offers much more meaningful clinical insight.

We use functional testing that captures the full picture.

DUTCH (Dried Urine Test for Comprehensive Hormones)

Maps free cortisol and cortisone patterns throughout the day while also measuring free sex hormone production and metabolism. This helps us understand not only how much cortisol is being produced, but how it is being processed and whether the daily rhythm aligns with what we’d expect in a healthy daily rhythm. It also helps us understand the role your sex hormones may be playing in your symptoms.

Salivary Cortisol Panels

rack the cortisol awakening response and the daily curve. A useful complement when DUTCH isn’t the right fit, or when we want to retest a specific window without re-running a full panel.

Blood Markers That Complete the Picture

We also evaluate thyroid function, nutrient status, blood sugar regulation, and markers of inflammation because altered cortisol patterns rarely exist in isolation. Looking at these systems together helps us better understand the broader physiologic picture.

You'll get the most out of cortisol testing if any of these sound like your daily experience.

You wake up at 3 or 4 AM and can't fall back asleep.
You feel wired one hour and depleted the next.
Caffeine doesn't work the way it used to.
Your weight has settled around your middle and won't shift.
Your cycles changed in your late 30s or 40s and the explanation you got didn't satisfy you.
You feel more anxious, overwhelmed, or on edge.
You struggle to recover from exercise or daily stressors the way you used to.
You feel tired but unable to relax

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How We Work Together

Our approach is data-driven, personalized, and focused on understanding the root causes influencing your health. Each step builds on the one before it so you can move forward with clarity and confidence.

Step 1

Schedule a Complimentary Functional Medicine Consultation

We begin with a conversation about your symptoms, health history, goals, and what you've already tried. Together, we'll explore whether we're the right fit to work together and discuss what the next steps might look like.
Step 2

Comprehensive Root-Cause Evaluation

During your initial 90-minute appointment, we take a deeper dive into your health story, review any existing laboratory data, and identify the most meaningful areas for further investigation. Depending on your symptoms, this may include cortisol testing, blood work, hormone testing, or other functional medicine assessments.
Step 3

Personalized Testing and Data Collection

With an understanding of what specific testing is most appropriate for you, we'll select the lab tests to provide actionable insight. Many tests can be completed from home, while others may involve a local laboratory.
Step 4

Comprehensive Results Review and Action Plan

We review your results together, discuss what they may be revealing about your physiology, and create a personalized plan tailored to your goals, lifestyle, and findings. Our interventions are natural, targeted, and backed by research and clinical experience.
Step 5

Implementation, Support, and Refinement

Healing is a process, not a single intervention. As your symptoms, labs, and priorities evolve, we refine your plan and determine whether follow-up testing is appropriate to assess progress and guide next steps.

Cortisol testing is often one valuable piece of a broader root-cause evaluation. The right level of support depends on your symptoms, goals, health history, and the complexity of your case.

Root-Cause Health Audit

Ideal for those seeking clarity around what may be driving their symptoms. Includes a comprehensive evaluation of your health history, personalized testing recommendations, advanced laboratory analysis, and actionable next steps. Many individuals begin here when they want a deeper understanding of their cortisol patterns, hormones, metabolism, or overall health picture.
Starting at $1,800

Root-Cause Healing Partnership

Designed for those who want ongoing guidance as they implement and refine their healing plan. Includes continued clinical support, interpretation of follow-up findings, and personalized adjustments to help translate insight into meaningful progress. Often the right fit for more complex concerns involving perimenopause, chronic stress, digestive issues, weight loss resistance, or multiple overlapping symptoms.
Starting at $3,600

Root-Cause Healing Journey

Our most comprehensive level of support for those seeking deep, sustainable transformation. Includes extended partnership, ongoing refinement of your care plan, and repeat testing when appropriate to objectively track progress. Ideal for individuals navigating long-standing or complex health concerns who desire a higher level of guidance and accountability throughout the healing process.
Starting at $5,300
Please note specialty laboratory testing, insurance-related copays, and supplements are not included and vary based on individual needs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Most functional testing isn't covered. Some clients submit superbills to PPO plans for partial reimbursement, and we provide the documentation. Adrenal saliva and DUTCH are typically out of pocket.

A single blood cortisol shows one value at one moment. DUTCH shows your full daily pattern plus the free cortisol, estrogen, testosterone, and progesterone and metabolites your body produces. These are two very different levels of detail.

Yes. We work with clients across all 50 states virtually. Note that the state of New York and Rhode Island have restrictions around in-home lab testing. Visits happen by video.

Most clients begin noticing improvements in sleep, energy, resilience, or symptoms within 6 to 12 weeks, though timelines vary depending on the underlying drivers involved.

No. Supplements are tools, not lifelong requirements. As your physiology changes and healing occurs, we regularly reassess your plan and reduce or eliminate supplements as appropriate.

A normal cortisol result doesn't mean nothing is wrong. It simply means cortisol may not be the primary driver. Depending on your symptoms, we may explore thyroid function, sex hormones, nutrient status, blood sugar regulation, inflammation, gut health, sleep quality, or other contributing factors.

Why Well Empowered?

25 years of devotion to people thriving
IFM Certified Practitioner
Doctor of Chiropractic Medicine
Certified Nutrition Specialist (CNS)
Licensed Dietitian Nutritionist (LDN)
Masters of Science in Nutrition & Functional Medicine
Personalized, root-cause approach
Virtual consultations available

Ready to Better Understand What's Driving Your Symptoms?

Schedule a complimentary functional medicine consultation. We'll discuss your symptoms, goals, and whether we're the right fit to work together. If so, we'll outline the most meaningful next steps toward uncovering the root causes influencing your health.
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