I Tested Labcorp OnDemand For A Detailed Look At My Hormonal Health — My Honest Review

It’s one thing to make healthy decisions day-to-day, but you gain so much more power when you have a full picture of how well your body is functioning.

These days I’m all about peeking under the cover, and at-home tests have given me incredible insight into areas where I can optimize my health.

The issue? Most at-home tests are not available in New York. This recurring conundrum led me to Labcorp OnDemand, a company offering a comprehensive selection of at-home and in-person medical tests in 46 states across the U.S. (including New York) with no prescription or doctor referral.

Below, I'll take you through every step of my experience testing Labcorp OnDemand’s suite of women’s hormone tests.

Labcorp OnDemand is an online health company that provides at-home test kids and in-person lab testing. The service allows you to purchase and complete comprehensive health tests without a prescription or visit to your doctor’s office.

Depending on which type of test you choose (and your location), you’ll either visit a local Labcorp patient service center for a sample collection, or you’ll collect your at-home sample yourself and mail it in for testing.

Labcorp has a network of 2,000 patient service centers in 46 states across the U.S. If you live in Hawaii, Maine, North Dakota, or Vermont, then you can still purchase the test but you'll need to travel to a state with a Labcorp location.

Labcorp OnDemand offers 61 tests, which you can sort through based on eight categories: annual wellness, fertility & sexual health, COVID-19, nutrition & vitamin health, allergy, diabetes, general health, and immunity & infectious disease.

Purchasing the test

I live New York, where at-home testing is not legal. As a result, I opted for Labcorp OnDemand's in-person testing, which you still purchase online.

Before you choose your test, you can review each individual test on the website. This provides more guidance in terms of who might want to take this test and what insights it will provide into your health.

These descriptions reveal the sample type needed—ex: blood, urine, or saliva—and how to prepare for the sample collection. It also shares how long it will take to receive your results.

My online purchasing experience was seamless, and I found the individual product pages to be incredibly helpful. I love the “Why Consider This Test” section, which gives science-backed insights into why that particular aspect of your health is important.

I did hit one small snafu, which was that I later learned if you purchase multiple tests at one time, you'll have to do the sample collection for each test at the same time, too.

I purchased a few hormonal tests that needed to be taken on various days of my cycle. I planned to take the first round of tests at my first appointment, and the remaining tests at my next visit.

Scheduling your appointment

Once your purchase is complete, you'll receive a confirmation email containing your order number and a link to schedule your appointment.

The scheduling link brings you to a locater page, where you input your address or zip code to search for a local laboratory.

Before scheduling, you'll need to select the reason for your visit; all tests will fall under "routine labwork."

I was testing various hormone panels, which needed to be taken on specific days of my cycle. My first testing window landed on a Sunday.

Thankfully, you can narrow your lab search to specifically those that are open on the weekends. You can also narrow to locations that are open at the time of your search and to labs that are located inside a local Walgreens.

Initially, I had 20 labs within a 5 mile radius of my address. Once I narrowed down to those with weekend hours, there were 16 locations in my 5 mile radius; and one location with Sunday hours.

Going to the lab

Once your appointment is scheduled, you’ll receive an email rundown with important details—the subject will literally be Important details about your Labcorp appointment.

The company offers a convenient mobile check-in, so you’ll simply click the ‘view my confirmation’ button from the aforementioned email when you arrive.

Of course, if mobile check-in isn’t your thing, there are also check-in kiosks in the waiting room. Once checked in, you can choose to wait the lab’s waiting room or someplace close by; they’ll send you a text when it’s your turn. 

I purchased four tests and they were all blood draws, so I felt a bit nervous going to the lab for my appointment. I’m not terrible with blood, but the last testing company I tried drew at least eight vials for one test—so I could only imagine how much blood Labcorp OnDemand would take for four!

To my delight, the phlebotomist only took one tiny tube of blood! I learned that Labcorp can complete up to nine tests with one tube, which is a huge plus for those who get nervous with blood draws.

Receiving your results

Each Labcorp OnDemand test has a specific window for test results, which you’ll find clearly outlined on the test’s purchasing page. Windows range from 24 hours to 14 days. 

I received the results from all four of my tests within 24 hours of my appointment (even though it was on the weekend!). 

When your results are ready, you’ll get an email alerting you that you can sign into your Labcorp Patient account to view them. The results are clear and easy to read, with the option to download as a PDF.

Depending on what you tested for, you’ll typically see the average adult (or specific gender) range, so you can see where your results fall—but my only qualm is that there are really no additional insights as to what these results mean for your overall health.

Purchasing the test

If you're opting for a home test kit, the purchasing process is the same; you’ll simply filter by “at-home kit” to see the options available. At the time of this article, when I used this filter I see the Men's Rapid Fertility Test, COVID-19 Small Business Home Test, COVID-19 + Flu + RSV Test Home Collection Kit, COVID-19 Test (At-Home Collection Kit), Men's Rapid Fertility Test Refill Kit, and ColoFIT Colon Cancer Home Collection Test.

Again, you'll find all the details you need to know about each test by clicking into the product page—and the test will be sent directly to your home.

Completing the test

Each at-home Labcorp OnDemand test has different sample collection instructions, which will be outlined clearly in your test kit. Once you retrieve your sample, you'll send it back in a pre-paid envelope for the lab to test.

Receiving your results

When testing Labcorp Ondemand, I chose to take a detailed look into my hormones. As a woman in her young thirties who does want to have children eventually, this is an area I've been particularly curious about.

I went into my experience with Labcorp OnDemand with a lot of curiosity about my reproductive hormones specifically.

I had an irregular menstrual cycle for most of my twenties and only recently was able to regulate it; so I'm no stranger to hormonal imbalances, and I was looking for peace of mind that things are in better order now.

Thankfully, peace of mind is exactly what my Labcorp OnDemand results gave me. I loved that I was able to see where my results fell within the range for each of the biomarkers I tested—and every result was within the average range!

With tests ranging from $29 to $239 and a seamless process from purchasing to results, Labcorp OnDemand is a worthwhile spend for anyone who wants to gain insights into a particular area(s) of their health.

Whether you're experiencing symptoms or you're (like me) focused on prevention, Labcorp OnDemand likely has a test that can put you on your way to optimizing your health.

The company makes it easy to purchase tests online, the in-person sample collection is quick and simple, and my results were surprisingly speedy.

Right now, mindbodygreen readers can use the code MBG10 for $10 off of their first purchase.