DHEA
The unconjugated form of DHEA — which fluctuates through the day, unlike the stable sulfated form (DHEA-S).
DHEA-S is the better test for routine assessment because it's stable. Unconjugated DHEA is mainly useful in specific adrenal workups.
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🩸 Test your DHEA
Order directly through Marek Diagnostics — no doctor's visit needed, drawn at any Quest location in the US. Code CAMERON applies 10% off automatically.
Order this test — 10% off → Browse all 102 markers →What DHEA is usually tested alongside
On its own, one marker is a data point. These panels include DHEA plus the markers that make it interpretable — each names every test, why it is on the list, and loads the whole set into your cart in one click at 10% off.
includes this + 7 more markers — Wired-and-tired, crashing mid-afternoon, salt cravings, dizzy on standing, or you've been told you have 'adrenal fatigue'.
includes this + 7 more markers · built for women — Acne along the jawline, chin and neck that flares before your period, persisting or starting in your 20s, 30s or 40s.
includes this + 9 more markers · built for women — Widening part, thinning at the crown, more hair in the shower drain, or a ponytail that's visibly thinner than it was.
Why your DHEA might be wrong
Most abnormal results are interference, not disease. These are the things that measurably move this specific marker — check them before you change anything. Each one says whether the number is wrong and should be repeated, badly timed and should be redrawn, or real with a cause worth explaining.
Follows a daily rhythm with a morning peak, so a value drawn at 8am and one drawn at 2pm are not comparable numbers.
Draw between 7 and 9am, and use the same window every time you retest.
Raises it directly and unpredictably — absorption varies widely.
DHEA-S is the more stable marker of adrenal output; unsulfated DHEA swings far more.
What DHEA means in combination
A single marker tells you a little. Combinations tell you the story — these are the named patterns this marker takes part in, and what each one points at.
The single most important pairing in adrenal medicine and the reason cortisol alone is close to useless. High ACTH with low cortisol means the gland is failing and the pituitary is compensating — primary adrenal insufficiency. Low or inappropriately normal ACTH means the signal never arrived, which is a pituitary problem with a different workup entirely.
Either way this is a doctor, promptly — untreated adrenal insufficiency can kill in a crisis. Check sodium and potassium on the same CMP: low sodium with high potassium supports the primary pattern.
What to test next
Markers rarely answer alone. These are the ones that put DHEA in context — each with its own full breakdown.
Frequently asked questions
180–1250 ng/dL (varies widely with time of day) Ranges vary by laboratory and assay — always compare to the range printed on your own report.
Optimal ranges, root causes and the full correction protocol are available inside Coach Cam's Peptide Academy.
See the full breakdown inside the Academy.
See the full breakdown inside the Academy.
You can order DHEA directly through Marek Diagnostics without a doctor's visit — drawn at any Quest Diagnostics location in the US. Code CAMERON applies 10% off automatically.