How important is hormone testing on a 46 yr old woman with perimenopausal symptoms? arent symptoms most important when no other medial problems exist?

You're right: Testing hormones is much less important than how one feels in their skin, morning and night. Testing typically gives us an idea of where a woman is in relationship to menopause. Is she in menopause, near it, or far away from it. Patients seem to think that testing replaces how a woman feels, but i agree that symptoms are a more important barometer.