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[Mely]

Hi All - I'm new here. Looking for help interpreting my hormone level results as I wait to meet my doctor again.

Background -- I'm 46 years old and 3.5 months ago went off hormonal birth control after being on it for about 16 years straight.

I got one period after going off the hormones but that of course was just a withdrawal bleed and not a real period. Since then I've had no spontaneous periods.

The doctor just sent me for HCG (was negative), FSH and Progesterone.

My FSH was 71
My Progesterone was 2.2

I know an FSH level that high indicates menopause but I'm wondering if my body could still be under the effects of the hormones and if there still may be some fluctuation in the numbers going forward.

I don't understand what the progesterone level means even after Googling it. Is that level indicative of menopause?

I had hot flashes about a month ago that lasted for about a month and also trouble sleeping (I'd wake up in the middle of the night -- usually because I was very hot). I haven't had those symptoms now for almost a month and I don't have any other symptoms except for anxiety which I attributed to the stress I'm currently under.

Does this look like menopause or is it a result of going off hormones after being on them for a long time?

Mely

[CLKD]

 

I can't remember how I was after I stopped The Pill, I took it for 11 years …….. but bleeding habit didn't really alter and I got back to a 32 day cycle quite quickly.

You sound peri-menopause.  Have a read of the menus, left of screen.  Ask away !

Blood tests for hormone levels are notoriously un-reliable because the levels alter all the while, 24/7.  My Gynae won't do them for menopause, he tells his Ladies to 'go on symptoms', keep a food diary and a mood diary for 3 months …… then seek an appt.

[Mely]

I've heard that FSH numbers aren't reliable but when it's that high (71) could it still drop way down?

[Taz2]

I think that 71 is right for a women of your age i.e. peri-menopausal. Mine was in the 100's when I was in my early fifties but I still experienced fairly regular periods having been told by my GP that I would never have another period!

Peri-meno lasts for around eight to ten years and as the "normal" age for meno is 51 this puts you about where you should be I reckon.

As for the flushes disappearing again - lots of us on here have found that flushes/sweats miraculously disappear when a period is on it's way so maybe this is what's happening to you.

Taz x 

[Mely]

Hi Taz,

I thought my period was on it's way when my flashes went away but it's been a month and still hasn't arrived. I've also read that women get hot flashes when going off the hormones though I didn't get them right away -- maybe a month later.

What about my progesterone level. What do they indicate?

[Mely]

BTW, my progesterone was 2.2 nmol

[Taz2]

Do you mean that you have read some women get hot flushes after stopping the birth control pill? This used to happen years ago I believe when the oestrogen level was much higher but nowadays the oestrogen is thought to be too low to stop hot flushes or sweats while using the bcp.

I think it depends on what time of your cycle (which you don't seem to be having at the minute) you are tested for progesterone. It rises after ovulation I believe. http://www.endotext.org/question/detecting-ovulation-by-progesterone-level/

Taz x

[Hurdity]

Hi Mely

  from me too

The progesterone doesn't really mean anything - during a normal period it cycles from very low basal levels to higher levels after ovulation.

It's the FSH particularly, and oestrogen levels which are most significant, and as the others have said they are also unreliable especially during peri-menopause, and many doctors go on symptoms - lack of or irregular periods, hot flushes etc. As Taz says, if your symptoms have abated - maybe a period is on its way!

Here is some information on this site about blood tests:
http://www.menopausematters.co.uk/diagnose.php

There is no set pattern as to when and how often women get hot flushes! Everything anyoine experiences is normal and part of the menopausal process. Some women start to get flishes even while periods are still regular. Mine only started after they had become very infrequent, so I was probably close to menopause itself.

I would have thought that the fact you are experiencing menopausal symptoms after coming off the Pill, means you are peri-menopausal. If you weren't - your periods should restart straight away?

If you are peri-menopausal then maybe consider taking HRT, as you are still young, to protect your bones at least until the natural average age of menopause 51/52.

Hurdity x

[Mely]

@Taz2 - interesting but not sure I understand. If the pills don't have a high enough amount of estrogen to prevent hot flashes then why would I have gotten the hot flashes when I went off BCP and presumably my estrogen levels dropped down to their natural level?

@Hurdity - so if Progesterone rises after ovulation and mine is on currently on the low side then that simply means I have not recently ovulated? How high does it go before ovulation?

Regarding HRT - I don't know a lot about it but I do know there's a lot of controversy. I went off hormones because it wasn't clear how long term use was affecting me. I can't imagine now going back on hormones.

I started a whole foods plant based diet several months ago for the exact reason that I knew menopause was approaching and had heard this was a good first defense against a lot of the symptoms. I've since learned that cutting out dairy actually protects from osteoporosis but that's a whole other discussion.

[Taz2]

I can't answer that I'm afraid but if the oestrogen levels were high enough to prevent meno symptoms then surely we could all just stay on the bcp instead of having to use HRT? Which pill were you on - I guess that some of the older ones may still have higher levels?

Taz 

[Mely]

I was on Yasmin for many years then I used the Nuvoring for 3 months before I stopped hormonal BCP all together.

[Suzyq]

Levels vary depending on which day of your cycle you were tested on. What was your estrogen?? If your symptoms aren't troublesome then no need for hrt but it seems if you are having hot flushes, then you are in peri or menopause. I have had numerous blood tests to build up a picture of what my levels are but I think one result alone will be less useful. I had periods of being very well followed my periods of being very unwell, so if you feel ok,  accept it and enjoy!

[Mely]

Thanks. I'm going back to the doctor to discuss these results so I'll ask him about testing my estrogen which he didn't do the first time. I think he just wanted to get an idea of what is going on first by checking my TSH and Progesterone.

[Mely]

I just got back from the doctor. He said the numbers look menopausal. He said I might get 1 or 2 more periods but I'm well on my way. He also checked a routine ultrasound I did a couple of months ago and said the uterus lining was thin, one ovary was very small and the other could not even be seen.

I asked him about testing estrogen and he didn't see any need.

He did say that it could still be post pill amenorrhea and my ovaries might spontaneously start working again. It's been almost 4 months since I stopped hormonal birth control. Seems if I don't get a period within 6 months that would be telling.

Lastly, I asked him what he thought of being on a plant-based diet which I've been doing for close to 5 months now. He thought it sounded beneficial, especially because of all the hormones they give cows and chickens and they don't know exactly how that affects women. BTW - a plant based diet is supposed to really help hot flashes.

[Taz2]

Your doc seems really understanding and it sounds as if you are about on track for your age Mely. My doc also told me I would have no more periods (FSH 110) but I carried on having them every few months for a couple of years before going onto HRT at age 53.

I hope that you have a really smooth meno journey but if things do get on top of you then please don't just rule out HRT. I don't know of any woman who actually planned to use it but sometimes it is the only way, after trying out all of the alternatives of course, to have any quality of life.

Taz x