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[Sarai]

I have just had bloods done and this was what the woman said. very annoying she was could not even pronounce the things.
FSH 64.2 no period since February
LH   46
Eostradiol 647
Progesterone 1.5

The doc has written no further action but I'm just curious how to understand them

[Dancinggirl]

I am certainly no expert but the FSH reading is quite high which shows that your ovaries are working very hard to produce the hormones so indicates that you may be in early peri meno.  Having said this, these readings can be misleading as it will depend where in your cycle the test were done. Your oestrogen level is good though!!!!
Sadly, on this test, your would probably be deemed within the normal range for now as your oestrogen is quite high. You may find you get occasional periods over the next year or two and the option to use HRT may not be deemed appropriate yet. Really blood tests are unreliable when diagnosing menopause.  DG x

[Annie0710]

You'd need a few tests to compare
They do mine as I don't have periods but the last ones were

Oestradiol 774
Fsh 41.2
Lh 35.4
Prog 1.1

I was told I was post meno
But yesterday GP called me and said I'm still peri as although results still show same ranges they've come out different figures, I'm not sure how he got that thought but there you go, I'm no doctor

Like you though progestrrone is very low


Annie

[CLKD]

take the results to a pharmacist if you can't get to see your GP?

[Annie0710]

My understanding of high FSH is that the ovaries AREN'T working, so the pituarity gland has stepped in with the follicle stimulating hormone

Hopefully Hurdity will be here soon !

Annie

[Sarai]

Its all sooooo confusing. Would a post meno person have no oestrogen and no progesterone? I am ashamed I havent got a clue which hormone does what, I have always just known they were a damn nuisance.

[CLKD]

I am the same.  Took my hormones for granted until pre-bleed each month then I was aware of them  …….. have little or no idea what each one does and how they are supposed to interact  …………

I do understand that the awful hot rushing feeling through my veins is likely to be adrenaline 

[Annie0710]

Sorry I take 2mg oestradiol daily

I remember when I was 32 my oestrogen was 100 and something (with no hrt)


Annie

[Taz2]

My understanding of high FSH is that the ovaries AREN'T working, so the pituarity gland has stepped in with the follicle stimulating hormone

Hopefully Hurdity will be here soon !

Annie

Yes the higher the FSH the less active your ovaries have become so the body releases follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) to try to shock the ovaries into ripening an egg. Mine was over 100 but I still had periods so was still menopausal and not post meno.

Taz x

[Sarai]

I see, I suppose i will just see what happens, no period for nearly 3 months but then that means nothing yet.

[Hurdity]

One blood test is not sufficient to tell you very much and it also depends on where in your cycle it was taken. If you are not having a cycle then I'm not sure - I agree with Dancinggirl, Sarai - although your FSH level is high, your oestrogen levels are also pretty good still especially if you haven't had a period for 3 months!

It sounds, as Taz and Annie said that your ovaries are beginning to pack up which is why your FSH levels are high and the high oestrogen levels show that maybe there is an egg growing in there  and you may ovulate soon (I'm not completely clear as to exactly how this works) - I try to imagine the ovary like a bowl of thick porridge on a rolling boil so you get some bubbles that don't pop ( the eggs that don't develop properly) and then some ripen properly and go pop ( like the porridge boiling). I am thinking that the ones that don't pop are still producing oestrogen as they start to develop and then if they don't then are reabsorbed and oestrogen production stops. This is probably a terrible analogy but it is how I try to understand it! It might be complete rubbish as I haven't read much about this aspect in detail as you can probably tell!!!!

The paper I linked to a while back about the stages of reproductive ageing reported that during peri-menopause FSH levels can go into the post-menopausal range (as Taz!) so I presume if GPs aren't aware of this they will just look at one blood test and draw (the wrong) conclusions - telling women they are post-menopausal and sending them into an unnecessary panic!

The low progesterone indicates that you are not ovulating at the moment or haven't done so recently - progesterone is naturally very low during the first half of the menstrual cycle and during post-menopause ie it rises quickly after ovulation and then drops fairly quickly if the egg is not fertilised.

Sarai if you want to read about what the two hormones do there's a great article here about peri-menopause where it is explained quite well:
http://www.menopausematters.co.uk/article-perils-of-the-perimenopause.php

Yes best to wait and see...

Hurdity x

[CLKD]

  ……….

[BrightLight]

Hurdity just explained the potential of things perfectly Sarai - I think it's impossible to tell exactly what is going on until a pattern emerges.  I would not count on having no periods again or that the levels will remain the same.  I am one of the women that has had a very high FSH, one missed period and diagnosed post menopausal, only to discover the next tests were in range and regular periods since.  So peri-menopausal not post and things could change again, I must have had a period of time with no eggs (I presume).  Lots of things can upset hormone balance and send it right again, until it all starts to just stop changing - it's definately hard to get your head around