Menopause FSH Level

Of all the symptoms and indicators of the menopause FSH level tests are the most reliable. Normally, in women aged over forty-five, an absence of monthly bleeding in menstruation can be taken to be a sign that the menopause has been reached. In fact, often women of a certain age who are expecting the menopause and have recognised the other symptoms of mood swings and hot flushes will not trouble themselves to find out of they have a menopause FSH level. They will just assume they have reached the menopause by the onset of these physical symptoms.

However, certain other medical conditions and illness can result in the cessation of menstruation, therefore it is may be important to test for a menopause FSH level. If this is found not to be the cause of menstruation ending, then there may be some other underlying cause which requires treatment. This is why testing for a menopause FSH level may be more important to be done in younger women.

FSH is a follicle stimulating hormone. If it is present and working normally, it will stimulate ovulation and the ripening of the ova. Obviously, this process and this hormone are vital to fertility, so a test to find out of a woman has a menopause FSH level may be more significant for women who are having trouble conceiving a baby. Obviously, if she is not ovulating, a baby is not going to be conceived and it is this whether or not a woman is ovulating which can be detected in this test for a menopause FSH level.

Importance for younger women

Younger women, especially those of child-bearing age and with hopes of having children will wan to know if they are failing to ovulate. A simple blood test to ascertain their FSH level will give them the information they need to seek appropriate treatment.

Doctors can often misdiagnose a menopause FSH level as a stress-related lack of menstruation in younger women and this would not normally be treated, so if a woman is concerned and does not believe that the doctor has diagnosed her lack of menstruation accurately then she can and maybe should ask for a FSH level test.

And for older women

Some women approach and go through the menopause with few or no unpleasant symptoms. However, thousands of women are not so lucky, and for them, a test to ascertain a menopause FSH level can be very reassuring.

The menopause can cause symptoms of irritability and poor memory. This can be quite distressing and can make women worry that they are suffering from something much more serious than the menopause – especially as they symptoms often arise whilst a woman is still menstruating – if irregularly. A simple blood or urine test to find out the woman’s FSH level can allay an awful lot of fears in these cases.

When should your FSH level be tested?

As you may well expect, your FSH level will fluctuate throughout the monthly cycle. Therefore, if you are still having menstrual periods, the best time to have your FSH level tested is on the third day of your menstrual period. All it means is a simple blood or urine test and there are now home FSH level tests which are increasingly widely available so you may not even have to visit your doctor for a FSH menopause test.

If you are not having menstrual periods any longer, it is fine to get your levels tested to find out of you have a menopause FSH level or if your lack of monthly bleeding is actually due to some other cause which may need to be treated. They will let you know, for instance, with reasonable certainty, whether a woman’s ovaries are beginning to fail.

Also, because of these quite normal fluctuations in FSH levels, it is recommended that you have them tested twice, probably about a month apart. This is particularly important for younger women as it will help to ascertain whether they are experiencing a menopause FSH level which would not be considered normal at their age and which would probably require further investigation and treatment; or it could just be that through stress or trauma, the younger woman is experiencing a temporary cessation of menstruation: either way, a menopause FSH level test will tell you this.