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Menopause (Expert Forum)
Do these blood test results tell me anything??
Answered by
Machelle Seibel, MD - Women's Health, menopause, ReproductiveMedicine
University of Massachusetts Medical School
MA
Questions in the Menopause forum are answered by Dr. Machelle Seibel. Topics covered include menopause issues, depression, hormone replacement therapy, hot flashes, joint or muscle problems, memory problems, mood swings, osteoporosis, sexual problems, skin changes, sleeping problems, vaginal problems, and weight problems.
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Do these blood test results tell me anything??
by Curiouser, Oct 05, 2006 12:00AM
Greetings. I had blood tests done on Day 14 of a period that went on and on (but lightly). The doctor told me it was probably an anovulatory period and not to worry. Finally it did stop. It's the first abnormal period I can remember having (I'm 36), and no chance I'm pregnant.
Anyhow these are the results, I just wanted to know if they're normal or can nothing be concluded:
Estradiol: 374pg/mL
FSH: 4.3 mIU/mL
LH: 14.2 mI/mL
Prolactin: 13.2 ng/mL
TSH: 1.8 mcIU/mL
18 days after these blood tests I got my period again (I think it was also anovulatory because all month I had almost no discharge).
Doc said tests were fine but I think the Estradiol seems high, and I also read that high estradiol can artificially mask a high FSH value. Is that true?
The other thing is that the day AFTER these tests I got symptoms that I read have to do with menopause! Bitter taste in mouth with stress (which I'm still experiencing), serious brain fog, sweating twice as much as usual at the gym and a different kind of sweat if that makes sense, like out of new pores. I think I had a one-second hot flash. And weirdest of all my vagina got very dry which has never happened and it was puzzling, since it happened the day AFTER these blood tests indicating high estrogen. NOW I'm much better, but...
What might be going on? They won't test my progesterone levels right now either, and I kind of want to try to try natural progesterone cream since I've heard a lot about it...
THANK YOU FOR ANY & ALL INPUT!!
Anyhow these are the results, I just wanted to know if they're normal or can nothing be concluded:
Estradiol: 374pg/mL
FSH: 4.3 mIU/mL
LH: 14.2 mI/mL
Prolactin: 13.2 ng/mL
TSH: 1.8 mcIU/mL
18 days after these blood tests I got my period again (I think it was also anovulatory because all month I had almost no discharge).
Doc said tests were fine but I think the Estradiol seems high, and I also read that high estradiol can artificially mask a high FSH value. Is that true?
The other thing is that the day AFTER these tests I got symptoms that I read have to do with menopause! Bitter taste in mouth with stress (which I'm still experiencing), serious brain fog, sweating twice as much as usual at the gym and a different kind of sweat if that makes sense, like out of new pores. I think I had a one-second hot flash. And weirdest of all my vagina got very dry which has never happened and it was puzzling, since it happened the day AFTER these blood tests indicating high estrogen. NOW I'm much better, but...
What might be going on? They won't test my progesterone levels right now either, and I kind of want to try to try natural progesterone cream since I've heard a lot about it...
THANK YOU FOR ANY & ALL INPUT!!
Doctor's Answer
by Machelle Seibel, MD, Oct 05, 2006 12:00AM
, Oct 05, 2006 12:00AM
Your hormone values are normal for the time around ovulation in a menstruating woman but we can't tell for sure you ovulated because we don't have a test for progesterone. They do look normal for events leading up to ovulation. The progesterone value must be above 4 and usually is even higher than that in the second half of the cycle if one ovulates. One progesterone test doesn't tell that the cycle is normal, just that one ovulates.
A bitter taste with stress can also be acid reflux and stress can affect ones cyles. Your tests don't look like menopause. See what happens over the next few months. Ask yourself if stress is higher than usual.
If cycles continue to be irregular, consider repeating the blood tests. The ideal time for the blood tests you had done is in the first week of the cycle. The ideal time for progesterone is in the second half of the cycle. Before using progesterone cream, it is a good idea to find out what you are treating.
Machelle M. Seibel, MD
A bitter taste with stress can also be acid reflux and stress can affect ones cyles. Your tests don't look like menopause. See what happens over the next few months. Ask yourself if stress is higher than usual.
If cycles continue to be irregular, consider repeating the blood tests. The ideal time for the blood tests you had done is in the first week of the cycle. The ideal time for progesterone is in the second half of the cycle. Before using progesterone cream, it is a good idea to find out what you are treating.
Machelle M. Seibel, MD
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Thank you again!
If I were you, I'd just wait and see what happens your next 2 cycles. They may return to normal.
Hudson
Hudson: yes, I know the one-second hotflash must sound ridiculous. However, what I mean is that I had one second of what I can only describe as this extremely intense shot of heat that I've never experienced before, and it was during the same week where I was otherwise having other hot/cold issues as well. But I mean, for ONE second it really was something I could literally describe as a very hot flash. Yikes.
Prolactin was 9.6
FSH was 4.5
T3 UPTAKE was 30.4
FREE T4 was 1.0
TSH was 2.525
Also I have no other symptoms other than tired, and 2 weeks late.
thank you!