FSH/LH help please!!

[tiptoptally]

Hi, been lurking here for a while but I've had my blood results back today and I'm hoping someone can help cos I'm now worried sick!

I'm 35, have regular periods but kept having hot flushes that made me paranoid I was peri-menopausal (that's when I'm not convinced I'm pregnant).

Had my bloods taken on day 21 of my cycle and they have come back as FSH being 3.4 and LH as 1.8. Aren't these figures meant to be roughly the same? Is the fact that there is such a difference mean I'm not ovulating - I'm so desperate to be pregnant it's not even funny. My progesterone level was 28.

Sorry for such a frantic first post!

Don't panic!

You should see your doctor to talk through the results. You'll get much more sense out of him or her!

Fsh should be done on day 3 to give a proper idea on fertility.

i'll try!! :) I should add that I actually had the tests done on day 19, but told the dr's it was day 21 cos day 21 actually fell over a weekend.

Can't get a dr's appointment till a week on Monday, will probably have been through about 5000 different scenarios in my head by then!1

(I'm not a nutter - honest...:) this whole things just driving me a bit mad!!)

LH and FSH should be ideally measured at the beginning of the cycle, say around day 2 (certainly not day 21). This is because these two hormones kickstart the ovulation process.

Would be asking for a referral to a gynae if GP is at all uncertain.

You need to go back and get them done on day 21.

Yes, sorry my info was not right.

Progesterone test should be taken on day 21
LH/FSH should be taken day 3

For you to get anything at all likely to be of use.

so you are going to have to start again if you want tests that are going to actually tell you anything useful.

LH and FSH should be measured in the first 5 days of your cycle. They kick start the whole process, and naturally drop in your luteal phase (post-ovulation) so your current results are artificially low (this is particularly relevant with FSH, as you're ideally looking for an FSH level of 10 or less to give a clue about ovarian reserve). It's definitely fine to have these tests done from day 1-5 btw, as it's something I've checked and double-checked with private and NHS fertility consultants!

Progesterone tests are to check for ovulation and are done half way through the luteal phase (the time from ovulation to your period). They're commonly called day 21 tests, as it's based on a 28 day cycle where ovulation occurs on day 14, so day 21 is half way to the next period. With prog tests you're looking for a level of 21 or over, to indicate ovulation. So your result is fine and you ovulated . Do talk to your doctor to confirm this though!

From my own experience, my "day 21" tests were done on day 17/18 as I ovulate on day 11/12 and have a 12 day luteal phase. But from speaking to various fertility consultants (I eventually conceived my son via IVF because of male factor issues), they're not too hung up on whether it's exactly half way through your luteal phase.

So if I were you I'd go back and ask for FSH and LH tests in the first 5 days of your next period. They may well have to refer you to a walk-in blood test clinic at your local hospital or polyclinic, as GPs generally can't accommodate this (my own certainly can't, as they only do blood tests on certain days and it can take 2 weeks to get an appointment!).

Chances are everything is fine, so try not to stress, but it's always good to go prepared so any questions about what happens next etc are answered.

Good luck!

thank you for all the sensible advice! I have an appointment with both the nurse and gp on Monday, which should be about day 1 or 2 of my cycle, so hopefully i'll be able to get another blood test organised for next month.

Quite excited about it all now!!