Blood tests

[littlefrimp]

Hi ladies,

Just wondering if any of you have been sent for bloods and know what results should be?!
I went to my GP yesterday as we have been trying (without any luck) to conceive and last month decided to help things along by using opks only to find out I'm not ovulating!! This obviously freaked me out! He sent me for bloods yesterday for hormone profile and thyroid function test, and I have to go back on day 21 of my cycle for a progesterone test.
He told me that he can't make a referral to fertility until its been a year (its been about 9 months so far). I can't wait that long so I have booked a private consultation to see if I can find out what the heck is going on!!

Don't know about you but the worst thing is the waiting......a month feels like an eternity.....my life has now been broken down into a series of numbered days!

Have any of you had these bloods done? Do you know what the levels are supposed to be?

Thanks :)

Just because the OPKs don't work doesn't mean you're not ovulating! It just doesn't work for some, but they still conceive... I have read a few stories on here.

It's good your GP is doing the tests, I had some. I had lh/fsh ratio tested between day 1 and 4 of the cycle. The ratio between these can show pcos; I think the LH needs to be lower than the FSH, but you could google that. Mine was fine. Then I had a day 21 test, which showed no ovulation. But when this was repeated another cycle, starting on day 21 and repeated every week, it did show ovulation but just a week later than expected. I think progesterone levels are supposed to be over 30 (although it depends on what units they use to measure them) to indicate ovulation.

The thyroid test will show you your TSH levels. It's best if they are under 4.

If the blood tests show something is not right, your GP can refer you immediately. It doesn't have to be a year if there's something wrong! Mine referred me and it had been not a year yet, because he thought it may be pcos. A problem with your thyroid the GP can usually manage himself.

The day 21 test should really be done 7 dpo. Day 21 assumes you ovulate on day 14. I am just telling you this just in case the numbers are low so is something to consider. I found charting and using OPKs really helped pin point when I was ovulating and so I could go in for bloods 7dpo for an accurate result. You can easily miss your surge with an opk and unless they are smiley face ones they can be tricky to read. On NHS Normal progesterone levels on day21 should be more than 30 as this indicates ovulation. Many doctors prefer more than 40 though.
If you feel something is wrong, put the pressure on. No point hanging around.

If you ask for a printout of the blood tests, the results should show the normal ranges for that particular lab. The only one to be careful of is the progesterone because the normal range covers what is normal at any point in the cycle, whereas for a day 21 test, as devon says, you want it to be over 30 to indicate ovulation has taken place.