How do you get FSH levels down

[rubles]

I have read recently on MN about people doing things to get their FSH levels lower - dizzy36 has definitely mentioned this.
Can you offer some potted tips? (No doubt giving up alcohol is one of the tips...it alway is..)

Sorry Rubles, but can you remind me what FSH is for? Thanks, forgotten!

Hi - you can take agnus castus (herbal remedy pills) that can help.... good luck!

Hi - you can take agnus castus (herbal remedy pills) that can help.... good luck!

Hi - you can take agnus castus (herbal remedy pills) that can help.... good luck!

Oops sorry - I didn't mean to post in triplicate

FSH is follicle stimulating hormone and it starts getting produced right at the beginning of your cycle to make the follicles grow. I think that when the follicles reach a certain size they provide negative feedback to the fsh to tell it that a follicle is big enough and the fsh has done its job. I think the follicles do it by producing oestrogen(?)
Anyway, when the fsh is higher than normal it means that more fsh is having to be produced to get the follicles to a certain size - so as you get older the follicles may be of poorer quality and need more of the fsh to get them growing - it is therefore one of the signs of a woman's ovarian reserve. As the eggs decline, more fsh is produced.

Ah ha, thank you Rubles. Don't want to step on any toes and have no personal experience or knowledge but have read many times that you have to be very careful with agnus castus and should not take it without advice.

I took it with advice and it did get my FSH down - it wasn't particularly high to start with though. Not sure many GPs would 'rate' it though as some are not really into 'herbal' remedies - a complementary therapist might though.

yey, at thread about fsh at last.

You may have read in other threads that my last reading was 13.8 but month before that it was 20 and my gynae has written me off as perimenopausal at 38 and go no chance of conceiving! What have your levels been rubels. I have conceived twice naturally, how about you.

I am determined to open a window of opportunity to create a 'good month'. Zita Wests Book gives following tips to reduce FSH

Do a (2 day) detox
cut out salt
2 litres of water a day
no caffiene/fizzy drinks
regular gentle exercise
spending time relaxing, deep breathing, meditating on colour blue!
50mg of B6
zinc (I'm taking 15mg)
Evening primrose oil or DHA (I take EPO pre-ov and DHA post-ov)
Eating beans, legumes? and garlic
Acupuncture
Agnus castus but only if recommended by a herbalist (I'm not doing this one as effects are uncertain)

I have just started with all the above hoping and will see how it affects my fsh, if at all

I also take chinese herbal tablets that supposedly balance hormones and immune system.

Let me know how you get on

Hi Dizzy, I was really hoping you'd come along as you seem to have been looking into this a fair bit.

Mine were 10.2, so kind of borderline, but still it got me really down when I found that out. Really down. I think I'll be getting them retested in a few months so I want to get them as low as possible before then. Unfortunately I have read that you are considered only as good as your worst FSH level, so I'm not sure what good it will do. I, too, have conceived twice naturally. Both times very easily. Once when I was 32 and the next when I was 34 except I miscarried the second one. I have now been trying all year for this next one.

I am going to do as much of Zita West's advice as I possibly can this month. I thought it would be along the lines of giving up lots of stuff and detox-ing, so no surprises there. It can do no harm though, can it? I am already having acupuncture and have given up caffeine, however I do tend to skip meals and am consequently a bit underweight so I need to eat more healthily and take up some exercise. But meditating??? I have a dd and a job and my house is a tip - how on EARTH will I find time to meditate??

I don't know if you read about Rubyroo on the positive in October threads - she was told that she was pre-menopausal and wouldn't conceive, but she has just had a BFP. I just love stories like that.

Are you going to get them retested or are you through with the infertility clinic now?

Dizzy - could you point me in the direction of some adverse affects of agnus castus? I've found nothing on the web - only positives. Am worried now Thanks.

www.questhealthlibrary.com/herbs/agnus_castus

Thanks Attila but there isn't really anything particularly adverse in that? A lot of herbal remedies can affect birth control etc. Anything else anyone has heard of that is bad about it?

twohoots - As long as you discuss with a herbalist I don't see why Agnus Castus should be a problem. If you look on some other threads regarding tips on conceiving there is mention of possible side affects of a.c that can hinder pregnancy.

Rubles, 10.2 is nothing really. zita west says less 6-8 is normal, 8-10 is between normal and somewhat reduced, 10-12 shows definite low ovarian reserve and response to stimulation, 12 - 17 even more so and over 17 - no go for fertility treatment.

i started trying for my 2nd when I was 34, took 15 months and ended in mc. Its quite possible that my fertility may have been reduced even then. my first fsh test was in april 2005 when it was 13.9, I was 36.

The main thing is as long as you are ovulating you have a chance of conceiving each month. Your right when you say you are only as good as your worst FSH but it is still possible to go down to below 10 even if been as high as I have... a month where fsh is around 6-8 is considered 'a good month' (the words of my gynae)

So try everything you can to get that FSH down. Mine been much higher than yours but am determined to get that 'good month'

with regards to medidation, yes it is hard. Have found best time is when having the accupuncuture. Try the breathing exercises (through nose, in to a count of 4 and out to a count of 8) and then try and focus on colour blue (don't know significance). I imagined lying on a beach looking at a clear blue sky and just focused on the blue sky...dont't know if thats the right way to do it.

how old are you rubles?

Rubles, my last fsh test was done in August and resulted in a reading of 10.2. I went on to Menopur injectibles and that very same month I conceived!! Am now 6 weeks and just turned 42.

skbf - but what are the chances of conceiving naturally with an fsh of 10.2, thats what no-one can answer.

Rubles, are you having treatment or still trying naturally.

Basically, with an elevated FSH all Drs know for definite is that it shows reduced ovarian reserve. They can't tell if the quality of the eggs are affected (if eggs are growing to full maturity before ovulation occurs) or the number of eggs have left.

With fertility treatment, the medication ensures that the egg grows to full maturity before ovulation. I had 3 IUI's with elevated FSH at around 13, all three times I produced good size eggs. There is no explanation why I didn't conceive. It was either bad luck or the quality of my eggs was reduced.

IVF can give more accurate info about eggs as drs can see them 'in action' and can grade their quality. I'm not going down this route though

You have every chance of conceiving naturally with an FSH of 10.2 and you would certainly not be considered perimenopausal. Get your FSH's checked again in the future because they do change every month.

On day 1 of my 2 day detox and had a smoothie for breakfast consisting of avocado, pears and apple juice, can still taste it and its not pleasant. going to be water, herbal tea, fruit, veg and ryvita until monday am. will let you know if I feel any different. going to get my fsh checked again in a couple of months to see if theres any change

good luck rubles

dizzy36, I am 35 and am waiting to get into the fertility treatment, so still doing it naturally.
I haven't actually had a proper explanation of my blood test results done by the GP as she didn't really know herself. All I know is what I have gathered from the internet.

How did your detox go? Did you get up first thing today and have a fry-up?

I tried the meditation, but my mind is a bit fidgety and I can't focus very well on just the colour blue....I suppose learning how to do it is the point though, isn't it.

hi rubles. I'm afraid the detox did not go as planned. I lasted until about 10pm and then caved and had a bowl of cereal with 'real' milk!
Not much I know but tasted wonderful.The next day I came down with a bad cold. Not had one for about 2 years. I'm actually quite a healthy eater but the 12 hour detox made me feel quite ill, maybe I need to add more variety as I just had fruit and veg all day.

Just read a brilliant book by a julia inchicova!? called inconceivable. she is a woman who conceived with an fsh of 30+ when she was in her early forties. She did it by changing her lifestyle i.e diet and exercise. book basically revolves around homeopathic methods like herbs and chinese medicine. It was very interesting. She also did a colonic but no sure about that one!

I didn't get a clear picture of my bloods at first either. Its important to ask what your oestrodial and lh levels are also. If oestrodial too low then unlikely to ovulate. I researched about this and then asked my clinic, they didn't volunteer the information...just wrote me off as perimenopausal and sent me on my way.

I don't beleive for one minute that its all over for me even though my highest FSH has been 20.

would your clinic not move u up the list considering your fsh level (even though its low some clinics won't do ivf unless under 10 as chance of no response). Bear in mind though that I had iui treatment with fsh of between 12 and 13 and responded fine.

The meditation is hard, I try it every day but can only last 10 seconds before start thinking about what to make for dinner!.

I am going to try some of the things in this book I have read. let me know if you want to know any of the tips....means going vege though and I don't think your situation is that drastic

Hi All
I have started taking AC and read at Zita West s book, that if you have LH high and fsh low, its not good to take it, as it effects lh anyway, and drops fsh more.
ANyone heard of this?
Thanks alot
xx

Estradiol 286

FSH 5.3

LH 20.1

Progestorine 1.9

Prolactine (not sure) 215

This was my blood results, i have pcos, and its day 80 now for me, no af nothing... Know I didnt ovulate on Clomid, and next step is ivf,I m told.

hi, could u plz tell me what is detox?

hi ,every one could u plz help me im 30 years old and i cant get period since 4 years ago. i used to take artificial tablet to get period but i stopped it . my fsh level is high. i used to go to herbal remedy but i just continue it for 3 month and gave it up. i dont know what to do plz help me.....

also to be noted re Zita West's FSH levels quoted above (i have that book) is that all labs have different ranges of normal and that does make a difference. Also my understanding is that she is talking about responses to artificial drugs to stimulate follicles, not quite the same as natural reproduction. My FSH was done a few weeks ago and was 9.2, which my GP assured me was completely normal (the labs normal range was up to 13). Yes its higher than i'd like but i'm mid 40s so what can i expect? I had my bloods tested as i'd MC earlier in the year and periods were all over the place.

p.s there are loads of women who have had FSH far higher than 10 and conceived perfectly naturally, please (whoever asked) don't worry about that, it really isn't high. I would recommend Zita west's books, she believes in a holistic approach.

I'm a bit confused by this - is FSH is needed for the follicles to mature wouldn't reducing your FSH levels mean that there might not be enough FSH to make the follicles mature and you won't ovulate?

I had my day 2 - 4 blood test this morning so want to be as prepared as possible for whatever results show up!