FSH/LH levels

[DizzyMerry11]

Struggling with secondary infertility. I had my FSH/LH levels tested on day 4 (day 3 fell on a Sunday). Just got the results back and FSH is 7 and LH is 2.3. Can someone please tell me what these levels mean? From my own research I believe FSH should be below 10 but I'm not sure what the results mean when combined with the LH levels.

Any help wouldn't be greatly appreciated.

Bump

Hey

I got my levels tested for pcos and my ratio was 1:4. You need to work out the ratio, I used google calc to work mine out, ideally it should be 1:1.

It's probably normal. You really need a paired oestradiol level to know for sure. If oestradiol is high than the FSH could be suppressed by this.

It's not suggestive of PCOS. In PCOS you get a raised LH, with LH:FSH ratio of 2:1 or more. You don't have this given that your LH is less than your FSH.

• then not than

Thank you both. I didn't think it was indicative of PCOS as I've read that LH would be higher in that case like earlgrey has said. I'm just not sure what it means! Although google says it can mean diminished ovarian reserve, which is probably correct as that was mentioned to me when we had our first IVF consultation years ago.

If that is the case then am I right to assume there's no point in pursuing this any further, i.e. having IVF? And we should just continue trying naturally? DH does have sperm morphology issues so maybe it's just a lost cause

I wouldnt believe everything you read online! I thought that about my pcos but the result cannot be read on its own i had to have an ultrasound to confirm more stuff.

See what your dr says when its compared to your other results!

The LH does sound relatively low but if you were nearing peri menopause, your FSH would be a lot higher than that. Your consultant will probably look at other results, antral follicle count etc to determine if IVF might work. Carrying on trying without medical help might be futile if you’ve got MFI... Miracles can happen but you’d have an actual change with medical intervention.

Thanks little and JoJo. I don't have any other results but my progesterone level was 66 a couple of months ago. I had these bloods done via my GP and haven't yet sought help from a fertility clinic but have been looking at the Create clinic as they do natural/mild IVF. Just not sure whether it's worth doing as I really don't want to be opening any can of worms and I think I'd rather just be oblivious to my issues. It's difficult because I don't want to give up and at the same time I don't do anything to try and help move the situation along and explore any possibilities.

It’s a very personal decision and you might not have much time to make it. Worth sitting down with DH to discuss it. Also I’m not sure what you mean ‘can of worms’. IVF is just a medical treatment used for treating problems with the reproductive system. I’m not sure that but getting a proper diagnosis and relevant treatment is a better option. Although I do respect that you might prefer not to have children if it entails getting help from a doctor.

Yes, it definitely is a personal and very difficult decision to make. We've discussed it before and DH is happy to proceed with IVF and I actually wouldn't mind going through with it but it's just not straightforward. When we had our first consultation the prior to conceiving DD, the consultant was very abrupt and said due to my low ovarian reserve they'd only give me one cycle on the NHS but she was pretty adamant it wouldn't work. Also I have endo which was discovered whilst going through fertility tests. We went on to conceive DD after 3 years of ttc and then had a mmc in 2015. For me the 'can of worms' is finding more issues to deal with and I'm not sure I want to, if that makes sense! Having to deal with it all again makes me anxious and it all feels so deflating. I do appreciate what you say about time though and maybe I just need to make that initial appointment and see what happens. Thanks for your input it really is helpful.

Well, as you won’t be eligible on the NHS, you could go with a lovely clinic that has nicer consultants. If they feel there’s a chance, you could also agree to, say, max 2 goes to avoid things spiralling out of control. I say two as the first cycle is often a bit of an exploratory one (learning how you react to things).

On a side note, has your husband done his absolute best? No smoking, drinking, loose pants, lots of veg and fruit etc? A range of supplements? Lifestyle can make a massive difference so I’d want to see that he’s bending over backwards to do his bit.

Yes, JoJo, DH has been doing his absolute best he takes his supplements and has made several lifestyle changes and this month he has also started taking zinc.

What you say makes a lot of sense and I think it's very important for me to have a max number of cycles as otherwise it would start to drive me mad thinking we could maybe try one more time. I will book an appointment with Create as there really is no point carrying on as we are when nothing is happening. Thank you, you've been really helpful.

Best of luck ;) I hope it goes well. And well done for DH. Mine was also a man on a mission and I really appreciated that.

It really does help when the men folk do their bit without being told! Thank you again