Can anyone help me please?

[Goingtobeawesome]

I am having four lots of tests at the moment. One set has come back with an issue with FSH and LH levels. Have been trying to speak to the doctor since last week and have been given a time to see her this afternoon.

Can anyone give me an advance advice please ?

what did you have the tests for? (Why did you go to drs in first place?)

Who has told you there is an 'issue' with those results? What do they mean by 'issue'? Was this a receptionist over the phone?

I've been poorly for a while with varying symptoms. Doctor covered each and sent me for relevant tests. One suggestion from her was she thinks I'm starting with the menapause. The issue is the results aren't marked No Action Required but with See Doctor. Best case, they need redoing as not done on day 21. Not worse but I am thinking I might be menapausal. Last month my period was three days early and lasted 15 days which has never happened. I'm normally five. This month I'm late already.

FSH and LH tests are done on between days 2-5 of your cycle- so that means the days you'd normally be bleeding. If the tests were not done then, they are inaccurate.

If you are anywhere between 45-55 then peri meno is normal. You only need treatment like HRT if you are under 45 or if your symptoms are really bothering you.

The blood was taken the day before my period was due but that period hasn't arrived yet, a week late now, so not sure where I am. Have been told by a doctor, a nurse, a consultant and a blood tested that the day does matter/ doesn't matter.

GP has already said I can't have HRT.

I need to do something if I am menapausal as I feel worse as each week goes by but then there's other things under investigation so I'm none the wiser.

Thank you.

If you are still having periods then it matters when the blood test is done. If anyone has said otherwise, they are wrong. Here

www.daisynetwork.org.uk/about-poi/making-the-diagnosis/

This is what the link says:

Investigations

If you present with these symptoms, tests your GP may consider include:

Follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) levels: This is done by a blood test which should be taken on day 2-5 of the menstrual cycle or at any time if you are not having periods. If FSH levels are elevated within the menopausal range they should be repeated again after 4-6 weeks to confirm a diagnosis of POI

Luteinizing hormone (LH) levels: Usually done at the same time as the FSH test, these are also elevated in POI.

Estradiol levels: Also a blood test. Estradiol is usually low in POI

How old are you and why have you been 'told' you can't have HRT? Is there something in your medical history?

GP said I'm peri-menapausal. Oestrogen levels have dropped quite a lot. Can't have HRT as have breast cancer in the family.

I'm 45.4

I think you need to explore this further.

What exactly is 'breast cancer in the family'?

According to my meno consultant, breast cancer is only a consideration (and never a definite no-no) if you have a mother AND sister who developed it before the age of 45.

If you mean a wider family, then it's not relevant ( 1:8 women get breast cancer so the likelihood of us all having someone in our extended family is very common.)

I have very little family history so if my GP has remembered this she might be being cautious. I'm having tests for a tumour too so I will be seeing the GP again and she's insisted I speak to her soon. Not a breast tumour btw.

I have very little family history so if my GP has remembered this she might be being cautious

I don't understand then why your Dr even asked you the question about breast cancer in your family.

What exactly did she ask? Was she doing an assessment on whether HRT was suitable?

I think you need to do some reading around all of this and if you decide you want to try HRT, go into your appt informed and ask why your dr thinks you can't have it.

It sounds as if she is misinformed unless there are things you are not explaining here. If no one in your immediate family had breast cancer- that's your mum, maternal aunts, sisters or a daughter , then it's not anything she should be discussing with you.

Last time I saw her I mentioned about a grandparent having breast cancer. The point is I don't know what my parents, siblings, aunties, uncles etc may have had.

TBH I'd find another GP. is there one at the practice who you would see instead? The one you are seeing appears to know very little based on what you've posted. having one grandmother with BC is not a reason to exclude HRT as a treatment, especially as you are only 45.

The risks only kick in after the age of average meno - 52- and only when you have taken it for 5 years or more. So you could in theory have HRT for 12 years to age 57 without any added risks.

Whether to have HRT or not doesn't worry me at the moment.

If the blood tests say my oestrogen and one other is down and I have all the symptoms of menopause, why does it matter if the bloods were taken on the wrong day?

Looking back I've had the symptoms for quite a while. I just dismissed them as was going through a stressful time. I've also got other things wrong that I don't know yet are or aren't related.

well yes it does matter. Because at certain times of the month during a fertile cycle, your FSH and LH levels would be lower. FSH- follicle stimulating hormone. This peaks before ovulation then falls.

It's a bit like saying why take your pulse or BP when at rest and not when you've run 5K!

What do you want to know to talk to the dr about?

I was asking if there was anything I should be asking that I might not realise.

You need to ask if the results show you are in peri meno, or menopausal. If they do, you need to ask for the test to be repeated at the correct time of your cycle, two months running. Once you have some accurate results, you can take it from there.
It IS possible that all the symptoms you have are directly linked to low estrogen levels.

She said peri.