Understanding How Doctors Test for Menopause
You are already close or on the right age for perimenopause. There are days when you feel uppity about certain symptoms, but you are not quite sure whether you are only feeling a little bit under the weather or you are already undergoing early menopause symptoms. Thus, the most logical thing to do is to see a doctor and to get tested.
Changes in your body’s hormone levels are determined by these three blood and urine tests: estradiol, follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), and luteinizing hormone (LH) blood test.
The estradiol test measures the quantity of estradiol in your body. Estradiol is the most significant form of the hormone, estrogen. Estradiol plays a major role in governing the growth of the womb, the fallopian tubes, and the vagina; it also promotes the breast and genital development of females. Most importantly, it determines the fat distribution in any woman’s body. The estradiol test is done after obtaining your blood sample. Estrogen therapy and birth control pills will affect the test results, so you have to eliminate those before undergoing this blood test.
The FSH test, on the other hand, is concerned with the hormone released by the anterior pituitary gland. The follicle stimulating hormone stimulates the production of eggs and estradiol during the early half of the menstrual cycle. It is also performed by getting your blood sample on specific days of your menstrual cycle. Abnormal FSH test results do not only mean the onset of menopause; abnormal results can also indicate the presence of hypopituitarism, Klinefelter syndrome, polycystic ovary disease, Turner syndrome, ovarian failure, ovarian or adrenal cancers, precocious puberty in girls and boys, or anorexia.
Lastly, the LH test, done via a blood sample analysis, focuses on the luteinizing hormone. LH is released by the pituitary gland and is responsible for ovulation. The drugs that will affect the test results are birth control pills, hormone replacement therapy medication, and testosterone. If the LH test results are lower than the normal LH levels in the body, then it may mean that you have hypopituitarism. If the results are higher than normal, then it may indicate the following: anorchia (or the absence of testes or testes that do not function), hypogonadism, Klinefelter syndrome, ovarian failure, polycystic ovary disease, precocious puberty, Turner syndrome, or menopause.
Understanding these tests done to determine the onset of menopause will assist you in deciding whether or not to get tested.
What You NEED To Know If You're Showing Early Signs of Being Menopausal
You're going to learn in my FREE Email mini-course:
- What is perimenopause?
- What are the signs and symptoms of being perimenopausal?
- What does it mean when you are becoming menopausal prematurely?
- What can you do about it, are there any treatments?
- And so much more...
All of your Perimenopause questions will be answered...
Yes! I need to know about how to spot Perimenopause and what I can do about it if I have it RIGHT NOW!
Send me my free Email course today!
|
