TSH or Leutinizing Hormone levels related to Testosterone?
Question:
I asked about this in another post, but want to ask again. When I got lab work done to see if I had PCOS (in Nov. right before I was diagnosed with PCOS) it looks like my testosterone was not tested, which surprised me. Can the FSH or Leutinizing Hormone being low or high reveal anything about possible testosterone (this was when I was not having periods at all)?
Response:
PCOS can be diagnosed by determining an incorrect LH/FSH ratio – you don’t necessarily need to have the testosterone tested and, in some cases, women with PCOS don’t have a testosterone problem. Regardless of which results are used to make a diagnosis, the range of treatment options should be the same. Hope this is helpful, kris – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -CAT EIS wrote in message <20000322220544.13619.00001…@ng-cp1.aol.com>… >I asked about this in another post, but want to ask again. >When I got lab work done to see if I had PCOS (in Nov. right before I was >diagnosed with PCOS) it looks like my testosterone was not tested, which >surprised me. Can the FSH or Leutinizing Hormone being low or high reveal >anything about possible testosterone (this was when I was not having periods at >all)?
Response:
do you know the correct or incorrect FSH/LH ratio? Mine seemed very different…the FSH was 5.3 and the LH was 21.1 -and this was when I hadn’t had a period in a long time. I kinda seemed like these numbers should be closer together/ closer to the same number. and ideas? -Susan
Response:
CAT EIS wrote: > do you know the correct or incorrect FSH/LH ratio? Mine seemed very > different…the FSH was 5.3 and the LH was 21.1 -and this was when I hadn’t had > a period in a long time. I kinda seemed like these numbers should be closer > together/ closer to the same number. and ideas? > -Susan
I was told it should be 2 to 1 to prove PCO – no one said how high it could go. Interesting question. Carone
Response:
<<Can the FSH, [TSH] or Leutinizing Hormone being low or high reveal anything about possible testosterone (this was when I was not having periods at all)?>> Depending on cycle day of the blood draw, abnormally high LH can tip one off to PCOS, and to look at testosterone. I believe that testosterone helps to drive up LH…but you can’t assume that your testosterone is high because your LH is. FSH and TSH are not indicators of Testosterone, I believe….so those wouldn’t provide any clues.
Response:
<<do you know the correct or incorrect FSH/LH ratio?>> First of all, they MUST be tested on Cycle Day 1, 2 or 3 (baseline). Otherwise, the results aren’t meaningful. If you lack a period, then you should induce one and then test. <<…the FSH was 5.3 and the LH was 21.1 -and this was when I hadn’t had a period in a long time.>> This is not meaningful, because we don’t know if you were about to ovulate or not. LH rises sharply immediately prior to ovulation. If we were to assume your blood was drawn at baselilne, then it sure does look like PCOS. With PCOS, baseline LH is typically 3x (or more) higher than FSH. (Some RE"s consider an LH of *2x* FSH to be indicative of it, also). In normal, non-pcos women, baseline LH and FSH are about equal…altho FSH rises with age. Please see an RE who will test at the appropriate time and who will know what to look for. -Kay
Response:
thanks to everyone who answered! this has been very helpful. I know I have PCOS, but I just wanted to understand my lab work results and the meanings of them. thanks again, Susan =)
Response:
Filed under: PCOS Treatment
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