Hi notadad,
Most likely her FSH level is not sufficiently high to avoid pregnancy,
but more importantly levels do fluctuate. I've posted a portion of an
article which explains this further.
FSH Blood Level Measurement
http://www.earlymenopause.com/howcanyoubesure.htm
This is the key test to determine whether or not you are in menopause.
A sample of your blood is taken to measure the levels of FSH in your
blood. Because your FSH levels rise when your ovaries stop producing
enough estrogen, high FSH levels can signal that your body is entering
menopause. FSH levels above 10 to 12 mlu/ml indicate that your ovaries
are starting to fail. In other words, this means that you are in
perimenopause -- the beginning stages of menopause when you notice
physical symptoms, but before you have stopped having a period for a
year. Higher FSH levels -- levels about 35 to 40 -- are usually taken
to signal menopause. You may even be getting periods with your FSH
levels this high, but it still is a sign that your body isn't
producing enough estrogen to maintain regular ovarian function.
If you have stopped having your period, you can get your FSH levels
tested at any time. If, however, you are still having a period but
still suspect menopause because of other symptoms, you should get your
blood tested on the third day of your cycle. In addition, many
doctors advise having this test more than once if you're still having
your period, because there is a slim chance that high FSH levels are
temporary. Especially if you're experiencing no other menopausal
symptoms, you may be in temporary menopause -- an uncommon condition,
but one that does happen. Many doctors recommend that you wait a few
months and take the FSH test again, or go through other tests to
determine your hormonal profile.
In addition, it's important to realize that your FSH levels can -- and
do -- fluctuate. In my case, they kept going up for a long time.
For example, when I first had my FSH levels checked, I hadn't had a
period in three months and had a level of 35. I went to another
doctor just a month later to double check whether or not I was
actually in premature menopause, and tested at a level of 65. About a
month after that, I began getting my period again and thought my body
had miraculously snapped back to normal. I went to a reproductive
endocrinologist to check about my options where pregnancy was
concerned and had blood taken on the third day of my cycle to test.
This time my FSH was tested at a whopping 158 -- basically off the
charts where FSH is concerned! In fact, according to several charts
in different books, my FSH levels were those of an untreated 80 year
old woman. This is when I realized that charts don't always tell you
the whole truth. Obviously, at age 38 I was no 80 year old -- yet my
FSH levels were high enough to signal that, clearly, I was technically
in ovarian failure in spite of my periods.
Yet again, this hammers home the unfortunate fact that you may indeed
be in premature menopause even if you're having periods. Once your FSH
levels have reached a certain height for a period of time, it's highly
unlikely that they'll drop back to premenopausal levels. In my case,
even after my FSH was tested at over 150, I had apparently normal
periods for eight months. Then when I was retested -- hoping that
somehow my body had snapped back to normal, I learned that my FSH
level had dropped. . . . but only to 126. Since my FSH levels had
been well above 35 for over a year, I finally accepted that I was in
menopause.
FSH TEST LEVELS
Normal Menstruating
Follicular Phase 2.5 to 10.2
Midcycle Peak 3.4 to 33.4
Luteal Phase 1.5 to 9.1
Pregnant 0.0 to 0.2
Postmenopausal 23.0 to 116.3
Best regards,
tlspiegel |
