MidLife
Blood tests to check hormone status
A blood test is sometimes done to check hormone status in perimenopausal women. This test measures the level of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH.) The problem with interpreting this test, in women approaching midlife, is that one measurement doesn’t provide enough information.
Perimenopause is a time of hormone fluctuation. You may find that your periods are irregular or changed in amount of flow or duration compared to earlier years. Some menstrual cycles are anovulatory (without ovulation). These changes in hormone levels may actually vary significantly from one week to the next. So if a blood test shows a normal FSH, it doesn’t mean that that it was normal 5 days earlier, or that it will be normal 5 days later.
To accurately predict how the levels of FSH correlate to a woman’s peri- menopausal status, the blood test needs to be repeated at least 2-3 times within 1 –2 weeks. One signal that the midlife change is complete is when FSH levels are above 40 mIU per milliliter on two separate occasions, measured 1 week apart.
