Is there a Test for Menopause?
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If you feel like you are experiencing some symptoms of menopause or that something in your body just isn’t quite right then you may be interested in taking a test to find out if you are menopausal. There are actually tests that can help you determine whether or not you have entered your menopausal years. Generally, your doctor will check your FSH level, follicle stimulating hormone, to via a urine or blood test. There are even over the counter tests available that will help you test for your FSH levels on a certain day. A menopause test looks very much like a pregnancy test and it works in a similar way. However, it is important to keep in mind that the results are not as cut and dry as a pregnancy test’s results are.
Your pituitary gland, located in your brain, secrets a hormone called FSH when estrogen levels are low. That is the tie in between menopause and FSH. When FSH levels are high during a particular cycle this could indicate that a woman is perimenopausal. When a women is in her 40s and 50s and sometimes even in her 30s the external elements of toxins, diet, and stress can really affect her ovaries. As a result, a woman’s cycle may not be as regular as when she was younger. In some cases, a woman may have a regular cycle, but not release an egg. This is where the menopause test may let you down. You cold take a test during a cycle where your progesterone and estrogen levels are out of balance but your test shows you FSH levels as normal. So, you are having periods and night sweats, but since your FSH levels are normal you believe all is well. However, you can actually be premenopausal during some cycles and not during others. That’s because perimenopause is not static and you will move in and out of it based on your hormonal balance for a period of years and maybe even for a decade. It’s more important to pay attention to your body’s symptoms than it is to a test.
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