I have been holding this post back for a long time since it is so personal. And I get frustrated navigating the medical establishment. I was finally able to convince my doctor to order a hormone panel and here are the results that I got back. The blood was drawn on my cycle day 2.
Estradiol: Ranges from 30 to 400 pg/mL during reproductive years, but drops significantly to 0 to 30 pg/mL postmenopause.
Adult Female Range
Follicular phase 12.5 - 166.0
Ovulation phase 85.8 - 498.0
Luteal phase 43.8 - 211.0
Postmenopausal <6.0 - 54.7
Me = 16.2 pg/mL
Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH): A normal premenopausal level falls between 5 and 21 mIU/mL. In postmenopause, the brain works harder to stimulate the ovaries, pushing levels to 25.8–134.8 mIU/mL.
Adult Female Range
Follicular phase 3.5 - 12.5
Ovulation phase 4.7 - 21.5
Luteal phase 1.7 - 7.7
Postmenopausal 25.8 - 134.8
Me = 7.3mIU/mL
Testosterone in women normally ranges between 15-70 nanograms per deciliter (ng/dL).
Premenopausal 10.0 - 55.0
Postmenopausal 7.0 - 40.0
Me = 18.4ng/dL
Luteinizing hormone (LH) During weeks one and two of the menstrual cycle, LH levels are normally between 1.37 to 9 IU/L. After menopause, levels of LH rise dramatically. The average range is 19.3 to 100.6
Adult Female Range
Follicular phase 2.4 - 12.6
Ovulation phase 14.0 - 95.6
Luteal phase 1.0 - 11.4
Postmenopausal 7.7 - 58.5 IU/L.
Me = 3.5mIU/mL
Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) normally between 0.5 and 4.0 mIU/L.
Me = 0.949 uIU/mL
Progesterone below 1 ng/mL in the menstrual and follicular stage. Between 2 to 25 ng/mL in the luteal stage of the menstrual cycle. Postmenopausal below 0.2 ng/mL.
Follicular phase 0.1 - 0.9
Luteal phase 1.8 - 23.9
Ovulation phase 0.1 - 12.0
Postmenopausal 0.0 - 0.1
Me = 0.3 ng/mL
Prolactin
Normal 4.8-33.4 ng/mL
Me = 11.8 ng/mL
Calculating Hormonal Dominance - Progesterone to Estrogen | Testmottagningen
https://www.testmottagningen.se/en/kalkylatorer/progesteron-ostrogen-ratio/
Me = 18.52 P/E2
Progesterone levels should normally be between 200 to 400 times higher than estradiol.
A calculated result below 100 indicates possible estrogen dominance.
A calculated result above 500 indicates possible progesterone dominance.
Expect a postmenopausal progesterone-to-estrogen ratio of nearly zero without supplementation.
Perimenopause: During the transition years, ovulation becomes erratic, causing progesterone to plummet while estrogen levels can still spike. This leads to relative estrogen dominance, which triggers symptoms like weight gain, heavy periods, and breast tenderness
Target Ranges: For symptom relief, optimal target ranges are generally 50 pg/mL for estrogen and 10 ng/mL for progesterone, though these vary by individual need.
Given all this information, and using the Flo app, I determined that since I am still having periods every 13-38 days (roughly every 27 days) I am not yet a candidate for hormone replacement therapy (HRT). What I can do is take hormonal birth control to deliver a consistent dose of hormones to my body. For the last week, I've been taking Lo Loestrin Fe.
24 Blue Tablets: Active pills containing 1 mg norethindrone acetate and 10 mcg ethinyl estradiol. These molecules are a synthetic progestin and a synthetic estrogen, respectively.
Ethinyl estradiol binds to estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) and estrogen receptor beta (ERβ), which stops the secretion of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), luteinizing hormone (LH), and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH).
Norethindrone acetate binds to the nuclear progesterone receptor (PR), which prevents the endometrium from proliferating excessively, thickens the cervical mucus, and suppresses ovulation. Norethindrone acetate also inhibits the secretion of gonadotropins, specifically luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH).
Taken together, these active pharmaceutical ingredients help in managing the symptoms of menopause by providing hormonal stability.
