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Let me explain the underlying lab tests that may be offered to you around the time of menopause. When we talk about menopause and we imagine the ovary secreting, estrogen, or estradiol, as it’s called. The estradiol feeds back to a portion of our brain called the hypothalamus and the hypothalamus secretes GnRH, which is gonadotrophin releasing hormone to tell the pituitary, which is another part of our brain, and the pituitary releases, LH and FSH, luteinizing hormone, and follicle stimulating hormone. And follicle stimulating hormone does exactly what it says it’s going to do. And it stimulates follicles in the ovary. And then the ovary opulate secreting estradiol, which feeds back to the hypothalamus. And it becomes a loop called the hypothalamic pituitary ovarian access. And what happens in menopause, if we no longer have the ovary functioning effectively and we don’t get the estradiol secreted, then the hypothalamus and the pituitary are not getting that feedback. And ultimately the FSH coming from the pituitary, as well as some other things, starts to climb because it’s really trying to push those ovaries to give to ovulate and to give more estradiol. And so the FSH continues to push. It continues to rise. It continues to try to get those ovaries to do what they were doing before. And therefore the FSH starts to rise.
