Perimenopause

[x_b_x]

Hey there.

I just wondered if anyone had used one of these home menopause test kits and how reliable are they? I have been having a lot of symptoms recently and came back with two faint lines on a home test kit I did this morning.

I am going to the doctors Thursday, do you think it is something worth mentioning or not?

[wobblybee Administrator Pioneer]

Mention you’ve done the test but be aware that the results aren’t totally reliable. These results can fluctuate without a woman being in peri menopause, rely on GP testing.

I googled ‘webmd menopause home testing’

You may have heard about a kit you can use at home to see if you are in menopause. It tests urine for the presence of FSH, or follicle-stimulating hormone.

Fine, but here's the first potential trap: Levels of FSH in the blood correlate poorly with menopausal symptoms. So, if a blood test that looks for FSH isn't a reliable marker, neither is the urine test.

As disappointing and surprising as it may seem, many aspects of the menopause process remain a mystery to medical science. The medical definition of menopause is when menstrual periods stop for 12 months as a consequence of the ovaries shutting down. Menopause is not defined by a blood test, or a urine test, or any lab test for that matter.

Women might want to know if their symptoms are a result of menopause, so would FSH testing meet that need? Well, women can have terrible menopause symptoms and yet their FSH level may remain in the "premenopausal" range. Conversely, women without symptoms such as hot flashes may have an FSH level in the "menopausal range."

To further complicate matters, the FSH test is highly variable during the time when periods are irregular. For example, a woman might skip three periods, and then have periods for a few months, and then skip several periods again. During this time of irregular periods -- before periods stop altogether -- the FSH level can fluctuate dramatically. It isn't until women have stopped menstruating for 12 months that they have considered menopausal. So, what's the point of the FSH test?