Follicular stimulating hormone (FSH) is a common fertility test administered to females who have difficulty getting pregnant. The test is used as an estimation of the number of eggs stored in your ovarian reserve. The follicular stimulating hormone is produced by your brain and serves to stimulate your ovaries to produce estrogen. It also determines maturation and growth of the egg. You can undergo FSH testing to determine what problems are preventing you from conceiving.
Role of FSH
FSH plays different roles in women's reproductive cycle and especially in women who are 35 or older. Sometimes FSH is tested on women who have a low response to fertility drugs. If you've undergone ovarian surgery, which involved endometriosis or an ovarian cyst, you too can undergo FSH. Even if you've had chemotherapy or radiation therapy, you can undergo follicular stimulating therapy.
Can Your Fertility Level Be Measured?
Since there's no such thing as abnormal or normal FSH, it becomes a very complex situation, since you may have a low response to fertility drugs. Others may be seeking help from FSH testing because of their age or a clinical underlying diagnosis. So even if you have a high FSH level, it simply means that you're likely to produce fewer eggs and embryos once you begin an in-vitro fertilization cycle. Different fertility treatments and protocols are tailor-made for each category of women with varying FSH levels.
Don't Give Up In Finding A Way To Conceive
You shouldn't just walk away and say conceiving a baby is impossible for you if you have a high FSH level. Some women have had high FSH levels and undergone stimulation and in-vitro fertilization IVF attempts that didn't work for them. You can still walk away from all of those negative results and still conceive. That's because FSH levels change from time to time.
Consult With Your Gynecologist Or Reproductive Endocrinologist
Talk to a gynecologist or reproductive treatment facility, like Missouri Center for Reproductive Medicine, if you're concerned about your high FSH levels. It may be that your egg quality is low, which means that the quality of your eggs are not able to generate enough cellular energy to go from ovulation to implantation. It can be that your ovary very simply may be experiencing the aging process and especially so if you are now 37 years old or older. Just talk with your physician about your concerns. Be aware though that some younger women also have difficulty conceiving, and a broad statement cannot be made that everyone reaching the age of 37 cannot conceive.
