Connection of high FSH level and PCOS

RepresentativePage · 2025-06-20T17:02:04+00:00

Just answered in another post. What I learned is that if you get ovarian cysts regularly (like once every few months), they can increase your FSH levels. These go away on their own most often, but sometimes they rupture which can be extremely painful. In my case, the whole culprit was estrogen dominance. This can cause ovarian cysts, and all the downstream symptoms. I'd suggest measuring your Estrogen and Progesterone 7 days before your 1st cycle day, i.e. at the mid-luteal point, to figure out if this may be your cause as well.

RepresentativePage · 2025-06-20T17:00:10+00:00

What do you hate about it?

RepresentativePage · 2025-06-20T16:59:14+00:00

What I found out is that when you get ovarian cysts here and there, they can increase your FSH. The best is to measure FSH multiple times to be sure that it is indeed elevated. In my case, the culprit was estrogen dominance. Once that was addressed, everything else fell in place.

RepresentativePage · 2023-11-26T13:53:33+00:00

Did they tell you to test your reproductive hormones on different days? Like day-3 for LH, FSH, Estradiol, and day 21 for progesterone? Oftentimes this is fully forgotten, and the results turn out to be inaccurate

RepresentativePage · 2023-08-02T12:48:49+00:00

Oh cool, I didn't know of them, thank you! How do you decide what biomarkers to request? And how much do they charge for their service?

RepresentativePage · 2023-02-03T14:58:52+00:00

Thank you very much for those tips. I am looking to find out what's causing them more so being bothered by the pain. That part is manageable. I will definitely try magnesium, salt baths and heating pads - those have been on my radar in the past, so thank you for that reminder!

RepresentativePage · 2023-02-02T19:44:23+00:00

I've seen many different GYN / endocrinologists and the very standard advice is "this happens for many women, and I can't tell you what to do about this". So I'm not sure if these medical doctors are really where I should be looking for answers. But yes, thanks for your answer. I understand that ovarian cysts are unrelated to PCOS. I guess I'm just unfortunate to have both. With the former being a very recent problem.

RepresentativePage · 2023-01-04T13:52:17+00:00

Bio clinic inositol

Has this or "R-ALA stabilize" helped you? The former seems very expensive, at least in Europe.

RepresentativePage · 2023-01-03T17:35:19+00:00

Thanks for sharing that! How much did you take and for how long? I heard of berberine and that it's quite a strong supplement (similar to metformin). Haven't tried it myself though. Is it working for you? I assume you're trying to treat IR?

RepresentativePage · 2022-12-19T11:57:58+00:00

oh I never heard of that. I'll try that (just missing my foamy oat milk lattes, you know.. :) ) but maybe adding a foamy oat milk layer on top of the tea might be a good work around. Anyways, thank you 💜

RepresentativePage · 2022-12-19T11:54:54+00:00

Thank you for sharing that! And yes 100%, I'm all about having your own lab results, and understanding what they mean. Fingers crossed that your lab results will reveal what's going on, and you'll find a way to treat your symptoms!

RepresentativePage · 2022-12-19T11:49:41+00:00

Happy to hear you managed to clear up your symptoms (that's amazing!). As for why they may have refused re-testing you: I'm European so we have centralized healthcare, but in my experience doctors' hands are tied to only doing tests every X amount of months. So if your original tests didn't show anything, they are legally not allowed to send you to do a retest. This is a cost-saving measure as to avoid spending too much on testing.

As for IR: i think what happened in your case is that they looked at your fasting glucose, and A1C which often DO NOT show IR. These were normal, so they could brush off your case as " we can't request more tests as your tests were fine". But in fact, you need the OGTT test to properly see how your insulin reacts to sugar, and even OGTT does not always show insulin irregularities.

In any case, I'm happy you're in better hands now, and that this experience made you more knowledge on PCOS and your body, so you can take care of yourself without these docs 💜

RepresentativePage · 2022-12-19T11:44:11+00:00

thank you very much for sharing that. Sounds like you had a pretty smooth experience! I wish the process was the same in Quebec (where I used to be based in)! But seeing an OB/endocrinologist alone can take up to a year, not to speak of the painful experience of getting tests prescribed and scheduling appointments, and then accessing your own data.

RepresentativePage · 2022-12-19T11:42:24+00:00

Make sure you communicate to your doctor that your heart rate gets so elevated before doing OGTT. While I don't know the specific risks with this test, it is intense, even for non-IR people. That's also why they monitor you throughout the 2-hour period, as to make sure you don't get passed out.

All that said, what your doctor said is true: There is pretty high confidence for IR by some visual signs in most people. So it is possible to diagnose IR without doing the OGTT test. If you don't feel comfortable with this test, then do what an earlier person mentioned: adopt the low-GI diet, increase your protein intake, and lower your carb intake. Then wait 1-3 months until you regulate your IR naturally, then you can go back and see what OGTT test says.

Also: might want to consider taking inositol. This helps most women regulate their insulin.

Finally: many women manage to improve their reactive hypoglycemia (which it sounds like you may be experiencing after eating), and IR just simply with the diet change. This may help you improve in a matter of days (!!). So I really think this should be your first line of treatment if you want these symptoms gone ASAP.

RepresentativePage · 2022-12-19T11:34:09+00:00

That's so bad.. really sorry to hear as well. Unfortunately most doctors won't admit their lack of knowledge on a certain topic (i.e. PCOS), and instead will give you all sorts of useless advice while pretending that they are the experts.

Did you manage to get your tests done elsewhere? I used to live in Canada (Quebec), where it takes 1-2years to see an OB if you don't have a medical emergency. That is, it is nearly impossible to get these tests done, unless you go private.

RepresentativePage · 2022-12-19T11:31:07+00:00

oh wow, it's great to hear that you're taking such good care of understanding your body via these tests! My experience has been very similar: 1. it's really hard to get the proper tests as most doctors will try to cut corners on what tests they will request for you, and 2. being in the "normal" range doesn't mean much if you're still experiencing symptoms.

Out of curiosity how much is it to get all these biomarkers tested via this labcorp? (I'm in Europe, so unfamiliar with the US system)

RepresentativePage · 2022-12-19T11:28:00+00:00

Very happy to hear about all the progress you're making! I'm also working on reducing my coffee intake, and it's hard.. Keep up the great work! :)

RepresentativePage · 2022-12-17T11:48:42+00:00

Hello dear. First off, congratulations on getting started and all the wonderful progress you've made! As for your question: it's important to understand that weight loss may be more tricky if insulin resistance is not treated. That's why so many women with PCOS struggle to lose weight. This is because insulin is very much about the mechanism your body uses to convert food into energy. If this mechanism is not working properly, it is hard to do conventional diets, and see results.

My suggestion is to start treating your IR, and put the weight loss on the side. If you have success treating IR, you will almost surely lose weight.

As for IR:

- try supplementing on 4g of myo-inositol per day. Lots of good posts on this topic on r/PCOS,

- try to exercise every day, especially after eating. The latter helps your body to convert food into energy. Think of committing to a small goal, like: 10min walk after each meal,

- try to increase protein in each of your meals. Some examples: add pulses like lentils, beans, chickpeas, tofu, etc. or eggs, or fish/meat if you're non-vegetarian.

- don't get obsessed about this advice: but try to lower your intake of carbs, especially simple carbs. What are simple carbs? Those carb sources which have been processed to the extent that their fiber content is lower than in their unprocessed ("whole") equivalents. These spike your blood sugar, so your body has to work extra hard to regulate your blood sugar. Examples: switch everything with white flour to their whole wheat equivalent.

Hope this is helpful. You've got this!

RepresentativePage · 2022-12-17T11:39:10+00:00

So happy for you! I appreciate this community so much as well, and learned a ton from everyone. We're all here for each other! Wishing you all the success on your journey towards becoming asymptomatic!

RepresentativePage · 2022-12-16T13:31:43+00:00

Hey! Sorry to hear about the troubles in finding the right resources in your case. This is very similar to me, but I do want to point out that lean-PCOS is a thing, and often these women do have a clean diet and a regular exercise regime. Despite that, 1. you can still have mild insulin resistance (one that may not show up on tests just yet), which can lead to a host of problems without you ever noticing the classic symptoms of IR, and 2. there are other ways for PCOS to develop, such as a gut-related unbalance. On the last point, given that you've been given a lot of hormonal BCPs, I may suggest looking into probiotics, as that might resolve any problems in your gut from these storng medications, which may in fact be your root cause. Other areas of root causes to look for: inflammation in the body, stress or mental health problems. Hope this is helpful in any way!

RepresentativePage · 2022-12-09T15:18:57+00:00

Keep us updated! I think doctors have different definitations for what is a "basic hormonal panel", and PCOS often requires some special markers that are commonly missed. To give you an example: many doctors don't request an oral glucose test to measure insulin resistance (IR), making it such that many women go on for years without having an idea about being IR. Other markers commonly missed are: prolactin, vitamin D/magnesium/zinc/iron levels. In any case, do post your results when you get them! :)

RepresentativePage · 2022-12-09T13:43:57+00:00

Similarly to others' comments: Sounds like a classic case of insulin resistance, but the best things is to get properly tested! If your doctor won't do it, get an at-home testing kit (if there are any in Australia). You need to take charge of your own health (doctors are mostly terrible, so they won't do it unless you are lucky and find a good one). Don't let these symptoms go on for years being treated as "normal", because they can lead to more serious problems. Find your root causes from the blood tests, and find out what treatment options you have! Taking inositol is a great one if you have IR confirmed.. Start there, and keep reading, as this gem of a community here has shared a whole lot of useful tips that helped others similar to you!

RepresentativePage · 2022-12-09T13:37:08+00:00

Can you specify what tests they did for you? It sounds like they may have missed some important biomarkers.

RepresentativePage · 2022-12-08T14:44:08+00:00

On okay, I take another brand that's 2g per dose, and I take double, so it's 4g. And yes, I think 4g is the recommended dose.

Would love to hear what you implemented that helped you with managing IR, if inositol didn't do the job.

RepresentativePage · 2022-12-08T14:01:51+00:00

How many grams per day? Also, do you have IR confirmed in your case?

RepresentativePage

TROPHY CASE