SOLUTIONS FOR DISEASES OF MODERN CIVILIZATION
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Female Hormone Panel
Still cycling in her 50's.
The most notable thing to me about this patient is that she was in her 50's and still had a very good ovarian hormone cycle. The doctor had ordered the Female Hormone Panel (FHP) to look at the hormonal events of the "monthly" cycle.
The test results showed very low DHEA and slightly elevated testosterone. Estradiol was on the high side of normal. Progesterone showed two possible ovulatory surges. Looking at the progesterone only, I might conclude that she ovulated on about day 6 or about day 14 or both. Sometimes I do see a double ovulation where, had conception occurred, we could see fraternal twins about a week different in gestational age.
I also was a little suspicious of how high the progesterone values were on days 18 and 21. So I asked the doctor if the patient had a history of hormonal use, especially transdermal progesterone. The doctor did call back to tell me that the patient had used progesterone cream about a year ago. We often see high values on the test through 6 months or more after patients stop using progesterone cream (reflecting accumulation in tissue). I suspect this patient's high progesterone could be an artifact of past use.
The doctor should monitor ovarian hormones of this patient. And becaue the low DHEA is a sign of adrenal fatigue, she could consider the the Adrenal Stress Index (ASI).
Warm regards,
Dr. Mark Rhodes, Ph.D.
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