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FSH blood test

Follicle-stimulating hormone

In short

A typical adult FSH result is 2.9 to 14.6 mIU/mL for women (follicular phase (first half)), 4.7 to 23.2 mIU/mL for women (mid-cycle peak), 1.4 to 8.9 mIU/mL for women (luteal phase (second half)), 16 to 157 mIU/mL for women (after menopause) and 1.2 to 15.8 mIU/mL for men. A high FSH is expected after menopause and often starts rising in the years before it. In younger women and in men, it can be a sign the ovaries or testicles are not keeping up. Always read your result against the range printed on your own report.

A brain hormone that ripens eggs and helps make sperm.

FSH (follicle-stimulating hormone) comes from the pituitary, a small gland at the base of the brain. It rises as the ovaries slow down, so it is often used to help confirm menopause. In women, a result only makes sense next to the day of the cycle, or menopause status.

Is my FSH high or low?

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Typical range

ForRangeUnit
Female · follicular phase (first half)2.9–14.6mIU/mL
Female · mid-cycle peak4.7–23.2mIU/mL
Female · luteal phase (second half)1.4–8.9mIU/mL
Female · after menopause16–157mIU/mL
Male1.2–15.8mIU/mL

Typical ranges for adults. Labs differ a little, so the range printed next to your result is the one to go by.

If your FSH is high

A high FSH is expected after menopause and often starts rising in the years before it. In younger women and in men, it can be a sign the ovaries or testicles are not keeping up.

Common reasons

  • Menopause, when FSH rises and stays high
  • The years before menopause (perimenopause), when FSH swings up and down
  • The mid-cycle surge, around ovulation
  • Past chemotherapy or radiation treatment
  • Less often: the ovaries or testicles slowing early, from genes, injury or infection

If your FSH is low

A low FSH is common with birth control pills, hormone treatment and pregnancy. Less often, it can be a sign of a problem in the pituitary gland.

Common reasons

  • Birth control pills or other hormone treatment
  • Male hormone treatment or muscle-building steroids
  • Pregnancy, which lowers FSH
  • Stress, fast weight loss, eating too little or very hard training
  • High prolactin, another pituitary hormone, which can quiet FSH
  • Less often: a problem in the pituitary gland or the hypothalamus (brain control center)

What can throw it off

FSH changes with the day of the cycle, hormone treatments and the years before menopause, and biotin, a hair-and-nail supplement, can distort some tests.

Questions to take to your appointment

  1. 1Does this point to menopause or the years before it?
  2. 2Should it be repeated, since FSH can swing before menopause?
  3. 3What do my LH and estradiol show alongside it?

Read together with

Doctors rarely read FSH alone. These usually sit next to it.

Quick answers

What is the FSH blood test?

FSH (Follicle-stimulating hormone): A brain hormone that ripens eggs and helps make sperm. FSH (follicle-stimulating hormone) comes from the pituitary, a small gland at the base of the brain. It rises as the ovaries slow down, so it is often used to help confirm menopause. In women, a result only makes sense next to the day of the cycle, or menopause status.

What is a normal FSH level?

For most adults, FSH is typically 2.9 to 14.6 mIU/mL for women (follicular phase (first half)), 4.7 to 23.2 mIU/mL for women (mid-cycle peak), 1.4 to 8.9 mIU/mL for women (luteal phase (second half)), 16 to 157 mIU/mL for women (after menopause) and 1.2 to 15.8 mIU/mL for men. Labs differ a little, so the range printed next to your result is the one to go by.

What does a high FSH mean?

A high FSH is expected after menopause and often starts rising in the years before it. In younger women and in men, it can be a sign the ovaries or testicles are not keeping up. Common reasons include menopause, when FSH rises and stays high; the years before menopause (perimenopause), when FSH swings up and down; the mid-cycle surge, around ovulation; and past chemotherapy or radiation treatment. A doctor reads it together with your other results and how you feel.

What does a low FSH mean?

A low FSH is common with birth control pills, hormone treatment and pregnancy. Less often, it can be a sign of a problem in the pituitary gland. Common reasons include birth control pills or other hormone treatment; male hormone treatment or muscle-building steroids; pregnancy, which lowers FSH; and stress, fast weight loss, eating too little or very hard training.

What can affect my FSH result?

FSH changes with the day of the cycle, hormone treatments and the years before menopause, and biotin, a hair-and-nail supplement, can distort some tests.

What should I ask my doctor about my FSH?

Questions worth taking to the appointment: Does this point to menopause or the years before it? Should it be repeated, since FSH can swing before menopause? What do my LH and estradiol show alongside it?

What this page can’t do

It reads each number on its own.

Doctors read results together — ALT with AST, ferritin with hemoglobin, TSH with free T4. A pattern says more than any single flag.

It doesn't know you.

Your age, your medicines, how you feel and your last result all change what a number means.

It doesn't remember.

Close this page and your results are gone. That's on purpose: nothing was ever sent to us.

We also make Vita: Health Coach, an app for those parts. It reads your whole report with your medicines and history in mind, answers follow-up questions in plain words, and keeps your reports in one place — for you and for the people you look after.

Vita: Health Coach on the App Store

Sources

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