[minimango]

Hi Everyone!

I finally got my blood work done for my hormones. First test was follicular phase on day 4, second was during my luteal phase on day 21.

My doctor didn't really cover what the results meant. I'm wondering if there's a good reference range for biological women, or if anyone can give me some more information here?

Labs from Follicular Phase
Testosterone - 30 ng/dL
FSH -6.0 mIU/mL
LH - 5.6 mIU/mL
DHEA Sulfate - 49 mcg/dL
Prolactin - 6.7 ng/mL
Estradiol - 62 pg/mL

Lab from Luteal Phase
Progesterone - 14.6 ng/mL

[Lotus]

Hi Everyone!

I finally got my blood work done for my hormones. First test was follicular phase on day 4, second was during my luteal phase on day 21.

My doctor didn't really cover what the results meant. I'm wondering if there's a good reference range for biological women, or if anyone can give me some more information here?

Labs from Follicular Phase
Testosterone - 30 ng/dL
FSH -6.0 mIU/mL
LH - 5.6 mIU/mL
DHEA Sulfate - 49 mcg/dL
Prolactin - 6.7 ng/mL
Estradiol - 62 pg/mL

Lab from Luteal Phase
Progesterone - 14.6 ng/mL

Hi minimango, lab results routinely come with reference ranges so patients can compare the values. Are you able to provide that?...if not ask you're doctors office to provide it to you. I can still provide some analysis without it though.

[surferjoe2007]

They were all pretty normal and middle of the ranges that I Googled for early follicular and for luteal.  Your hormones are probably pretty balanced.

[Lotus]

No joe, minimango's DHEA-S (dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate) is high. DHEA sulfate is produced in the adrenals and is an androgen...it can be converted into testosterone and androstenedione. It's possible your pituitary is over stimulating your adrenals. If you notice signs of fatigue, weight gain or depression I'd speak with your doctor about your DHEA-S being elevated. 

DHEA can complicate other hormones and daily functions in you're life too if it's not properly balanced.

[minimango]

No joe, minimango's DHEA-S (dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate) is high. DHEA sulfate is produced in the adrenals and is an androgen...it can be converted into testosterone and androstenedione. It's possible your pituitary is over stimulating your adrenals. If you notice signs of fatigue, weight gain or depression I'd speak with your doctor about your DHEA-S being elevated. 

DHEA can complicate other hormones and daily functions in you're life too if it's not properly balanced.

Hi Lotus,

Thank you for your response! I've been lurking on your threads for a good while, I really appreciate the level of research you provide!

There was a range included, but my doctor told me many of the reference ranges aren't specific for biological women (includes hormone data from bio men). Which is why I'm wondering where I can find ranges that are specific to bio women.

I've struggled with mood swings, hair loss, and fatigue-- the hair loss and fatigue has improved a lot with NBE, but I still have mood swings. I think a lot of my hormonal problems were brought on by having an eating disorder for 4 years (I've been recovered for 3 years now), but I've also struggled with being a stressed out person since I was 14. Do you know what might lead to the elevated DHEA-S? Could it be the stress?

Another note: I grew several cup sizes last summer into fall, but my growth has stagnated and even regressed a little since November. This really sucks. Granted, I haven't been eating as much or been as consistent with my herbs and I've also struggled with depressed mood from time to time (though I wouldn't describe this as full on depression). How can I go back to growing?

[surferjoe2007]

No joe, minimango's DHEA-S (dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate) is high. DHEA sulfate is produced in the adrenals and is an androgen...it can be converted into testosterone and androstenedione. It's possible your pituitary is over stimulating your adrenals. If you notice signs of fatigue, weight gain or depression I'd speak with your doctor about your DHEA-S being elevated. 

DHEA can complicate other hormones and daily functions in you're life too if it's not properly balanced.

Do you have a link to a reference range?

[Lotus]

No joe, minimango's DHEA-S (dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate) is high. DHEA sulfate is produced in the adrenals and is an androgen...it can be converted into testosterone and androstenedione. It's possible your pituitary is over stimulating your adrenals. If you notice signs of fatigue, weight gain or depression I'd speak with your doctor about your DHEA-S being elevated. 

DHEA can complicate other hormones and daily functions in your life too if it's not properly balanced.

Hi Lotus, 

Thank you for your response! I've been lurking on your threads for a good while, I really appreciate the level of research you provide! 

You're welcome  glad I can be of help. 

There was a range included, but my doctor told me many of the reference ranges aren't specific for biological women (includes hormone data from bio men). Which is why I'm wondering where I can find ranges that are specific to bio women.

I don't buy the doctors claim   Wikipedia has standard reference ranges, LabCorp, or other online labs, Endocrinologist, fertility clinics, etc-etc have reference ranges available online, even government agencies have them posted (for male & female ranges) one just has to look for themselves.

I've struggled with mood swings, hair loss, and fatigue-- the hair loss and fatigue has improved a lot with NBE, but I still have mood swings. I think a lot of my hormonal problems were brought on by having an eating disorder for 4 years (I've been recovering for 3 years now), but I've also struggled with being a stressed out person since I was 14. Do you know what might lead to the elevated DHEA-S? Could it be the stress?

Stress could be a factor driven by high cortisol. Systemic inflammation is behind many disease states in our body…(low DHEA-S is seen with having Lupus or chronic fatigue syndrome). So getting a DHEA-S test is what I recommend too. But you could treat this like you have PCOS, because high DHEA-S presents with the same systems of PCOS. Stress (as an increase in adrenals which boosts testosterone) can wipe out a person's ability to cope with stress pushing you into emotional eating (binge eating) and other bad habits too.

Or, it could be something as simple as your pituitary gland does not make enough pituitary hormones. Which is why you see big fluctuations in your hormones. 

Another note: I grew several cup sizes last summer into fall, but my growth has stagnated and even regressed a little since November. This really sucks. Granted, I haven't been eating as much or been as consistent with my herbs and I've also struggled with a depressed mood from time to time (though I wouldn't describe this as full on depression). How can I go back to growing?

Wow, that's a huge swing of breast growth did you retain that growth? 

How can I go back to growing?

Work on developing healthy eating habits (limit carbs to no more 15-20 per day)

Add protein to match your bmi, use online calculator guides 

Practice yoga (or something similar) just be active and you'll get there 

Do daily breast massages  

What vitamins do you take?

Do you have a nbe program?

[surferjoe2007]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dehydroe...ne_sulfate
Wikipedia has these reference ranges for women (ug/dl):
Age, Lower Limit, Upper Limit
18–29 years, 44, 332
30–39 years, 31, 228
40–49 years, 18, 244


49 seems a little low though in range.

[Lotus]

The Wikipedia DHEA-S reference range isn't a day 4 test result. It's between days 1 thru 14 if you actually read the research link. To show a comparison on how far off the wiki reference range is off I'm attaching LabCorp DHEA-S reference ranges for day 1 thru 14.


20 to 24 y

Female (μg/dL)

110.0−431.7

25 to 34 y

Female (μg/dL)

84.8−378.0

https://www.labcorp.com/tests/004020/deh...ea-sulfate

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dehydroe...ne_sulfate
Wikipedia has these reference ranges for women (ug/dl):
Age, Lower Limit, Upper Limit
18–29 years, 44, 332
30–39 years, 31, 228
40–49 years, 18, 244

[minimango]

The Wikipedia DHEA-S reference range isn't a day 4 test result. It's between days 1 thru 14 if you actually read the research link. To show a comparison on how far off the wiki reference range is off I'm attaching LabCorp DHEA-S reference ranges for day 1 thru 14.


20 to 24 y

Female (μg/dL)

110.0−431.7

25 to 34 y

Female (μg/dL)

84.8−378.0

https://www.labcorp.com/tests/004020/deh...ea-sulfate

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dehydroe...ne_sulfate
Wikipedia has these reference ranges for women (ug/dl):
Age, Lower Limit, Upper Limit
18–29 years, 44, 332
30–39 years, 31, 228
40–49 years, 18, 244

Wow, those are quite different. Alright, so here are the reference ranges that were given with my bloodwork:

Progesterone
ng/mL

Follicular Phase  < 1.0
Luteal Phase  2.6-21.5

Testosterone
2-45 ng/dL

FSH
mIU/mL
Follicular Phase: 2.5-10.2
Mid-cycle Peak: 3.1-17.7
Luteal Phase: 1.5- 9.1

LH
mIU/mL
Follicular Phase: 1.9-12.5
Mid-Cycle Peak: 8.7-76.3
Luteal Phase: 0.5-16.9

DHEA-S
Reference Range: 14-349 mcg/dL

Prolactin
ng/mL
Non-pregnant: 3.0-30.0

Estradiol
pg/mL
Follicular Phase: 19-144
Mid-Cycle: 64-357
Luteal Phase: 56-214

It would seem based off these reference ranges my DHEA-S is low, Testosterone is a little high and everything else is middle range? I've looked up other ranges, it's just not all of them include cycle timing, which I know makes a difference.

I retained most of my growth, but my 32G bra is looser than before and my chest looks smaller than last year (started at 32B/C in November 2021 before I made an account, got to 32G in September 2022). My weight has gone down maybe a few pounds, but has stayed relatively consistent.
Current routine:

Follicular
500mg Fenugreek
1/64th tsp PM
500mg Vitex
Vit C
Vit D
B12
Magnesium
1000mg MSM
Saw Palmetto 500mg 45% extract.

Luteal
20mg pump of PC
500mg Vitex
500mg Shatavari
500mg Fenugreek
Vit C
Vit D
B12
Magnesium
1000mg MSM
Saw Palmetto 500mg 45% extract.

I weight lift 3-4x a week, don't eat too many carbs or unhealthy food and I used to massage with flaxseed oil (definitely dropped off lately). I actually struggle more often with weight loss than anything else. If I don't get 3 meals a day and snacks, I start to lose weight. I've had an inkling it could be hyperthyroidism, it's just so hard to get blood work where I am. It could take anywhere from 6 mos - a year.

Anyway, I definitely need to reduce stress and get more sleep. I'm wondering if any improvement could be made to my herb schedule and why my growth is regressing?