Menopause or a thyroid issue?

[aias]

I am 41 years old and recently got these lab test results: progesterone .5, estradiol 15, fsh 29. What does it mean?

[Barb135]

Good luck and let us know how you turn out. Be sure to post your results after you get them.

[aias]

Wow Barb! Thank you so much for the detailed response. I would ask my doctor for these tests.

[Barb135]

Your reproductive hormones, don't really fall into any of the "phases", noted, so I'm not really sure, except that it does look like FSH is higher than it should be, though maybe it's higher at the very beginning of your cycle.  At 41, you could very well be starting peri-menopause.  

Unfortunately, your doctor ran obsolete thyroid hormone tests, except for TSH.  Total T4 is considered obsolete and of little value, as is T3 uptake and FTI.  

That said, your TSH looks good and for what good it is, so does your T4.  

The tests you need to get are Free T3 and Free T4, along with TSH.  FT3 and FT4 are the actual usable thyroid hormones and tell you pretty much what's going on.  Free T4 is not used, directly, by the individual cells; it must be converted to Free T3, which is the active hormone - the one that makes us feel good.

You might also ask to get tested for thyroid antibodies, to determine whether or not you have Hashimoto's, which is an autoimmune disease in which the body sees the thyroid as foreign and produces antibodies to destroy it.  It's not the leas unusual for symptoms to be present long before regular thyroid tests (TSH, FT3/FT4) indicate a problem, but if antibodies are present, the destruction has begun.  

The antibody tests you need are Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies (TPOab) and Thyroglobulin Antibodies (TgAB).  Many doctors are reluctant to run the antibody tests, particularly, in the presence of normal thyroid hormone levels, but if you're persistent, your doctor might agree.

Have you had Vitamin B12, vitamin D or ferritin tested?  Vitamin B12 deficiency can cause a horrible fatigue, if levels go too low, but even if you're only mildly deficient, you can get that tired, brain foggy feeling.  

Vitamin D deficiency can cause thyroid like symptoms.

Ferritin is an iron storage hormone and iron is necessary for the metabolism of thyroid hormones.

[aias]

Thank you for your response. I saw my results online via a patient portal and for some reason the ranges were not listed in these 3 tests. FYI I did my tests on the 3rd day of my period. After reading your response I went to the labs website and found this data:
Estradiol: Adult female:
• Follicular: 12.5-166.0 pg/mL
• Ovulation: 85.8-498.0 pg/mL
• Luteal: 43.8-211.0 pg/mL
• Postmenopausal: <6.0-54.7 pg/mL

FSH: Adult female
Follicular phase 3.5−12.5
Ovulation phase 4.7−21.5
Luteal phase 1.7−7.7
Postmenopausal 25.8−134.8

Progesterone: Adult Female
• Follicular: 0.2-1.5 ng/mL
• Luteal: 1.7-27.0 ng/mL
• Ovulation: 0.8-3.0 ng/mL
• Postmenopausal: 0.1-0.8 ng/mL

My thyroid results had a range, they were normal:
Thyroxine (T4)                 8.0 4.5-12.0 ug/dL
T3 Uptake                 34 24-39 %
Free Thyroxine Index 2.7 1.2-4.9
TSH                         0.906 0.450-4.500 uIU/mL

In regards to symptoms I have been feeling tired, moody, stress out, anxious, not able to sleep, irritable.

[Barb135]

We need to have the reference ranges for the results.  Ranges on lab tests vary lab to lab and have to come from your own report.

Did you have any thyroid tests done?  There's nothing in those tests that would indicate a thyroid condition.  To determine a thyroid condition, you need TSH, Free T3 and Free T4, at least.

What, if any, symptoms do you have?