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What is Follicle-Stimulating Hormone (FSH)?
Your pituitary gland constantly releases a hormone called follicle-stimulating hormone, or FSH. It plays a major role in your reproductive health, especially in how your ovaries work. Despite how it sounds, FSH has nothing to do with hair growth. It's named for its role in stimulating ovarian follicles—those tiny, fluid-filled sacs in your ovaries that each hold an egg. If your ovarian reserve or quality starts to drop, your body may produce more FSH to compensate. That’s why high FSH levels are often seen during early or natural menopause.Given the context of low estrogen levels during menopause, the decrease in estrogen levels can allow your body to produce additional FSH to maintain a healthy ovarian reserve. If you have polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), then you may have to monitor your FSH levels closely under the supervision of a healthcare professional.
Functions of Follicle Stimulating Hormone
Your body uses Follicle-stimulating hormone to help primordial germ cells mature in the reproductive system. The other activities of follicle-stimulating hormone include:- It initiates follicular growth.
- It controls the menstrual cycle.
- It also increases oestradiol production.
- It stimulates your ovary to produce an egg.
- The hormone controls both primary and reproductive organ growth and triggers sexual maturity development.
This hormone is responsible for stimulating the growth of ovarian follicles in the ovary, which happens before the egg is released from one follicle during the ovulation period.
High FSH Levels Symptoms
FSH promotes egg development in your ovaries. Those with FSH testing results above normal usually suffer from infertility due to hormonal issues.Symptoms might include:
- Irregular or absent periods
- Hot flashes
- Night sweats
- Vaginal dryness
- Low libido
- Mood swings
- Difficulty sleeping
- Problems with memory and concentration
- Weight gain
High FSH levels themselves aren’t what cause these symptoms. Instead, they’re a sign that something else, like menopause or another underlying condition, is going on in your body, which may be what’s actually causing the symptoms you’re experiencing.
What causes high FSH levels?
Several lifestyle and physical factors trigger higher FSH levels in your body.- Menopause: As you approach menopause, your ovaries decrease their response to hormones that help produce eggs. This situation generates unusually high FSH results. Premature Ovarian Insufficiency happens when the ovaries stop working normally earlier than they should. When your body needs to stimulate your ovaries, high FSH levels can be experienced.
- Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS): If you have been diagnosed with PCOS, then you might have more luteinising hormone (LH) in your system, yet you still display elevated FSH levels.
- Turner Syndrome: This condition develops from the lack of one or more parts of the X chromosome. It can cause high FSH levels.
- Ovarian Resistance Syndrome: It occurs when the ovaries do not properly respond to FSH, causing hormone levels to remain high.
What Conditions Are Associated with Low FSH Levels?
A reduced FSH level stops the normal growth process during puberty. It creates problems with how the ovaries and testicles work, which harms fertility in adults. When the pituitary gland or hypothalamus experiences damage, it triggers hypogonadotropic hypogonadism.Physical damage to your pituitary gland can reduce your FSH production levels.
Hypopituitarism is a rare medical condition in which the pituitary gland fails to properly produce or release all of its necessary hormones at once.
Hypopituitarism creates a deficit in your FSH levels. Multiple underlying health conditions might trigger hypopituitarism, even though it affects only a few people. The three main reasons behind experiencing hypopituitarism are as follows.
- Extra pressure, as experienced on your hypothalamus or pituitary gland
- Weak pituitary gland or hypothalamus affecting FSH levels
- You have an uncommon medical issue that leads to hypopituitarism.
The most frequent source of this issue is the growth of pituitary adenomas. When a pituitary adenoma becomes a specific size or grows larger, it restricts blood supply to the pituitary gland and applies extra pressure.
Any damage, as found in your hypothalamus, can lower your FSH levels. Kallmann syndrome causes an inherited reduction of GnRH production in the hypothalamus.
When GnRH is insufficient, your FSH and sex hormone levels remain very low. When untreated, Kallmann syndrome prevents puberty, which can lead to infertility.
Right Time for Medical Observation
If you have been finding it difficult to conceive, schedule a visit with your healthcare expert. Many factors can contribute to infertility, and FSH levels might be one among them.Your healthcare expert would recommend getting an FSH blood test done if you have been experiencing:
- Irregular or absent periods
- Symptoms of menopause even before turning 40 years old
- Fertility problems
- Other types of abnormal pituitary activity.
The healthcare expert will collect blood samples from either arm to test FSH levels. The test will be performed during your period, between days 1 and 4 of your menstrual cycle.
FSH (Follicle-Stimulating Hormone) has an effect on your sexual development and fertility. High FSH levels happen due to underlying health conditions like menopause, PCOS, or others. Low FSH levels happen when your pituitary gland has been weak, which is said to affect sufficient hormone production.
If you have been experiencing symptoms of low or high FSH levels, then talk to your healthcare expert. Diagnosing and treating the underlying medical problem that has been causing abnormal FSH levels with the help of your healthcare expert will restore your fertility chances.
FAQs on How Do FSH Levels Affect Fertility
- How do FSH levels affect fertility?
FSH levels found to be lower than normal in women can lead to incomplete development in the puberty phase. Such factors further result in poor ovarian function in adults, leading to infertility. This particular condition is called hypogonadotropic-hypogonadism, and it happens whenever any issue has been diagnosed with your hypothalamus or pituitary gland. - How does FSH affect the female reproductive system?
FSH levels in women are known to play an important role in fertility and sexual development. Maintaining healthy and normal FSH levels helps control the menstrual cycle. It triggers egg growth in the ovaries and prepares them for ovulation. - What happens if FSH is high?
High FSH levels in women indicate various underlying reproductive health issues like menopause, ovarian dysfunction, and PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome). Healthcare experts also consider high FSH levels as a sign of your pituitary gland facing issues or even a certain tumour. High FSH levels, when left untreated, can induce infertility in women.
