My friend is a professional athlete and has very high cortisol and extremely low fsh (.5). Her gyn says, "hmmm, never seen such low fsh before." Enodocrinolgist just thinks it's an anamoly. They both thought she was hypothyroid but is now well within normal limits (without meds). She hasn't had a period for almost 2 years. Previously had been deemed as having "amenorhea" due to exercise level and mpa had restarted periods. Now no periods for almost 2 years BUT NO RISE IN FSH. It is common for athletes and some pregnant women to have high cortisol, but the very low fsh is strange. I have read that for a very small percentage of women they don't experience a rise in fsh in menopause. Unusual but true according to something on Pubmed.

She is taking .25 vivelle and cycles in a Progesterone creme every 3 months. Still has some night sweats and hair loss. Otherwise feels great even with an extemely low level of estradiol (6). (Exercise does suppress estradiol levels). Progesterone does too.

So, here are the questions: What are your thoughts and ideas regarding her situation and fsh? I keep reassuring her but she wants more info than I currently have at my disposal. And, she wants to know if anyone knows of a site or resource that is geared towards peri/meno female athletes.? Any help would be greatly appreciated because she is a wonderful woman and has helped me tremendously over the past few years. Thanking you in advance. J

Hi Jzz,

I'm sorry about your friend. I imagie it is worrisome to have an anomaly especially at this stage in our lives. I found this link from a google search. Pehaps it will help.
http://tinyurl.com/cdhla9

Best of luck,

Carol thanks for the link about the female triad. But my friend is 46 and at a healthy body weight, no body image issues etc. Her doc called her the anamoly (meaning something about her body chemistry is unusual). docs can be so stupid. Anyway, this frightened her! Anyway, we need to maybe network her with some professional (adult - out of college) athletes who are of the same age group and are hitting the "hormonal wall" of peri/meno. Thanks for your fast reply. J.

Actually, the FSH levels increase during peri then on to menopause. Progressivey higher FSH levels is indicative of declining estrogen, or so I'm told by my gyno. BTW- I'm not a professional athlete, but I've been dedicated to various althetic endevors for many, many years. My FSH responded in a normal way in my 40's during the course of perimenopause. I think your friend needs a second opinion along with a second set of tests.

Anything with the endocrine system can throw your whole system out of whack.....peri, thryoid, adrenals ......


for one I would DEFINITELY question the phrase on the thryoid "well within normal limits"...not seeing the numbers I cannot say for sure but can't count the nubmer of times this was wrong. Many doctors and labs are STILL using outdated numbers on FT4, FT3 and TSH....

she may want to visit a thyroid site like Mary Shomon's site and post her thryoid numbers there and see what the very knowledgable ladies might say...they are also very knowledable about adrenal issues as well....I say this having gone through YEARS of thryoid problems. Joan

okay, I'm confused the OP's post refers to FSH which follicle stimulating hormone, NOT TSH. Probably a typo?

The OP mentioned that both her friend and the doc thought she was hypothyroid, but that it tested within normal limits. Slowbear was addressing that statement

Ok, more details about my friend: She has not had a period in almost 2 years. Her FSH continues to go DOWN not up. She is now down to .5. She has seen 2 diferent endocrinologists and is very up on the latest testing (so I am not worried about that. She also understands lab values are arbitrary values that my not mean a thing in regard to how she feels.) (Thanks for the offers to interpret tsh lab values.) She feels pretty good except for continued hair loss, night sweats, no libido (been that way for years), and no periods anymore.

Why would the FSH go DOWN with peri/meno? She is worried and imagining all sorts of bad things.

Can anyone help us find a site for Professional midlife female athletes if it even exists? I also work out every day, still fit, but not working for the # of hours or intensity that she does.

Sorry to keep asking for help but she is a great person and can't find a network so far. Please help me help this great lady. Best regards. J.