Luteinizing hormone (LH) blood test

A blood sample is needed .

Your health care provider will ask you to temporarily stop medicines that may affect the test results. Be sure to tell your provider about all the medicines you take. These include: Birth control pills Hormone therapy Testosterone DHEA (a supplement) If you are a woman of childbearing age, the test may need to be done…

When the needle is inserted to draw blood, some people feel moderate pain. Others feel only a prick or stinging. Afterward, there may be some throbbing or a slight bruise. This soon goes away.

In women, an increase in LH level at mid-cycle causes release of eggs (ovulation). Your provider will order this test to see if: You are ovulating, when you are having trouble getting pregnant or have periods that are not regular You have reached menopause If you are a man, the test may be ordered if you have signs of…

Normal results for adult women are: Before menopause: 5 to 25 IU/L Level peaks even higher around the middle of the menstrual cycle Level then becomes higher after menopause: 14.2 to 52.3 IU/L LH levels are normally low during childhood. Normal result for men over 18 years of age is around 1.8 to 8.6 IU/L. Normal…

In women, a higher than normal level of LH is seen: When women of childbearing age are not ovulating When there is an imbalance of female sex hormones (such as with polycystic ovary syndrome ) During or after menopause Turner syndrome (rare genetic condition in which a female does not have the usual pair of 2 X…

There is little risk involved with having your blood taken. Veins and arteries vary in size from one person to another and from one side of the body to the other. Taking blood from some people may be more difficult than from others. Other risks associated with having blood drawn are slight, but may include: Excessive…

Jeelani R, Bluth MH. Reproductive function and pregnancy. In: McPherson RA, Pincus MR, eds. Henry's Clinical Diagnosis and Management by Laboratory Methods . 24th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2022:chap 26. Lobo RA. Infertility: etiology, diagnostic evaluation, management, prognosis. In: Gershenson DM, Lentz GM,…