printFollicle stimulating hormone (FSH) is one the key endocrine elements in the menstrual cycle. High FSH levels are generally said in western medicine to be indicators of the menopause and they occur when the pituitary gland, not receiving the correct feedback from the ovaries sends out more of this particular hormone. For patients wishing to embark on IVF, it is often a pre-requisite for the fertility clinics that the FSH reading is below a certain level. This tends to be around 11 or 12 but can vary depending on age and personal circumstance. Many women with high FSH levels are told that there is nothing that the clinics can do for them to help this.
Chinese medicine does not always view high FSH levels as indicative of the start of menopause. They can be, and this would be a diagnosis of deficiency of yin (which is all the fertile, nourishing energy required to make goods eggs). However there are other aspects of the menstrual cycle, such as the circulation of blood in the uterus or the emotional state of the patient through the link between hypothalamus and pituitary gland with the ovaries that can play a part. This is the reason why FSH levels can seemingly fluctuate so much.
Regular acupuncture treatments can be very helpful in regulating hormonal imbalances, although it should be noted that acupuncture does not directly alter the female hormones. Rather, acupuncture is considered to influence the hormonal regulation centers in the brain and autonomic nervous system (i.e., the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis) and as a result, improvement in hormonal status can occur over time. Successful treatment with acupuncture and herbs can reduce FSH or stabilise levels to allow IVF treatment to commence or to increase the chances of a natural pregnancy.
