I am just wondering on what basis the doctor is diagnosing perimenoapuse. The could be other reasons for hormonal changes in the mother. I think this situation would first warrant getting some hormone levels measured. Ideally a saliva test is best, but may be difficult to have covered by insurance or ordered by a traditional medicine MD. Blood and urine tests are available for this as well, but are not as accurate. Here is a description from Diagnos-Techs, Inc. 6620 South 192nd Place, Building J Kent, Washington 98032 Toll Free (800) 878-3787 Fax: (425) 251-0637 E-mail: [log in to unmask] I have no financial interest in this company. See their website for the complete article on what this test measures and it's clinical applications. "Cycling - Pre & Peri Menopausal Panel Description Doctor Page" This Female Hormone Panel (FHP) is a dynamic mapping of the bioactive (Free) Fractions of 17 Beta-Estradiol and Progesterone as they vary in concentration through a complete menstrual cycle.The panel also includes a Free Testosterone level reflecting the Average of the Follicular, Ovulatory, and Luteal phases of the cycle, and a DHEA and IgM titer: The extended panel also includes 3¬4 LH & FSH measurements. The panel uses 11 saliva samples collected during specified time slots* through the menstrual cycle. *A time slot is a window of 2-3 days.Both patient and doctor can actually view the profile of ovarian hormones during the female cycle (Figure 1: FHP curve).Guess work is minimized and hormonal balance evaluation becomes an objective reality. The applications of the FHP are broad and allow the detection of several abnormalities that include the following: A. Luteal Phase Defects (LPD) Luteal phase defects are common and may affect 8% (4) to about 35% (5) depending on the sub-population of women included in the study. Luteal phase defects shoe abnormalities in Progesterone output and can be classified into 3 subclasses: LPD-I, LPD-II, LPD-III. The FHP report will make the distinction and explain the differences. Urine and serum hormone concentration in mid-luteal phase are practically useless in LPD detection. The inadequacy has been worded as follows: "We reject the notion that a single mid-luteal phase progesterone assay is sufficient to make the diagnosis of luteal phase defect" (4). The mid-luteal phase Progesterone assay "is of little or no assistance in establishing a diagnosis" of luteal phase deficit. Wentz, A.C. Clinical Obstet. Gynecol. 22:169 (1979) Briefly summarized, mid-luteal testing is a technique shown to have poor or minimal correlation with luteal insufficiency on a patient-to-patient basis (6,7,8). *********************************************** To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest) To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet All commands go to [log in to unmask] The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html