Luteinizing Hormone

LH (Luteinizing Hormone)

How To Prepare

Many medicines, such as cimetidine, clomiphene, digitalis, and levodopa, can change your results. You may be asked to stop taking medicines (including birth control pills) that contain estrogen or progesterone or both for up to 4 weeks before having a luteinizing hormone (LH) test. Make sure your health professional has a complete list of all the prescription and over-the-counter medicines you are taking, including herbs and natural substances.

Tell your doctor if you have had a test that used a radioactive substance (tracer) within the last 7 days. Recent tests (such as a thyroid scan or bone scan) using a radioactive tracer can interfere with LH test results.

Let your doctor know the first day of your last menstrual period. If your bleeding pattern is light or begins with spotting, the first day is the day of heaviest bleeding.

Talk to your doctor about any concerns you have regarding the need for the test, its risks, how it will be done, or what the results will indicate. To help you understand the importance of this test, fill out the medical test information form(What is a PDF document?).

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Author:	Maria G. Essig, MS, ELS	Last Updated: June 6, 2007
Medical Review:	Patrice Burgess, MD - Family Medicine Kirtly Jones, MD - Obstetrics and Gynecology
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