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LH The signal for ovulation and testosterone

Also called Luteinizing hormone and Lutropin Not on a standard checkup No fasting needed

The short answer

LH is a hormone from the brain that triggers ovulation in women and tells the testes to make testosterone in men. In women it surges just before ovulation, so a normal result depends on when you test: around ovulation, Labcorp’s range runs up to 95.6 mIU/mL.1

A normal result
On Labcorp’s test, 2.4 to 12.6 mIU/mL early in the cycle, 14.0 to 95.6 around ovulation, 7.7 to 58.5 after menopause and 1.7 to 8.6 for men.1
If yours is high
Mid-cycle, it’s usually the surge before ovulation. In a man with low testosterone, it means the testes aren’t responding. A high LH doesn’t diagnose PCOS.1,2,9
Should you test?
If your periods are irregular or have stopped, or you’re a man with low testosterone. To time ovulation, a urine kit is the usual tool, not a blood test.4,5,7

Check your result

Type the number from your report. It stays on this page.

Which fits you?

LH comes in pulses, so one result is a snapshot and can mislead.1 Neither LH nor the LH-to-FSH ratio is used to diagnose PCOS.2 If you take the pill or other hormones, these ranges don’t apply.6

2.4 12.7
  • Below range Under 2.4
  • In range 2.4 to 12.6
  • Above range 12.7 or more

Enter your result to see what it means and what to do next.

Got a result from another lab? Ask Picardo about it. The app explains your results, and a physician can follow up.

Ranges from Labcorp.1 The bar isn’t to scale.

What is a normal LH level?

LH changes a lot across the cycle and peaks sharply just before ovulation, so what’s normal depends on when you test. These are Labcorp’s ranges:1

Below range Below the lab’s range for that point in your cycle or after menopause

Below the lab’s range

Around ovulation, you may simply have tested before or after the surge.1,5 If your periods have stopped, a low or normal LH points to the brain turning down its signal to the ovaries, as in hypothalamic amenorrhea, where LH is often low compared with FSH.4 The pill and other hormone medicines change LH, so results taken on them can’t be read against these ranges.6 Less often, a pituitary problem lowers it.1 After menopause, hormone treatment can push LH down.6

How worried to be

Not a worry on its own if your periods are regular. If they’ve stopped, see a clinician.

What to do next
  1. 1 If your periods have stopped, ask about FSH, estradiol and prolactin. Clinicians rule out pregnancy first.4
  2. 2 If you were checking for ovulation, a progesterone test about a week before your next period is the better check.5
In range In the lab’s range for that point in your cycle or after menopause

In the lab’s range

Your LH fits Labcorp’s range for the time you picked.1 On its own, it says little more. LH comes in pulses, so one result is a snapshot.1

How worried to be

Nothing to worry about.

What to do next
  1. 1 If you want to know whether you ovulate, a progesterone test about a week before your period is the usual check.5
  2. 2 If your periods are irregular, read LH with FSH and estradiol from the same draw.4
Above range Above the lab’s range for that point in your cycle or after menopause

Above the lab’s range

The likeliest reason is timing: you caught the surge that comes before ovulation.1,5 With a high FSH too, it can mean the ovaries are slowing down, as in the menopause transition or premature ovarian insufficiency.1,4 In PCOS, LH can be high compared with FSH, but that isn’t used to diagnose it.2,4 After menopause, LH runs high anyway, so a result above the range is read with FSH.1

How worried to be

Usually not a worry. Worth a repeat if it doesn’t fit your timing.

What to do next
  1. 1 If your periods are regular, retest early in your next cycle.1
  2. 2 If they’re irregular, ask about FSH and estradiol from the same draw, and about PCOS.2,4
Low Under 1.7 mIU/mL (men)

Low for a man

With a low testosterone, a low LH points to the pituitary or hypothalamus: secondary hypogonadism. It can come from severe obesity, opioids, steroid medicines such as prednisone or a pituitary problem.9 Testosterone treatment and anabolic steroids also shut LH down.8,9 In this case, US urology guidelines strongly recommend checking prolactin, and advise a pituitary MRI if testosterone is under 150 ng/dL.7

How worried to be

Not urgent, but see a clinician, especially if your testosterone is low.

What to do next
  1. 1 Check morning testosterone and prolactin.7
  2. 2 If you take testosterone or anabolic steroids, a low LH is expected.9
Normal 1.7 to 8.6 mIU/mL (men)

Normal for a man

Your LH is in Labcorp’s range for men.1 If your testosterone is low, though, a normal LH is “inappropriately normal”. The brain should be pushing harder, so it still points to the pituitary or hypothalamus.7,9

How worried to be

Nothing to worry about.

What to do next
  1. 1 No action needed for LH itself.
  2. 2 If your testosterone is low, ask about prolactin.7 At this LH level, clomiphene-type drugs, used off-label in men, can raise your own testosterone and help keep fertility.7,8
High 8.7 mIU/mL or more (men)

High for a man

With a low testosterone, a high LH means the testes aren’t responding to the brain’s signal: primary hypogonadism. Causes include Klinefelter syndrome, undescended testes, some chemotherapy and injury.9 Medicines that push the testes harder, such as clomiphene or hCG, may then raise testosterone less.8

How worried to be

Not urgent, but see a clinician, especially if your testosterone is low or you want children.

What to do next
  1. 1 Check morning testosterone and FSH.9
  2. 2 If you want children, ask about a semen analysis, and don’t start testosterone.8
LH test, $7.45
Results in 2 to 3 days, explained in the app
Order

What is LH?

Think of LH as a starting gun. For most of the cycle it ticks over in small pulses. Then it fires a sharp surge, and an egg is released within a day or two.1,5

LH, short for luteinizing hormone, is made by the pituitary gland at the base of the brain. In women, it works with FSH to ripen an egg, and its mid-cycle surge sets off ovulation. Afterward, it helps what’s left of the follicle make progesterone. In men, it tells the testes to make testosterone.1

How does LH change across your cycle?

LH stays fairly low for most of the cycle, then surges just before ovulation. After menopause, it rises and stays high.1

When Labcorp’s range (mIU/mL)
Early in the cycle (follicular)2.4 to 12.6
Around ovulation14.0 to 95.6
Second half of the cycle (luteal)1.0 to 11.4
After menopause7.7 to 58.5
Men1.7 to 8.6

From Labcorp. The ranges overlap, so one LH result can’t tell you where you are in your cycle or whether you’ve been through menopause.1

LH is released in pulses, so a single result is a snapshot, and Labcorp notes it can be hard to interpret on its own.1

Can LH show when you ovulate?

A urine ovulation kit can. It picks up the LH surge, which comes 1 to 2 days before ovulation. That’s indirect evidence, and kits vary in how accurate they are. In PCOS, LH can run high all the time and give false positives.5

A blood test confirms ovulation after the fact. A progesterone over 3 ng/mL, drawn about a week before your next period, is enough to show you ovulated.5

Does a high LH mean PCOS?

Not on its own. LH can be high compared with FSH in PCOS,4 but the 2023 international guideline doesn’t use LH or the LH-to-FSH ratio to diagnose it. Diagnosis needs two of three things, once other causes are ruled out: high androgens, seen as symptoms or on a blood test; irregular or absent ovulation; and polycystic ovaries on ultrasound or a high AMH.2

LH and FSH are mainly useful for ruling out other causes of missed periods, such as a low signal from the brain.4 In 2026, an international consensus renamed PCOS polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS), so you may see either name.3

LH in men with low testosterone

In men, LH tells the testes to make testosterone.1 If your testosterone is low, US urology guidelines strongly recommend measuring LH, because it shows where the problem starts.7

A high LH means the testes aren’t responding (primary hypogonadism). A low or normal LH means the brain isn’t sending enough signal (secondary hypogonadism), which can come from severe obesity, opioids, steroid medicines such as prednisone or a pituitary problem.9

The difference matters for treatment. With a low or normal LH, clomiphene-type drugs can raise your own testosterone and help keep fertility.7 With a high LH, they tend to work less well, because the testes are the problem.8

Who should get an LH test?

It’s worth checking if any of these apply to you:

  • Your periods are irregular or have stopped. Test it with FSH and estradiol.4
  • You’re a man with low testosterone.7,9

A single blood LH is a snapshot, and the surge before ovulation is short, so one test can’t time it. To time sex for pregnancy, a urine ovulation kit is the usual tool.5

How to get an LH test, and what it costs

An LH test costs $7.45 through Picardo.

Order the test

LH test

$7.45
Labcorp 004283 · no fasting needed
Order LH
  • Results in 2 to 3 days, in the app
  • Physician follow-up if you want one
  • Free Labcorp draw, or $75 at home
  • No other fees. HSA and FSA eligible.

It’s also part of the Base Core Annual – Men, Base Core Annual – Women and Fertility panels, if you’d rather test more at once.

Already have a result? Ask Picardo about it

Questions people ask

What’s the LH-to-FSH ratio?

It’s your LH divided by your FSH. In PCOS, LH can be high compared with FSH, but no guideline sets a ratio that diagnoses it.2,4 In hypothalamic amenorrhea, the opposite is common, with LH low compared with FSH.4

When should I test LH?

It depends on why. To find your surge, use urine kits around mid-cycle; midday or evening urine matches blood LH best.5 For missed periods, a blood test on any day, with FSH and estradiol, works.4 Men should test alongside a morning testosterone.7

Why is my LH high after menopause?

Once the ovaries stop working, nothing holds LH and FSH down, so both rise and stay high.1,4 Labcorp’s range after menopause runs from 7.7 to 58.5 mIU/mL. That overlaps with values during the cycle, so LH alone can’t confirm menopause.1

Why is my LH low on testosterone?

Testosterone from outside the body shuts down the brain’s signal to the testes, so LH falls.8,9 That’s expected, and it’s also why testosterone treatment lowers sperm production.8

Often checked alongside

FSH
A brain hormone that drives egg and sperm production
Total testosterone
All the testosterone in your blood
Estradiol
The main estrogen
AMH
An estimate of egg reserve

Test details

Labcorp test
Luteinizing Hormone (LH), 004283
LOINC
10501-5
Sample
Blood
Fasting
Not needed
Typical lab range
2.4 to 12.6 mIU/mL (follicular); 14.0 to 95.6 (ovulation); 1.0 to 11.4 (luteal); 7.7 to 58.5 (postmenopausal); 1.7 to 8.6 (men)1
Units
mIU/mL at Labcorp, the same as IU/L.
Best time to test
For men, in the morning, with testosterone.7
Before the test
If you take high-dose biotin, stop at least 72 hours before. It can make the result falsely high or low.1,9

Sources

  1. 1 Labcorp. Luteinizing hormone (LH), test 004283. Labcorp test menu. Accessed October 28, 2026. www.labcorp.com/tests/004283/luteinizing-hormone-lh
  2. 2 Teede HJ, Tay CT, Laven JJE, et al. Recommendations from the 2023 international evidence-based guideline for the assessment and management of polycystic ovary syndrome. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2023;108(10):2447–2469. doi.org/10.1210/clinem/dgad463
  3. 3 Teede HJ, Khomami MB, Morman R, et al. Polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome, the new name for polycystic ovary syndrome: a multistep global consensus process. Lancet. 2026;407(10545):2329–2339. doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(26)00717-8
  4. 4 Practice Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Current evaluation of amenorrhea: a committee opinion. Fertil Steril. 2024;122(1):52–61. doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2024.02.001
  5. 5 Practice Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Fertility evaluation of infertile women: a committee opinion. Fertil Steril. Published online October 20, 2026. doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2026.08.686
  6. 6 American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Committee Opinion No. 605: primary ovarian insufficiency in adolescents and young women. Obstet Gynecol. 2014;124(1):193–197. Reaffirmed 2025. doi.org/10.1097/01.AOG.0000451757.51964.98
  7. 7 Mulhall JP, Trost LW, Brannigan RE, et al. Evaluation and management of testosterone deficiency: AUA guideline. J Urol. 2018;200(2):423–432. Reviewed and validity confirmed 2024. doi.org/10.1016/j.juro.2018.03.115
  8. 8 Schlegel PN, Sigman M, Collura B, et al. Diagnosis and treatment of infertility in men: AUA/ASRM guideline (2020; amended 2024). Linthicum, MD: American Urological Association; 2024. www.auanet.org/documents/Guidelines/PDF/2024%20Guidelines/Male%20Infertility%20Unabridged%20Final.pdf
  9. 9 Bhasin S, Brito JP, Cunningham GR, et al. Testosterone therapy in men with hypogonadism: an Endocrine Society clinical practice guideline. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2018;103(5):1715–1744. doi.org/10.1210/jc.2018-00229

Updated 28 Oct 2026.

This is general health information, not medical advice: talk to your clinician about your results and before changing any treatment.