estrogen level...ovaries working?

Is it normal to have your estrogen level checked to verify that your ovaries are working?

I asked my doctor a few times before my SAH how would i know if my ovaries are working..and she just said they will since i'm not menapause age and she is leaving them it. Its only been a week so I have no idea if my ovaries are working or not but I have my 2 week follow up next week and am trying to prepare some questions.

thanks!

Nope, it is not normal to have hormone levels checked for an asymptomatic woman. Even then, most doctors won't check hormone levels even for symptomatic women until several weeks post op as anesthesia and surgery can cause some menopause type symptoms and the body needs time to heal and adjust. Additionally, if the blood supply to ovaries is interrupted some menopause symptoms can occur until a new blood supply is established and so those symptoms could also be temporary and a doctor will want to give your body time before assuming your ovaries have quit.

If your ovaries aren't working, you will know! The symptoms can be very difficult to ignore--mood swings, hot flashes, night sweats, brain fog, joint pain, insomnia, and more. But again, some of these symptoms can occur from the anesthesia, meds, trauma of surgery, etc. and will abate with time.

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I don't know if it is "normal" to check hormones, but it is an easy blood test to do. Further, if you doctor refuses and you are still interested, you can get a saliva test done. There are several good companies that will test your hormones (estrogen, progesterone, testosterone and DHEA) through your saliva.

Prior to my surgery, I had several of those done primarily to track my adrenal glands.

So, you are not entirely dependent on your doctor.

thanks ladies!