In the human body, hormones regulate physiological activities and behavior. However, when they are out of whack, it causes hormonal imbalance, leading to side effects throughout your body.
Some hormonal fluctuations are temporary and normal such as puberty, menopause, or during pregnancy. Unhealthy habits fueled by a reckless lifestyle are also among some of the root causes of hormone imbalance.
The symptoms of hormonal imbalance vary from one person to another. These 10 common symptoms will help you identify if you are showing signs of a hormonal imbalance. We have also provided some tips that can help with managing the symptoms.
Symptoms of Hormonal Imbalance
Hormonal Weight Gain
Most women tend to experience fluctuation in their weight, especially weight gain when there are low estrogen hormone levels. Estrogen is the hormone that regulates metabolism and body weight. Hence a decrease in this hormone may trigger mood swings and cravings. Some women crave comfort foods, which are high in sugar, fat, and carbs, in an attempt to feel better. There are also a number of different hormones that, when they are not in balance, can play a more significant role in weight gain or weight loss.
How to know if weight gain is hormonal?
To identify any of the symptoms of various hormone imbalances like hypothyroidism or Ovarian cyst, meet with your healthcare provider. Treatments include medications to balance your hormone levels and other alternatives, as discussed by your doctor.
Hormonal Imbalance and Sex Drive
One key factor in maintaining a healthy sex drive is balanced hormones. Testosterone is a hormone found in both males and females and is responsible for sexual interest, arousal, and orgasm. Both testosterone and estrogen need to be balanced to work well. When there are high estrogen levels in the body, it suppresses the testosterone hormone in the body, and as a result, it starts to diminish the sex drive.
How to fix sex hormone imbalance?
If you are experiencing this, consult with your doctor about what can be done. Different treatment options are available such as HRT, which can help increase the sex drive.
Hormonal Headaches
Headaches are a common symptom of various illnesses, body dysfunctions, or even an indicator of something more serious. Most headaches are caused by fluctuation of hormone levels, and in women, most experience headaches when there is a dip in estrogen levels during menstruation.
What You Can Do
Track your triggers and times that you experience your headaches. This information will help your doctor to have a better understanding of your symptoms. Drinking lots of water, quality sleep, and relaxation exercises may help reduce the pain.
Heavy or Irregular Periods
Puberty, menopause, and other significant life changes affect hormone balance. Changes in your body’s hormone levels will affect your menstrual cycle, especially when estrogen and progesterone levels are low. If these symptoms persist along with others like abdominal pain, lower back pain, constipation, and painful sex may indicate you have a non-cancerous growth called fibroids.
How to cure hormonal imbalance in mensuration?
To relieve the symptoms due to imbalanced hormones, try to improve your diet with healthy fats, proteins, vitamins, and cutting back on refined sugar and carbs, exercise, prescription medication. For underlying conditions such as fibroids, consult your doctor for treatment options.
Vaginal Dryness
Vaginal dryness is very common to most women during perimenopause and when they reach menopause. Low levels of estrogen make the walls of the vagina thinner. As a result, it can be painful to have sex.
What You Can Do
Refrain from using strong, perfumed wash products for the vagina and use water-based lubricants. Talk to your healthcare provider to find out more about your treatment options, which may include HRT.
Does Hormonal Imbalance Cause Fatigue?
Fatigue is the persistent overall feeling of lack of energy and tiredness. The feeling becomes overwhelming, and it prevents you from going about your daily activities. Normal fatigue is taken care of with adequate rest and proper nutrition. If the feeling persists, even after proper rest and care, it may indicate a potential underlying problem caused by hormonal imbalance.
What You Can Do
When you have made an effort to address the most common causes, and your symptoms persist, taking a hormonal imbalance test can help diagnose if you are suffering from adrenal fatigue or hypothyroidism.
Can Hormonal Imbalance Cause Insomnia?
This is a common disorder that happens when you experience difficulty falling asleep and not feeling well-rested. Common causes of insomnia include stress, lifestyle changes, and others. When the symptoms persist, it is possible that melatonin, the hormone that is responsible for the sleep-wake cycle, is deficient in your bloodstream.
What You Can Do
Speak with your doctor to help create sleeping schedules and routines that will help you fall asleep easily and improve your quality of sleep.
Hormonal Skin Changes
Most people observe bad skin days in the course of their life. Do you suffer from chronic adult acne? A hormonal disorder caused by low estrogen and progesterone levels and high levels of androgen hormones may be the issue if you do. Hormonal imbalances during pregnancy or menopause can cause itchy and dry skin.
What You Can Do
Consult with your healthcare practitioner, who can perform tests to see if your skin problem is caused by hormonal imbalance. Other tips to improve your skin conditions include drinking lots of water, cleansing regularly, and avoiding harsh, irritating skincare products.
Hormonal Imbalance and Fertility
Infertility results from a combination of factors and issues, and among others, hormonal imbalance is one of the causes. Common causes of hormonal imbalance that affect fertility include anovulation, polycystic ovary syndrome, and hyperprolactinemia. An absence or irregularity of hormones can reduce the chances of a woman getting pregnant, hence infertility.
What You Can Do
Treatment includes getting tested for hormone imbalance to check FSH and LH levels, lifestyle modifications, and seeing a women’s health expert to diagnose any underlying cause of your difficulty to conceive.
How Hormones Affect Mood
Hormonal imbalance is one of the leading causes of most women’s mood changes. These changes mostly occur during menstruation and as a woman approaches menopause. Fluctuations in the sex hormone estrogen affect the neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin, which can cause premenstrual syndrome (PMS) or depressed mood during perimenopause (the phase before periods stop entirely) and menopause.
What You Can Do
Track your moods to identify triggers and make some dietary and lifestyle changes, like exercising, quitting smoking, getting enough sleep, and increasing calcium intake. Consult your healthcare provider to address the hormonal imbalance caused by treatment like hormone replacement therapy (HRT) if you are perimenopausal or menopausal.
Discover What Causes Hormonal Imbalance – Nava Can Help
When experiencing one or more of the above symptoms, do not hesitate to consult one of our expert physicians to test for hormone imbalance.
Schedule your appointment with us and start feeling your best today!
A Medical Director, and one of the first physicians to join the Nava Health & Vitality Center, Dr. Douglas Lord has made significant contributions to our Center and its founding principles. Dr. Lord has helped develop and implement the Nava Method™—Nava’s proprietary approach to total body wellness. He has also been instrumental in liaising with other expert practitioners to successfully implement Nava’s range of therapies, treatments, and products.