Top 10 Signs You May Have A Hormonal Imbalance
Your hormones are chemical messengers.
They travel from your various endocrine glands to different parts of your body, telling them what to do.
This affects everything from your metabolism and mood to blood sugar and blood pressure, and a whole lot more.
Your fertility, sex drive, and even how well you sleep rely on hormones.
Due to this, hormonal imbalances in your body can have wide ranging effects on your health.
Here at Wild Lemon Health, a virtual naturopathic clinic in California, we want to help you understand your hormones, and what it looks like when they’re out of balance.
Let’s take a closer look at all the ways these chemical messengers can impact your body.
What Is A Hormonal Imbalance?
Your body’s endocrine glands are responsible for creating hormones.
These include your thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal glands, hypothalamus, pineal gland, ovaries or testes, and others.
RELATED: The Secret About Why That Thyroid Supplement Might Not Be Working
From there, they travel through your bloodstream to different parts of your body, telling them how to behave.
If you’re able to keep your hormones in balance, it helps keep your body running optimally.
But if you have too much, or too little, of a particular hormone, it can have a significant impact on your health.
Now, certain hormones will rise and fall naturally throughout your life.
This is the reason for changes such as pregnancy and menopause, for example.
But when hormone levels change for other reasons, it can lead to a number of problems.
What Causes A Hormonal Imbalance?
There are so many answers to this question. In some cases, it’s an issue with a specific endocrine gland.
If you have hypothyroidism, for example, it’s because your thyroid is underperforming.
If you have an issue with a specific endocrine organ, it can be caused by things like an injury to that organ, environmental factors, certain medications, certain types of cancer, or an autoimmune disorder.
It can also be related to diet – eating a poor diet high in processed sugars can trigger type 2 diabetes, related to the hormone insulin.
Other causes of hormonal imbalances may include:
An eating disorder
Cancer treatments, like chemotherapy or radiation therapy
Certain medications
Environmental pollutants
RELATED: Are These Hazardous Chemicals In Your Mascara, Blush, Or Lipstick?
What Are The Signs You Have A Hormonal Imbalance?
The signs of a hormonal imbalance will depend on which hormones are involved, and whether you have too much, or too little of them.
Let’s look at some of the common indicators of a hormonal imbalance.
It's important to remember, though, that all of the above can be symptoms of other issues as well.
That’s why it’s important to consult with a naturopathic doctor first.
Here at Wild Lemon Health, we can help you get to the bottom of your symptoms, and put together a treatment plan designed to address the root cause.
That said, if you’re experiencing one of the symptoms below, it could be a hormonal imbalance.
1. You're Sitting at a Higher Weight
Hormones play a big role in moderating your metabolism.
There are a number of hormonal imbalances which can result in weight gain.
For example, your adrenal glands produce cortisol, and high levels of it can cause Cushing’s syndrome.
Cushing’s syndrome results in increased fat storage and heightened appetite.
Weight gain is also one of the symptoms of hypothyroidism, which we talked about above.
PCOS can trigger weight gain as well, among a number of other symptoms.
It also increases your risk of diabetes, which itself is also associated with weight gain.
There’s a close link between diet and PCOS, which we talked about on this blog a few months back.
So if you’re gaining weight and aren’t sure why, you’ll want to consult with a healthcare practitioner who can evaluate your hormones.
2. You Have Frequent Mood Swings
If you’re feeling extra moody, it might be due to hormones.
Estrogen inhibits the reuptake of serotonin and dopamine in your brain.
These are both hormones and neurotransmitters which have large impacts on your mood.
Therefore, when estrogen levels are low, serotonin and dopamine can lower as well, leading to mood swings.
This is why mood swings are commonly associated with premenstrual syndrome.
Mood swings can also be caused by a blood sugar imbalance, sleep deprivation, chronic depression or anxiety, and a number of other factors as well.
So if you feel like your mood isn’t as reliable as it used to be, it’s worth consulting with a naturopathic doctor to see what’s triggering it.
3. You Have Frequent Headaches
Changes in hormones during pregnancy, menstruation, and menopause can sometimes result in headaches.
This is due to fluctuating estrogen levels.
If you notice you’re experiencing regular headaches around the time of your period, this is likely the reason.
Chronic stress, can also trigger headaches.
This can cause your cortisol levels to spike, which over a long enough period of time can suppress production of other hormones.
4. You Feel Tired All The Time
If you’re feeling fatigued, it may be due to your hormone levels.
Hypothyroidism, resulting in too little thyroid hormone can lead you to feeling like you don’t have enough energy.
Also, as steroid hormones like estrogen and progesterone begin to fluctuate or stack around perimenopause this can also affect your sense of energy and overall sense of wellbeing.
5. You’re Sleeping Poorly
Do you find it difficult to fall, and stay, asleep?
The hormone progesterone helps promote sleep, so at time during your menstrual cycle when it’s lower, your sleep may be affected.
Furthermore, low levels of estrogen may lead to night sweats, which can disrupt sleep and wake you up during the night.
Hyperthyroidism can lead to difficulty sleeping as well.
This is because it can make you feel nervous or agitated.
It can also cause night sweats and an increased need to urinate, both of which can make it easier to get a full night’s sleep.
Your pineal gland produces the hormone melatonin, which plays a role in your circadian rhythm – your sleep wake cycle.
Deficiency in melatonin or changing levels due to other hormonal changes like menopause can make it difficult to fall asleep.
6. You Have Frequent Acne
Contrary to popular belief, acne is not caused by poor hygiene. And it’s not something only teens have to deal with.
Fluctuations in estrogen and progesterone prior to your period can cause breakouts.
Breakouts that persist throughout the month, however, may also be hormonally related and reflect higher than normal androgen levels.
This might make us think of PCOS, for example.
7. You're Having Issues Down There
There are a lot of different ways your hormone levels can affect your pelvic region.
Some of these include:
Heavy or painful periods due to fibroids, which are responsive to estrogen levels
Irregular periods due to estrogen and progesterone, being too high or too low
Lower than normal sex drive as a result of fluctuating hormone levels, specifically estrogen and testosterone
Vaginal dryness, due to low estrogen levels
Erectile dysfunction, because of low testosterone
8. You're Frequently Thirsty
If you’re constantly reaching for another glass of water, it might be due to the levels of estrogen and progesterone in your body being off balance.
hormone which can affect how thirsty you feel is anti diuretic hormone.
Produced by your hypothalamus, anti diuretic hormone helps your body retain water, so no having enough of it can lead to feeling thirsty.
Also, frequent thirst may be a symptom of diabetes which is influenced by the hormone insulin.
9. You're Having Trouble Getting Pregnant
If you’re trying to expand your family, but are having trouble getting pregnant, it’s possible a hormonal imbalance is to blame.
In fact, hormonal imbalance is one of the most common causes of infertility, regardless of sex or gender.
We talked about some of the issues hormonal imbalance can cause related to your sex organs, but there’s more to it than that.
Low testosterone can cause difficulty with sperm production, while low estrogen or progesterone can cause you to not menstruate.
Follicle stimulating hormone, or FSH, is produced by your pituitary gland, and low levels can have the same effect as the sex hormones mentioned above.
Luteinizing hormone (LH) triggers the release of an egg from your ovaries, so low levels can cause menstrual issues as well.
10. You're Losing A Lot Of Hair
Lower than usual androgen hormones, such as testosterone, can lead to male pattern baldness, generally on the crown and front of your head.
On the other hand, female pattern baldness usually looks like hair thinning.
This can occur during periods where estrogen levels are low, such as during pregnancy, menopause, or after starting hormonal birth control.
Possible Complications From Hormonal Imbalances
There are a wide variety of complications and conditions which can result from hormonal imbalances.
It’s important to note many of these complications can also occur for other reasons, however, each can also be linked to hormones as well.
Some complications from hormones can include:
Excess weight
Elevated cholesterol
Decline in muscle mass
Osteoporosis
Sleep apnea
Diabetes
Nervous system damage
Anxiety and depression
Heart disease
Kidney damage
Hypertension
Endometrial and breast cancer
Urinary incontinence
Goiter
Book Your Appointment With Wild Lemon Health Today
Are you experiencing sudden weight fluctuations, unrelated to diet or exercise which you’re having trouble explaining?
Have you noticed unexplained hair loss?
Maybe you’re tired all the time, or having trouble getting in the mood for intimacy with your partner.
All of these could point to a hormonal imbalance.
I’m Dr. Antonella Aguilera-Ruiz, a naturopathic doctor at Wild Lemon Health.
If you suspect you have a hormonal imbalance, I can help.
