How Do You Know If You Need Hormone Balancing?

Hormones are the body's most powerful chemical communicators, instructing it what to do and when. As a result, if your hormones are out of balance, you may notice symptoms such as sleeplessness, exhaustion, weight gain, hair loss, or mood fluctuations. However, most hormonal imbalances are reversible—learn how to naturally balance hormones and reverse your hormonal imbalance.

Hormones are produced by our endocrine glands, which include the adrenals, thyroid, pancreas, and female or male reproductive systems, and they conduct vital activities, send vital warnings, and send messages throughout the body.

That is to say, they ensure that everything runs smoothly and that your rhythms are in harmony.

Hormones can affect your:

• Heart rate
• Sleep cycles
• Reproduction
• Mood
• Appetite
• Metabolism

Many things can cause your endocrine system to malfunction, causing hormone balance and function to be disrupted. The longer a system is "out of order," the more difficult it is to restore balance. Early detection and correction of the causes of hormonal imbalance will aid in the maintenance of your health and the prevention of chronic disease.

Usual causes of a hormonal imbalance:

• Underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism)
• Overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism)
• Chronic stress
• Diabetes
• Birth control or hormonal replacement
• Poor diet 
• Cushing syndrome
• Exposure to endocrine disruptors

Here are 10 indicators of hormone imbalance to watch for, as well as what you can do about it:

Mood swings: Estrogen, a female sex hormone, affects neurotransmitters in the brain, including serotonin (a chemical that boosts mood). During perimenopause (the period before menopause) and menopause, estrogen fluctuations can produce premenstrual syndrome (PMS) or sad mood.

What to do: If feeling depressed or anxious is interfering with your daily life, dietary and lifestyle modifications, such as exercising, drinking less alcohol, and stopping smoking, herbal medicines (such as St John's Wort), and hormone replacement therapy (HRT) if you are perimenopausal or menopausal, can all help. Keeping a symptom journal will also aid you and your doctor in determining whether hormonal changes are to blame.

Heavy or painful periods: You may have fibroids if you suffer abdominal pain, a frequent need to urinate, lower back pain, constipation, and painful intercourse. Fibroids are noncancerous growths that appear in or near the uterus. Although the specific cause is unknown, they are considered to be activated by estrogen, and having a family history of the disease may further raise your risk.

What to do: Consult a skilled health practitioner if you are experiencing symptoms, as a treatment to shrink the fibroids may be prescribed. Surgery to remove them may be considered in severe situations or if medicine does not resolve the condition.

Low libido: Low libido is particularly frequent in women going through perimenopause or menopause when estrogen and testosterone levels decline (although known as a male hormone, women also have testosterone). Night sweats, exhaustion, low mood, and anxiety are all menopausal symptoms that can affect your sex life.

What to do: If you're going through menopause, talk to a woman's health professional about using testosterone as part of your HRT. This can raise your mood and energy levels while also improving your libido. It's applied to the skin as a gel at very low concentrations.

Insomnia and poor-quality sleep: The ovaries eventually generate less estrogen and progesterone throughout perimenopause and menopause, which encourages sleep. Falling estrogen levels can also cause night sweats, which can disrupt your sleep and cause weariness and exhaustion.

What to do: The initial step is to obtain a precise diagnosis. If you're going through perimenopause or menopause, talk to your doctor about the benefits of HRT, which will restore estrogen and progesterone levels. Wearing cotton nightclothes, sleeping between cotton sheets, keeping your bedroom cool and dark as possible, exercising, and reducing alcohol and caffeine intake are all practical ways to improve your sleep.

Unexplained weight gain: An underactive thyroid (when your thyroid gland does not produce enough thyroid hormones to regulate metabolism), polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) (a hormone-related problem that causes small cysts on the ovaries), and menopause are all hormone-related conditions that can cause weight gain (which results in hormonal changes that can make you more likely to gain weight around your abdomen).

What to do: If you've gained weight without changing your diet or exercising, you should see a woman's health specialist to rule out illnesses like thyroid disease or ovarian cysts. If you're going through menopause, you should talk to your doctor about the benefits of HRT. HRT is thought to cause weight gain by some women, however, there is no data to back this up.

Skin problems: Chronic adult acne can indicate low estrogen and progesterone levels as well as excessive androgen hormone levels, as well as a polycystic ovarian syndrome. Itchy skin can also be caused by hormone imbalances during pregnancy or menopause, whereas dry skin is a symptom of menopause or thyroid disorders.

What to do: If you suspect a hormone imbalance is causing a persistent skin condition, you should visit a women's health professional to identify and treat the underlying issue.

Fertility problems: Hormonal imbalance is one of the primary reasons for female infertility, and after the age of 35, a woman's fertility normally declines due to fluctuating hormone levels. Low levels of luteinizing hormone (LH), which encourages the ovaries to release an egg and begin generating progesterone, can also cause reproductive issues. Your fertility will be affected by early menopause and other hormone-related diseases such as PCOS.

What to do: If you have been trying to conceive for a year, or less if you are over 35, your GP can arrange for a blood test to check FSH and LH levels, and if you have been trying for a year, or less if you are over 35, you should see a women's health expert to diagnose any underlying causes of your inability to conceive.

Headaches: Hormonal changes throughout the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, and menopause cause headaches in many women.

What to do: Keep a symptom diary to assist you and your doctor figure out what's causing your headaches. Keeping a regular sleep schedule and eating small, frequent snacks can assist. If you suffer from migraines on a regular basis, your doctor may prescribe anti-migraine medication, or you could try the contraceptive pill or HRT.

Weak bones: Estrogen levels drop during perimenopause and menopause, which can lead to bone loss.

What to do: Women with brittle bones are often unaware of their condition until they suffer a fracture, which is why it is critical to make lifestyle adjustments to promote bone health as they enter middle age and beyond. Weight-bearing exercise, such as running, tennis, or dance, a balanced diet rich in calcium and vitamin D, and the use of hormone replacement therapy to treat menopause symptoms can all help.

Vaginal dryness: A decrease in estrogen levels, especially during perimenopause and menopause, is the most common cause of vaginal dryness. Taking the contraceptive pill or antidepressants might potentially cause the condition by altering hormone levels.

What to do: Washing using unscented soaps and using water-based lubricants are examples of practical methods. If your symptoms are caused by menopause, HRT can assist by raising estrogen levels.