WHAT IS HORMONAL IMBALANCE?

Hormones are your body’s chemical messengers. Produced in the endocrine glands, these powerful chemicals travel around your bloodstream telling tissues and organs what to do. They help control many of your body’s major processes, including metabolism and reproduction.

When you have a hormonal imbalance, you have too much or too little of a certain hormone. Even tiny changes can have serious effects throughout your whole body as described by Dr Rama Sofat.

Symptoms of a hormonal imbalance

Your hormones play an integral role in your overall health. Because of that, there’s a broad range of symptoms that could signal a hormonal imbalance. Your symptoms will depend on which hormones or glands aren’t working properly as explained by Dr Rama Sofat.

Symptoms of a hormonal imbalance specific to women include:

woman with acne on neck and face

heavy or irregular periods, including missed periods, stopped period, or frequent period
hirsutism, or excessive hair on the face, chin, or other parts of the body
acne on the face, chest, or upper back
thinning hair or hair loss
weight gain or trouble losing weight
darkening of skin, especially along neck creases, in the groin, and underneath breasts
skin tags

Symptoms in men

Testosterone plays an important role in male development. If you aren’t producing enough testosterone, it can cause a variety of symptoms as described by Dr Rama Sofat.

In the adult male, symptoms include:

development of breast tissue
breast tenderness
erectile dysfunction
loss of muscle mass
decreased sex drive
infertility

Causes of a hormonal imbalance

There are many possible causes for a hormonal imbalance. Causes differ depending on which hormones or glands are affected. Common causes of hormonal imbalance include:

appearance of thyroid on neck of a woman

diabetes
hypothyroidism, or underactive thyroid
hyperthyroidism, or overactive thyroid
hypogonadism
Cushing syndrome
thyroiditis
hyperfunctioning thyroid nodules

Treatment options for a hormonal imbalance

Treatment for a hormonal imbalance will depend on what’s causing it. Common treatment options include:

Estrogen therapy

If you’re experiencing uncomfortable symptoms of menopause like hot flashes, your doctor may recommend a low dose of estrogen. Be sure to discuss the risks and benefits of hormone replacement therapy with your doctor.

Vaginal estrogen

If you’re experiencing vaginal dryness or pain during sex, you may want to try applying an estrogen cream, tablet, or ring. This local therapy treatment avoids many of the risks associated with systemic estrogen, or estrogen that travels throughout the bloodstream to the appropriate organ.