Experiencing some shifts in your hormones is normal at different times in your life. However, some hormonal shifts are unexpected or severe and can cause a number of problems within your body. You are warmly invited to learn more about a hormone imbalance and discover some of the symptoms you should be aware of, as well as some common treatments that are available to treat this issue.
About Hormone Imbalances in Women
Hormones are chemical messengers within your body. The endocrine glands produce chemicals and send them throughout the bloodstream in order to control various organs. They’re responsible for a number of your body’s functions such as reproduction and metabolism. A hormone imbalance simply means that your body is producing either too little or too much of a particular hormone. Unfortunately, even the smallest changes can have serious effects.
While some changes are normal throughout your life or during different times of your cycle, other imbalances can be more problematic and longer-lasting. If your endocrine glands are malfunctioning, it can cause you immense upheaval that affects your body, mind and emotions in a wide variety of ways.
Common Signs of a Hormone Imbalance
Your health and well-being can be affected greatly when your hormones are out of balance. Therefore, it’s possible to experience a broad array of symptoms if you have a hormone imbalance present. Various symptoms are affected by different hormones, so these symptoms will likely vary depending on the root cause. However, there are some symptoms that are rather common. They can occur in both women and men. These include:
- Increased sensitivity to cold or heat
- Constipation or frequent bowel movements
- Weight gain
- Puffy face
- Fatigue
- Muscle weakness
- Increased thirst
- Sudden weight loss
- Increase or decrease in heart rate
- Dry skin
- Increased hunger
- Depression
- Thinning, fine or brittle hair
- Sweating
- Blurred vision
- Pain, stiffness or swelling of the joints
- Decreased sex drive
- Infertility
- Increased or new stretch marks
- Heavy or irregular periods
- Missed, frequent or halted periods
- Thinning hair or hair loss
- Excessive hair on the face, chin or other body parts
- Upper back, face or chest acne
- Weight gain and difficulty losing weight
- Skin tags
- Vaginal atrophy
- Darkening of the skin in areas such as under breasts, neck creases or near the groin
- Night sweats
- Vaginal dryness
- Painful sex
- Hypothyroidism
- Hyperthyroidism
- Hypogonadism
- Cushing syndrome
- Diabetes
- Medications
- Eating disorders
- Hormone therapy
- Hyperfunctioning thyroid nodules
- Thyroiditis
- Benign or cancerous tumors
- Cancer treatments
- Injury or trauma
- Stress
- Adrenal Insufficiency
- Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia
- Pituitary tumor
- Menopause
- Pregnancy
- Breastfeeding
- Premature menopause
- PCOS
- Birth control or other hormonal drugs
- Primary ovarian insufficiency
