Hormonal imbalances
Do you suspect that your hormones may be out of order, and preventing you from feeling your absolute best? Are you experiencing chronic stress, fatigue, anxiety, mood swings, sleep disturbances, weight gain, bloating, acne, low mood, depression, low sex drive, sexual dysfunction, fertility problems, heavy, light, absent, irregular or painful periods – then you may have a hormonal imbalance.
So, what are hormones exactly?
Hormones are chemical messengers that the body uses to communicate between the different glands and organs of the body so that we can function optimally. When our hormones are balanced, neither too high or too low, then we look and feel our best.
Common hormone imbalances and symptoms
High Cortisol - Tired but wired, anxiety, abdominal weight gain, difficulty falling or staying asleep, and major carbohydrate & sugar cravings. This is commonly due to acute physical or emotional stress.
Low Cortisol - Weakness and exhausted (that can’t get out bed feeling). This is commonly due to long-term stress - pumping out all that cortisol has caused the adrenals to become depleted and atrophied.
Low Progesterone - Infertility, night sweats, sleeplessness, irritability, irregular menstrual cycle, spotting during your menstrual cycle, acne, constipation, reflux, and heart burn. Very common in perimenopause.
High Oestrogen - Breast tenderness, cysts, fibroid, heavy periods, diarrhea, endometriosis, and breast cancer. Also common in perimenopause!
Low Oestrogen - Low mood, poor libido, vaginal dryness, stiff joints, poor memory and focus, decreased bone mass. Hello menopause!
High Androgens - Fertility problems, polycystic ovary syndrome, acne, hair loss, and hirsutism (pesky rogue hairs on the chin!).
Low Testostorone - Low mood, poor libido, irritability, erectile dysfunction, loss of muscle, fatigue, poor memory & focus, and increased body fat. Common in andropause (male menopause). Sorry guys, I’m afraid to say that you have your own version of menopause.
Low Thyroid hormones - Weight gain, fatigue, low mood, depression, poor memory & focus, feeling cold, constipation. Commonly caused by nutrient deficiencies, stress, viral infections, and autoimmune disease.
As you can see, balanced hormones are really important to feel good! Let’s talk about a couple of common hormonal problems....
High cortisol and sleep problems
When we are stressed and anxious, this can dramatically affect our circadian rhythm. The body produces cortisol as part of the awakening response so when it is a normal time to wake in the morning, then your body will naturally release cortisol to heat your body, causing you to suddenly stir and wake up.
However, if you are feeling overly stressed or anxious then your body can overproduce cortisol which interferes with the sleep hormone melatonin. This can cause problems falling, and staying asleep. Overtime, this can cause health problems such as chronic fatigue, insomnia, depression, poor immunity, insulin resistance, and weight gain. In particular, waking at 2 or 3am is a sign that your adrenal glands are overworked and are producing too much cortisol.
There are lifestyle practices, dietary recommendations, herbs, and nutrients that can help support the health of your adrenal glands. If you suspect that you are experiencing a hormonal problem, please get in touch so that I can help.
Did you know that estrogen and progesterone influence digestive function?
Research shows that sex hormones, in particular oestrogen and progesterone, influence digestive function and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). In the gut, estrogen and progesterone play opposing roles:
Progesterone:
Slows down peristalsis (large intestinal muscle contractions) by relaxing the muscles of the intestinal wall, and therefore slowing bowel transit time.
Most women are more likely to feel mildly constipated a week prior to their period when progesterone levels peak.
Pregnant women can often have problems with constipation in early pregnancy and again in the third trimester. This is due to high progesterone levels that increase dramatically during these trimesters, causing slower peristalsis and constipation.
Estrogen:
Speeds up peristalsis by increasing the contraction of intestinal muscles causing faster and more frequent bowel movements.
Estrogen levels peak and drop off suddenly twice during a normal menstrual cycle. Once just before ovulation and again just before your period starts. This can cause increased muscle spasm resulting in increased motility in the digestive tract causing looser bowels or diarrhea. This can also cause one sided, lower abdominal pain known as Mittelschmerz which is German for "middle pain". Mittelschmerz can occur midway through a menstrual cycle - about 14 days before your next menstrual period.
High oestrogen levels in relation to progesterone during perimenopause and menopause can also cause more frequent bowel motions or diarrhea too.
The effects of progesterone and oestrogen can happen naturally in women with healthy digestion but if you have IBS the effects can be more dramatic!!
Testing for hormones
Often symptoms are sufficient for a Naturopath to determine which hormones need rebalancing, however it can be interesting and helpful to use functional testing to find out exactly what is going on for faster and quicker results.
My top two recommended hormone tests are:
DUTCH Complete Test (Urine Test) – for anyone experiencing chronic fatigue, chronic stress, sleep problems or suspected hormonal imbalance symptoms. The DUTCH Complete tests for sex hormones progesterone, estrogen, testosterone and the adrenal stress hormone cortisol. This test measures the levels of each hormone to determine which ones need to be rebalanced.
Comprehensive Thyroid Test – this is the rolls royce of thyroid tests. It tests for all the thyroid hormones (TSH, T4, T3, T3, RT3) and thyroid antibodies (TPO) to determine if poor thyroid function or a thyroid autoimmune disease is impacting your thyroid function and health.
Please feel free to contact me if you would like to discuss if testing would be helpful for you.