12 Signs of a Hormone Imbalance
Hormones are the chemicals in our body that control many functions like hunger, thirst, energy, activity, emotions, fertility, sleep, and stress. All of our hormones are connected, so when one becomes imbalanced, this can set off a cascade in our body. As this cascade occurs, our body signals this to us through many symptoms like menstrual pain, constipation, stress, fatigue, infertility, extreme cravings, hair loss, and acne. We need to pay attention to these symptoms and figure out the root cause of them. As you read the signs of a hormone imbalance, notice that many of them are connected, and one sign can lead to another. This is a perfect example of how all hormones are connected.
Source: Endocrinology Book
Here are 12 signs of a hormone imbalance:
For each, why they can be a sign of hormone imbalance / how it contributes to hormonal issues and how that happens (root cause) - can search previous blogs written on each to pull info for each
1. Fatigue
Fatigue is one of the signs of a hormone imbalance due to adrenal exhaustion. Your adrenal glands secrete our stress hormone, cortisol. When we are stressed over a long period of time, we will produce a lot of cortisol, which can overwork and exhaust our adrenal glands. This is called adrenal exhaustion and leads to feelings of low energy, brain fog, and confusion which are all symptoms of fatigue. This leads to many other hormonal imbalances from the high-stress levels because cortisol causes negative effects on estrogen and progesterone. Root causes that lead to this adrenal exhaustion can be poor sleep patterns, excessive alcohol consumption, or high DHEA levels.
2. Acne
Another one of the signs of a hormone imbalance is acne. In each pore of our skin, we have sebaceous glands that produce sebum, an oil-like liquid, which helps to moisturize and protect our skin. When too many dead skin cells collect on the top of the skin in conjunction with high amounts of sebum, this can create a clog in our sebaceous glands and will result in inflammation. Our body will respond to this inflammation by sending white blood cells to the clog’s site, which forms the white-headed pimples called acne. The amount of sebum we produce is regulated by DHT, a steroid androgen hormone produced from high testosterone and DHEA levels. As a result, if you have acne, it might be because your root cause is elevated androgen levels.
3. Infertility
Infertility is another one of the signs of a hormone imbalance. To become pregnant many things need to be in line for this to occur. Specifically, your levels of estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone need to be balanced. Estrogen promotes the maturation and growth of the follicle, which holds the egg. Once the egg is released from the follicle, the remaining sac called the corpus luteum secretes progesterone which promotes ovulation. Testosterone increases sex drive, mood, and energy levels during ovulation to increase libido. In addition, high cortisol levels have also been shown to cause infertility because high cortisol can imbalance estrogen and progesterone. When one of these hormones is produced too much or not enough, then the other hormones will fall out of balance and their functions won’t be carried out.
4. Sleep Issues
Sleep is very important for many things, but specifically, if you do not get enough sleep or enough quality of sleep, this is one of the signs of a hormone imbalance. Proper sleep is extremely vital to maintain a functioning circadian rhythm and our biological time clock. When you do not get enough sleep, or when you do not get quality sleep, this is when you can offset your cortisol levels. Typically, first thing in the morning you should have a cortisol spike to get you out of bed and start the day. As the day goes on, this level of cortisol should steadily fall so that when the sun goes down you begin to start getting tired so you can fall asleep at night. Many lifestyle factors can impact this cortisol cycle, but making sure you have a proper sleep schedule is the most important.
Source: 26779321
5. Anxiety
Anxiety is another one of the signs of a hormone imbalance. About 20% of the American population struggles with anxiety and it is the most common psychiatric disorder. Anxiety is this feeling of fear, worry, or unease. It can be tied to something specific like something stressing us out, or we can feel generalized feelings of anxiety. Anxiety can be a symptom of stress or something that happens as a result of stress. Anxiety is a sign of a hormone imbalance because of nutrient deficiencies. Many nutrients in the food we eat contribute as building blocks for our hormones and neurotransmitters that help us feel energized and happy. While nutrients will not make anxiety just “go away” or solve everything difficult we’re going through, what nutrition can do is help us have a stronger foundation to then be able to handle the things going on in our life a little bit easier.
Source: NIH
6. PMS
PMS or premenstrual syndrome is a culmination of symptoms including breast tenderness, mood swings, menstrual cramps, and fatigue that occur in the luteal phase of your menstrual cycle before your period. These symptoms of PMS are one of the signs of a hormone imbalance. This is because, though many of these symptoms are common, it does not mean that it is normal. You should not have excruciating or life-disrupting menstrual cramps or mood swings every month. If you do, then this may be a sign of high estrogen or estrogen dominance, where estrogen is higher in relation to progesterone.
Source: 2491857
7. Period Pain
Period pain is another one of the signs of a hormone imbalance similar to PMS. Every period each month should not be dreaded due to period pain or menstrual cramps. If this is occurring to you consecutively month after month, this is a sign that you may have high estrogen. Increased estrogen levels can cause prostaglandins to rise, which is the chemical in our body that promotes our uterus’ contraction, resulting in cramping.
Source: 28944048
8. Gut Issues
Gut issues are another one of the signs of a hormone imbalance. The gut is our natural estrogen detoxifier. We do not want to over accumulate estrogen because when it recirculates in the body, the estrogen can offset progesterone causing estrogen dominance. You want to maintain healthy gut bacteria to make sure you are keeping your digestion functioning. Symptoms that you have gut issues include constipation, bloating, and diarrhea.
Source: 28778332
9. Missing Period
Missing a period is another one of the signs of a hormone imbalance. Missing a period while not being pregnant is indicative that you were not ovulating the month you missed your period. To ovulate, it is known that you must have stable hormone levels, specifically estrogen and progesterone. These hormones help promote the timing of ovulation to occur so that you can have a menstrual cycle. Missing a period 3 months in a row is called amenorrhea and can cause severe problems if you don’t get your hormones tested.
10. Headaches / Migraines
Headaches and migraines are another one of the signs of a hormone imbalance due to low progesterone levels. Evidence shows that progesterone-only contraceptives can be more effective for reducing headaches than combined hormonal contraceptives. When progesterone is low, estrogen is usually high and it has been shown that estrogen can interfere with cellular responsiveness and cerebral vessels. Through passive diffusion, estrogen can easily cross the blood-brain barrier, resulting in the brain levels of estrogen to reflect the levels within the rest of the body’s circulation. When estrogen levels are high in circulation in the body, this causes an increase of estrogen in the brain and a low level of progesterone. This pattern can occur cyclically every month indicating that your headaches are definitely one of the signs of a hormone imbalance.
11. Heavy Period
Another one of the signs of a hormone imbalance is a heavy period. A heavy period is defined by a cycle lasting longer than 7 days, changing your feminine product every hour, and losing more than 80mL of blood per cycle which is about 16 regular tampons or pads. Heavy bleeding can be caused by polyps when enlarged tissue grows in the endometrial cavity. Estrogen functions to build up the endometrial wall for menstruation, so when estrogen levels are high then heavy periods can occur.
Source: 26695831
12. Hair Loss
Lastly, hair loss is another one of the signs of a hormone imbalance due to high androgen levels. Female hair loss is due to the hair follicle shrinking in size and increasing in terminal follicles. DHT is made from a reaction between testosterone and the enzyme dehydroepiandrosterone or DHEA. DHT is an opponent of hair follicles and the more it is produced, the more it will create hair loss and miniaturize the hair follicle. High levels of androgens (testosterone and DHEA), an indicator of PCOS, will catalyze this reaction to form DHT and therefore lose hair.
Source: 18044135, American Hair Loss
