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

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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.

Think of hormones like a cake recipe. Too much or too little of any one ingredient affects the final product. While some hormone levels fluctuate throughout your lifetime and may just be the result of natural aging, other changes occur when your endocrine glands get the recipe wrong.

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Hormonal balance is vital to a healthy, cancer-free mind and body, but can be disrupted in many ways. Hormone fluctuations occur naturally, such as in puberty, menopause and perimenopause.

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Hormone imbalance may also be caused by age, medications, toxins, endocrinal disorders, tumors or an unbalanced lifestyle. Understanding the causes of hormone imbalance empowers us to prevent them, and at the same time, feel better, think better, and better prevent their complications.

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Causes in Women:

Many causes of hormonal imbalance in women are related to reproductive hormones.

Common causes include:

• Menopause

• Pregnancy

• Breastfeeding

• Polycystic ovarian syndrome

• Premature menopause

• Hormone drugs like birth control pills

• Primary ovarian insufficiency

 

Symptoms of a hormonal imbalance specific to women include:

• 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

• Vaginal dryness

• Vaginal atrophy

• Pain during sex

• Night sweats

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Diagnosis of Hormonal Imbalance:

There’s no single test available for doctors to diagnose a hormonal imbalance. Your doctor needs to take a full history and examine you before ordering any test.

Depending on your history and the examination, the doctor may suggest one or more diagnostic tests such as:

Blood test: To check your hormone levels

Ultrasound scan: May be needed to evaluate the uterus and the ovaries.

Additional tests

Your doctor may need additional tests as biopsy. X ray or CT scan to establish the diagnosis

 

Treatment options for a hormonal imbalance:

Treatment for a hormonal imbalance will depend on what’s causing it. This is usually with some hormones or anti hormones.