Common Hormonal Imbalances + Causes + Symptoms in Women

If you feel like something has shifted in how you look and feel and suspect it may be your hormones, read through this post to help you narrow in on your symptoms and initiate a conversation with your doctor.

About Hormone Imbalances

You may feel that something has shifted in your body and suspect it may be something to do with your hormones. Truly, the more you know about your specific hormonal imbalances (triggers, causes, etc.) the more effectively you can heal them moving forward.

The only true way to understand if you have a hormonal imbalance is to undergo diagnostic testing. The challenge with testing is that the labs you receive at your annual check-up are often not-indicative of whether you have a hormonal imbalance, and women often do not get a full hormone panel conducted. It also can be tricky to test hormones since a woman’s hormones can fluctuate depending on the day of the month and the time of the day. It’s important to work with a practitioner you trust who is willing to work with you to fully dive deep into what is happening inside your body.

Given that many hormonal imbalances are never diagnosed, I wanted to provide this list of common hormonal imbalances, causes and symptoms as a STARTING POINT for you to begin having conversations with your doctor.

Once you have determined if you have a hormonal imbalance, a health coach can help support with nutrition and lifestyle habits to help bring your hormones into balance.

Common Hormonal Imbalances, Causes & Symptoms

High Cortisol

Produced by the adrenal glands, cortisol is a stress buffering hormone that regulates energy metabolism and helps the body respond to stress. As your body perceives stress, your adrenal glands make and release cortisol into your bloodstream. When cortisol is balanced, levels of the hormone naturally rise in the morning and fall during the day. Stress is an everyday fact of life. However, too much unregulated stress for a prolonged period of time will cause your body to continuously release cortisol having a negative effect on your health and a downstream effect on other hormones.

Causes of High Cortisol

• Chronic stress (mental, emotional, physical)
• Over-exercising and extreme dieting
• Food allergies & sensitivities (ex. gluten, dairy, corn, soy) 
• Chronic inflammation

Common Symptoms

Low Cortisol

Low cortisol typically occurs after prolonged chronic high cortisol. Cortisol levels start to remain low when they are supposed to naturally rise (like in the morning to wake you up). Low cortisol is also causes by Addison’s disease.

Causes

• After prolonged chronic high cortisol (most common)
• Addison’s disease (condition where your adrenal glands don’t make enough cortisol)
• Experience of a trauma

Common Symptoms

Low Thyroid

The thyroid hormone controls many activities in your body, including how fast you burn calories, how fast your heart beats, skin tone, menstruation and fertility. One in eight women will develop a thyroid problem in their lifetime (attributed to the link between the thyroid and a women’s reproductive hormones). Unfortunately thyroid issues are often missed in conventional lab testing and it can sometimes take being an advocate for your health and finding the right provider to be diagnosed properly.

Causes of Low Thyroid

• Inadequate production of thyroid hormone due to excess or insufficient cortisol productiion
• Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (an autoimmune condition in which the body attacks the thyroid)
• Endocrine disrupting chemicals knowns as xenoestrogens
• Nutrient deficiencies (selenium, iodine, vitamin D, amino acids)
• Gut conditions (which affect the body’s ability to absorb nutrients)
• Poor conversion of T4 to the active T3 hormone
• Pregnancy/post-partum
• Birth control pills

Symptoms

Low Progesterone

Progesterone is a critical anti-inflammatory hormone. Its levels increase in your luteal phase and then drops to trigger menstrual flow. Progesterone starts to decline in perimopause. When there’s no or low progesterone levels it can’t properly balance out estrogen which can lead to estrogen dominance. If you experience terrible PMS symptoms (which are actually not normal) you may be dealing with low progesterone.

Causes of Low Progesterone

• Thyroid conditions
• Chronic stress
• High cortisol
• Lack of ovulation
• High estrogen
• Repeated exposure to synthetic estrogen (causing estrogen dominance)

Symptoms

Estrogen Dominance

Produced by the ovaries and adrenal glands, estrogen is a powerful sex hormone which plays a key role in regulating reproductive processes (menstruation and fertility). Estrogen levels can also impact how we store fat on our bodies. Estrogen dominance can occur when you have too much estrogen in relation to progesterone. Estrogen dominance can occur to the lowering of your progesterone or can be impacted by your environment.

Causes of High Estrogen

Symptoms

Low Estrogen

When the body is under a state of chronic stress reproduction isn’t top priority and estrogen can be suppressed. Our estrogen also starts to decrease during perimenopause and into menopause.

Causes of Low Estrogen

Symptoms

High Androgens

Androgens (testosterone, DHEA, DHT, 17-hydroxyprogesterone and androstenedione) are more prominent in men, but women also have low levels of androgens. Androgen levels seem to increasing in women. Androgen excess is linked to early puberty, acne, and issues with ovulation and fertility. As estrogen and progesterone fall during mid-life, this allows for androgen dominance resulting in hair thinning/balding, adult-acne and insulin resistance/high blood sugar.

Causes of High Androgens

• PCOS
• Chronic high stress / cortisol
• High insulin level (insulin resistance)
• High-sugar or high carb diet
• Excess weight

Symptoms

Low Androgens

Low androgens can also occur as a normal result of menopause and aging, but it can also occur from problems with the ovaries or adrenal glands. Low androgen levels can cause low libido, bone loss and hot flashes.

Causes of Low Androgens

• High stress / high cortisol
• Low adrenal function
• Natural decline in menopause
• Birth control pills

Symptoms

• Low sex drive
• Low self-confidence
• Vaginal dryness
• Decreased muscle mass
• Decreased motivation
• Fatigue
• Depression
• Weight gain

All hormone production will decrease as we age, no matter how well we take care of ourselves. This is why its important, not matter what age, to try to balance and regulate your hormones as much as you can to prevent severe imbalances and symptoms.

If you suspect you have a hormonal balance, talk to your doctor. Look for a doctor who is willing to work with you to get the appropriate testing and try to get to the root cause.

And if you are looking to work with someone to help hone in on some of these lifestyle factors, get in touch.