Hormones are your body’s messaging system, delivering the chemical instructions that regulate virtually every system in your body; your energy, metabolism, mood, reproductive health, sleep, and more. Often, good health comes down to the right balance between various hormones.
At ThriveOB and Women's Wellness in Barrington, Illinois, we understand the importance of hormone balances, when it’s an occasional shift, and when a chronic imbalance is at work. Gynecologist Jennifer Moreira, MD, FACOG, can help when fluctuating hormone levels affect your quality of life.
Let’s examine seven signs of hormonal imbalance you shouldn’t ignore. If any of these are familiar to you, schedule an exam appointment with Dr. Moreira.
Persistent, unexplained fatigue that you experience regularly despite eight hours of sleep time could indicate problems with insulin, sex, stress, or thyroid hormones. When fatigue interferes with your work, play, or other responsibilities on a daily basis, it’s important enough to seek treatment.
Hormones that affect brain chemistry can alter the way you feel emotionally. Cortisol, estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone can affect your moods when levels are out of balance.
Since hormones are responsible for processes like metabolism, blood sugar levels, and menopause, imbalances can make it difficult to lose weight and even cause weight gain, even when nothing else about diet and activity levels has changed. Effects can be gradual or sudden.
Hormone imbalances can cause hair and skin changes, including:
These problems could be related to reproductive hormones, androgen imbalances, or thyroid disorders.
Night sweats, menopause, and low estrogen are connected in a well-known hormone imbalance relationship. Hot flashes and night sweats are common sleep issues affecting many women during menopause. Hormones can also shift your circadian rhythms, messing up your internal sleep clock.
Thyroid imbalances, low estrogen, and cortisol overproduction can each be behind brain fog. You may be more forgetful or have trouble concentrating or focusing on tasks. You may notice issues at different points in your menstrual cycle, or you could feel like your mind falls apart when you’re under stress. Rather than an inability to cope, it could be the effects of cortisol actively affecting brain function.
Disruption of your menstrual cycle is a frequent symptom of hormonal changes, things like missed or heavy periods, or changes to the timing of your periods. Lost libido and uncomfortable sex can also be due to imbalances. In addition to estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone, thyroid hormones can also cause these effects.
Hormone imbalances can affect almost any aspect of your health. Symptoms usually start quietly, building over time.
When something feels off, contact ThriveOB and Women's Wellness to book an examination with Dr. Moreira. Call 847-868-2908 to book your appointment today.
