Every day in my practice, I talk to women about period issues, libido, and a lot of various symptoms. So I created this comprehensive list to help you recognize the common signs or symptoms that you have a hormonal imbalance. If these resonate with you, I would suggest that you seek a healthcare provider to get tested. Check out this page which tells you what tests you need and how to talk to your healthcare provider. Even though I’m a doctor, I know that talking to a healthcare provider can be intimidating. Sometimes you are not even sure if your provider is open to the suggestions of telling them what kind of tests they should order. So I wanted this to be an easy way to open up the conversation with your provider.
5 Common Hormone Imbalances
- Cortisol
- Estrogen, too low or too high
- Testosterone, too high
- Insulin, too high
- Progesterone, too low or too high
10 Signs You May Have a Hormone Imbalance
IRREGULAR CYCLE OR HEAVY PERIODS
A normal cycle is between 21 and 35 days. So if your cycle is less than 21 days or longer than 35 days, then you have irregular cycles. They could also be heavy cycles. So if you normally have a period that is three to five days, and now you’re having periods that last seven, eight, or nine days and they’re heavy and they have clots that also is a sign of a hormonal imbalance.
INFERTILITY
I know this is kind of a touchy subject. By definition, if you have been trying to conceive and you’re under the age of 35, and it has been more than one year, then you suffer from infertility. If you are over the age of 35, if it takes more than six months, then you have infertility. These are rough guidelines that we use to tell people when to seek a workup. In this post, I discuss the causes of infertility, the basic fertility workup, and how to boost your fertility naturally. I also have a page called Fertility Guide 101 that will help you know the right questions to ask and how to boost your fertility naturally.
HOT/COLD DISTURBANCES
This is a phenomenon where you feel a different temperature than someone else. Temperature regulation can be affected by both thyroid problems and sex hormone problems. Women with this symptom describe having to wear 4 blankets when others are sitting comfortably. Or vice versa. But also some autoimmune disorders like thyroid problems and diabetes, and occasionally lupus have these hot and cold disturbances because their particular autoimmune disorder affects the temperature regulation system in the body.
EXCESS FACIAL HAIR
If you have PCOS, you know this well, that’s me as well. I’ll tell ya, I understand this, and I can relate to you. Excess facial hair, usually found along the belly or chin, can be signs of higher male hormones in a female. Sometimes it is just darker hair on your arms/legs as well. The medical term is hirsutism and is a common sign of PCOS. If this is you, read this page.
HORMONAL ACNE
Hormonal acne is very different than regular acne. Regular acne has these just small little whiteheads and typically go away in a couple of days. Hormonal acne is usually along the chin and the jawline. It’s usually very, very painful. It lasts several weeks. They usually lead to scarring. You can use anything over the counter, but it just doesn’t seem to clear it up. Cystic acne is associated with lots of hormonal problems.
NEUROLOGIC SYMPTOMS SUCH AS MIGRAINES/NUMBNESS/JOINT PAIN
Migraines that seem to be cycle-related. Neurological symptoms such as numbness or joint pain can indicate an autoimmune disease like Diabetes or RA. You need to be tested for these. Read this post on the tests you should get if you suspect a hormonal imbalance.
UNEXPLAINED WEIGHT GAIN
Persistent unexplained weight gain. Nobody likes gaining weight. But unexplained weight gain despite eating healthy and exercising can be a sign of a hormonal imbalance. You know those ladies who just go to the gym and then eat like 500 calories and they just can’t lose weight. Those are the tip-offs for me, that something is going wrong, hormonally. Right? Could be your sex hormones, stress/metabolic hormones, or thyroid.
I’m not a big fan of diets. Working out more and eating less rarely leads to weight loss. Balancing your hormones, especially cortisol (stress hormone) and ruling out an autoimmune disease is paramount. This is achieved through clean eating, knowing the exercise that is right for your body and health, and simple lifestyle changes.
MOOD SWINGS
Mood disorders, mood swings, for example, when you cry at the Bank of America commercial. Easily agitated, irritated, sometimes anxious, or depressed. Uncontrolled anxiety, depression, and, um, mood swings can be signs of hormonal balance. Um, mine is hair loss. It’s pretty normal to have some hair loss. Every woman has some hair loss. Um, and every woman has some thinning of their hair at the top as they age, but I’m talking hair loss. Like you brush your hair and you look at the brush and go Holy crap.
That’s not normal. Like I’m losing all this here or it’s, you know, clogged in the drain or it’s blocking things. That’s common. Um, a sign of a thyroid problem. Um, it can also be signs of other auto-immune issues as well. So hair loss, that’s just unexplained. And just out of the ordinary, the last one I’m going to mention, number 10 is
LOW LIBIDO
Low libido means you have a diminished interest in sex. It could be the same as going to the grocery store. Low libido is a very common sign that there’s something hormonally that’s not right. Proper sex hormone balance will create a normal desire to have sex. If you have a low libido, then you have a dysfunction in your sex hormones.
So we’ve talked about the signs of hormonal imbalance. If these symptoms resonate with you, please seek a healthcare provider. I suggest that you ask to be tested to determine the cause of your hormonal imbalance and ways to treat it.
You can download my FREEBIE which is a guide to tells you how to talk to your provider about which tests to order.
