6 Signs of Hormonal Imbalance in Women

What is a Hormonal Imbalance, and What Causes It?

A hormonal imbalance occurs when there is an over- or underproduction of one or more hormones in the body. This can be caused by a variety of factors, such as diet, lifestyle, and environmental influences. Genetics can also play a role in hormonal imbalances as well.

Signs of Hormonal Imbalance in Women

Struggling with a Hormone Imbalance? We Can Help!

Introduction

If you’re a woman over the age of 40, chances are you’ve experienced the occasional hot flash. While they may not be fun, hot flashes are actually a normal part of the aging process.

However, if you’re finding that hot flashes are interfering with your quality of life, you may be wondering if there’s anything you can do to relieve them. One option is hormone therapy. Let’s take a closer look at how hormone therapy can help relieve hot flashes.

How Hormone Therapy Works

Mature Woman Experiencing Hot Flush From Menopause. Tired mature woman tolerating hot flash. Hot flashes. Exhausted mature woman resting on sofa and having hot flash

Hot flashes are caused by a drop in estrogen levels. When estrogen levels decline, the hypothalamus (the part of the brain responsible for regulating body temperature) becomes more sensitive to changes in temperature. This can cause blood vessels to dilate, which results in a sudden feeling of warmth and sweating.

Hormone therapy works by replenishing the body’s supply of estrogen. This can help reduce the frequency and severity of hot flashes by stabilizing the body’s temperature regulation system.

Are There Any Risks Associated with Hormone Therapy?

As with any medication, there are some risks associated with hormone therapy. The most common side effects include headaches, nausea, bloating, and breast tenderness. These side effects are usually mild and go away after a few weeks of treatment. More serious risks include an increased risk of blood clots and breast cancer. However, these risks are generally low when hormone therapy is used at low doses for a short period of time.

Hormone Replacement Therapy at Hormone Treatment Centers

If you’re experiencing hot flashes that are interfering with your quality of life, hormone therapy may be an option worth considering. Hormone replacement therapy can help reduce the frequency and severity of hot flashes by replenishing the body’s supply of estrogen.

Our expert team will help you determine if hormone replacement therapy is right for you! Contact us today to get started!

Hormone Treatment Centers: Clinic Introduction

Contact our medical team: Message Now

If you’ve been thinking about hormone replacement therapy, you may have come across some myths throughout your research on the topic. Hormone replacement therapy offers a variety of benefits to both men and women who are experiencing symptoms caused by depleted hormones.

What Are Some Common HRT Myths?

There are several myths out there about hormone replacement therapy. Here are some of the most common myths we’ve heard:

HRT increases heart attack risk.

If taken before the age of 60, HRT does not increase your risk of a heart attack. In some cases, the pill form of HRT can cause a small risk of stroke or deep vein thrombosis (DVT), which can be avoided by using HRT in the form of a gel or patch. If you are over the age of 60, we will perform a thorough risk assessment to see if HRT is right for you.

HRT can cause breast cancer.

Although there was research in 2002 that created this worry, this study was thoroughly reviewed. The current view on this is that HRT does not cause breast cancer. HRT may cause the growth of cancer cells that are already present. Currently, there is no link between breast cancer and the estrogen-only HRT pill. However, there is a small risk associated with the combined HRT pill, but this risk is based on how long the pill is taken and will be reduced once the HRT is stopped.

HRT has the same risks as birth control. 

While they are similar hormones, the HRT doses are much lower and less potent than birth control. This means it does not present the same risks.

HRT can lead to blood clots. 

The risk of blood clots is related to HRT in pill form. If you are low risk and healthy, this risk is very small.

HRT can only be taken for up to five years. 

When you are on the lowest effective dose of HRT, you are able to safely take HRT for as long as needed.

HRT will delay menopause. 

HRT offers short-term and long-term benefits. HRT is a great way to help make menopause symptoms less severe and easier to manage. Additionally, before you stop HRT, you will gradually reduce your dosage, so you can adjust your body slowly.

HRT causes weight gain. 

Menopause occurs in women during a time when their metabolism begins to slow down naturally. These hormonal changes also cause the weight to settle around a woman’s midsection. If you are taking HRT during this time, weight gain is coincidental and is not caused by HRT.

Ready to Start Your HRT Journey? Call us Today!

At Hormone Treatment Centers, we offer HRT for both men and women! Contact us today to learn more!

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What Does the Hormone Treatment Centers Treat?

What Should I Look for in a Hormone Treatment Center?

HRT / TRT Treatments can be done very differently clinic-to-clinic and provider-to-provider because not all treatments are the same. Below we have outlined some different care strategies to help you better understand what you need to look for:

• Are bio-identical hormones used instead of pharmaceuticals?
• Does the provider address all the hormones and understand the interrelationships between them?
• Are treatment plans built uniquely for each patient’s symptoms, lab values, and medical history?
• Are lab values interpreted to optimize patients’ symptoms vs. accepting patients’ labs within “normal ranges?”
• Are symptoms of hormone relationships understood so individualized adjustments can be made for each patient?
• Is the right delivery system for EACH hormone used (i.e., Injection, Pellet, Creams, Tablet, Troche) these have drastic effects on outcomes?
• Is the dosage of each hormone correct?
• Is the frequency between treatments correct?
• Are the potential side effects managed appropriately?
• Are risk factors managed?

What Sets the Hormone Treatment Centers Apart from Other Centers?

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How Estrogen Improves Health During Menopause

Estrogen is a crucial group of hormones, consisting of estradiol, estrone, and estriol. This hormone is produced and released into the body by the fat tissues, adrenal glands, and ovaries. When released, estrogen circulates through the bloodstream and binds to specific cellular receptors, having a significant impact on the health of a woman’s heart, brain, breasts, uterus, liver, and other soft tissues.

Ways That Estrogen Influences Overall Health

Decreases Bad Cholesterol

• Based on clinical research, estrogen has been proven to increase good or HDL cholesterol and help reduce bad or LDL cholesterol. Estrogen can also help improve blood flow and lower blood pressure by dilating blood vessels. This hormone also eliminates free radicals in the body that are known to deteriorate soft tissues, organs, and arteries.

Promotes a Healthy Urinary Tract

• During menopause, as estrogen levels decrease, this causes a thinning in the lining of the urethra, causing many women to suffer from recurring urinary tract infections (UTIs). Traditionally, antibiotics are prescribed to cure UTIs, but overusing antibiotics can cause UTIs to develop a resistance to the antibiotics and may also lead to side effects such as skin rash, gastrointestinal issues, and vaginal discharge or itching.

Improves Skin Health

• During menopause, your estrogen levels decrease, which reduces your skin’s ability to retain moisture. This results in itchy dry skin, wrinkles, and sagging. Bruises may also appear darker and larger than usual as your skin becomes thinner because estrogen helps the skin heal, so with less estrogen in the body, your bruises can take longer to fade and heal.

Provides Relief from Symptoms of Menopause

• With the lower estrogen levels and hormone fluctuations that are common in perimenopause and menopause, women experience a variety of unpleasant physical and emotional symptoms. These symptoms include insomnia, weight gain, mood swings, anxiety, hot flashes, and headaches. Lower estrogen levels cause women to suffer from medical issues that affect their cardiovascular, endocrine, and nervous systems.

How Bio-identical Hormone Therapy Replacement Helps to Maintain Your Health

• Bio-identical hormones are structurally identical to the hormones that are produced by your body so they can effectively restore the natural balance in your body and help you age in a healthier manner. This type of hormone is derived from soy and primarily yams to generate an identical organic structure and function to your hormones.
• Bio-identical hormone replacement therapy helps to alleviate the common symptoms of menopause, including:
  • Incontinence
  • Migraines
  • Excessive perspiration, night sweats, and hot flashes
  • Panic attacks, anxiety, mood swings
  • UTIs
  • Issues with focus and concentration
  • Fatigue
  • Joint and muscle pain/aches

If you are looking for a natural and effective way to alleviate the symptoms of menopause, improve your health, and fight the effects of aging, then consider bio-identical hormone therapy. Contact Midwest Hormones Centers today to learn more about our treatments. Take our Online Hormone Assessment today to see if you can benefit from bio-identical hormone replacement therapy is right for you!

Hormones send critical “chemical messages” to the body, which help to regulate human growth, metabolism, mental health, emotional responses, and age-related developmental characteristics.

Hormones such as testosterone, progesterone, and estrogen play essential roles in stabilizing your sleep patterns, managing stress, and supporting immune system functioning. They also help to facilitate cell to organ messaging. Your hormone production may decrease significantly due to menopause, andropause, illness, and disease-causing a variety of unpleasant symptoms.

Symptoms of Testosterone and DHT Deficiency and Imbalance

Testosterone is essential for strength, sperm production, muscle mass, and for determining how fat is distributed throughout the body. It is also vital for bone density and is an anabolic steroid that both males and females have in their bodies, but it is more prevalent in men.

This hormone also influences the release of the neurotransmitter serotonin that controls appetite, mood, libido, and sleep. Having a healthy and stable amount of testosterone in your bloodstream is crucial to regulating blood pressure, reducing cholesterol, increasing muscle mass, burning body fat efficiently, and raising energy levels.

DHT, dihydrotestosterone, chemically resembles testosterone. This because testosterone interacts with the 5-alpha reductase enzyme, producing DHT. DHT is the most androgenic hormone and is needed for embryonic sexual differentiation and the appearance of male secondary sexual characteristics, including voice change, pubic hair, and sexual functioning. DHT also aids in water retention, encourages fat oxidation, and influences muscle strength.

There are a variety of signs that indicate an imbalance or a deficiency of DHT and testosterone, including:

• Fatigue
• Decrease in libido
• Achy joints
• Difficulty sleeping
• Rapid weight gain
• Loss of lean muscle mass
• Issue focusing/loss of memory
• Weakened immune systems
• Loss of hair/thinning hair

Effects of a Progesterone and Estrogen Imbalance

Estrogen is known as a group of hormones or steroid compounds that are produced by the placenta, ovarian follicles, and the corpus luteum. The mammary gland, liver, and adrenal glands typically generate lower amounts of estrogen during post-menopause. For women who are approaching menopause, progesterone remains important to breast, nervous system, and cardiovascular health. Progesterone helped to strengthen the spinal cord, brain cell health, peripheral nervous system, and also helps to promote the repair of the brain following an injury.

Symptoms of an estrogen and progesterone imbalance or deficiency include:

• Insomnia
• Tension headaches
• Flaky, dry skin
• Heart palpitations
• Weight gain
• Decrease libido
• Aches/pain in joints
• Memory problems
• Hot flashes or night sweats
• Difficulty focusing

How Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy Can Alleviate Andropause and Menopause Symptoms

Typically, As hormone levels begin to fall steadily, you will start to experience the symptoms mentioned earlier in this article, which will gradually start to affect not only your health but also your quality of life.

Bio-identical hormones are made from phytochemicals that are extracted from soy and yams, creating a hormone that is molecularly identical to hormones your body produces. BHRT can help men and women to regain endocrine system function in a natural and easy to metabolize manner.

When these hormones are used to remedy a testosterone or estrogen imbalance or deficiency, it can help relieve the symptoms of hormone imbalance and restore your health.

At Hormone Treatment Centers, our medical staff will develop a customized hormone replacement treatment plan. Contact us today to learn more!

As we age, there are natural changes that occur to the way the body systems are controlled. In some cases, the target tissues can become less sensitive to their controlling hormone, while the number of hormones produced by the body can also decrease. (more…)

Bio-identical hormones, that are produced by your endocrine system and have the same molecular structure as the hormones, can restore progesterone, testosterone, and estrogen to healthy levels that have dropped due to aging or medical conditions. (more…)

Testosterone is the hormone responsible for male physical attributes. This includes reproductive attributes along with the growth of body hair, muscle, and bone. It is also an essential part of the overall health and well-being of adult men due to its effect on motivation, mood, and cognition. Testosterone levels can decrease as men age, resulting in a variety of adverse symptoms. (more…)