Hormonal imbalances are common but often vary in severity depending on the root cause of your hormonal imbalance as well as your age and gender. If you are a woman, understanding the signs and symptoms that are most closely linked to a hormonal imbalance can help you to find a medical professional to provide the right solution to get your hormones back on track. Learning about the signs and symptoms of a hormonal imbalance is essential to avoid prolonged suffering along with unwanted and unnecessary changes to your body.
1. Breast Tenderness
Breast tenderness is extremely common in women who have a hormonal imbalance, whether they are still experiencing menstrual periods or not. If your breasts are tender to the touch throughout the month even when you are not due for your menstrual cycle, consider visiting your OBGYN or another medical doctor to test your hormones and to ensure your body is functioning properly in other areas.
2. Fibrocystic Breasts
Fibrocycstic breasts are found in women who suffer from autoimmune diseases as well as individuals who have hormonal imbalances. Fibrocystic breasts are breasts that develop large, painful, rope-like lumps under the breast tissue, covering the entirety of the breast. While fibrocystic breasts are rarely ever harmful to the body, the can feel unfamiliar and uncomfortable for some women who have trouble adjusting to the lumps.
3. Weight Gain
Unexpected weight gain is commonly associated with hormonal imbalances, especially in women. Weight gain in women due to hormone imbalance is often related to the thyroid or another hormone-centric gland. When hormones are imbalanced, it becomes extremely challenging for the brain to determine how to store and burn food, most often occurring in patients with thyroid disease or autoimmune illnesses. Even with a steady diet, weight gain and retention is possible when hormones are not properly balanced.
One way to help with weight gain after you have visited an endocronogist regarding your thyroid or your general physician/OBGYN. Making dietary changes helps to expedite the process of losing any weight you have gained due to your hormone imbalance. Avoid foods that are inflammatory in the body such as wheat, sugar, and other carbohydrate-rich processed goods. Opt for anti-inflammatory foods such as spinach, kale, blueberries, walnuts, and other fresh alternatives to assist your body with healing while you any excess weight you have.
4. Decreased Libido
If you notice you are no longer in the mood for sexual interaction or if you seemingly have no desire anymore at all, you may be suffering from decreased libido due to a hormonal imbalance. Decreased libido is common among women who are going through menopause or even for those who have had hysterectomies in the past. However, if you are young and still experience regular menstrual cycles but you also notice a decrease in your sex drive, it may be time to speak directly to your doctor or a hormone specialist such as an endocronologist.
5. Mood Swings
Have you been feeling increasingly anxious, irritable, and agitated for no apparent reason more often than not? Are you finding it difficult to keep calm even in mildly stressful situations you experience in everyday life? Mood swings may be triggered by an imbalance of your hormones that has gone undiagnosed and untreated for years. Regardless of your age, drastic mood swings are typically a sign of an underlying issue that is directly related to hormones and other chemicals related to the brain.
6. PMS
PMS, also known as Premenstrual Syndrome, is a syndrome that is widely reported among most females who experience menstrual periods until menopause. The syndrome itself can cause a variety of signs and symptoms that most often occur the week prior to a menstrual period as well as throughout the period itself. Some of the most common signs and symptoms of PMS include: headaches, menstrual cramps, leg cramps, bloating, irritability, fatigue, nausea, and intense food cravings.
Women who experience severe symptoms related to PMS may have PMDD, or Premenstrual Dysmorphic Disorder. PMDD is often attributed to an imbalance in the hormones and can be treated with the use of prescription medications and in the most extreme cases, reparative surgery.
Keep track of your menstrual cycles and when you begin to feel irritated or experience other signs and symptoms. Use a journal or downloadable app to track and log your emotions as well as your physical symptoms the week before, during, and after your menstrual cycle. Knowing when your mood swings and PMS is most prevalent is ideal when you are working with your OBGYN to create a plan of action involving hormone treatments and medication to find the right balance for your life.
7. Depression
Depression manifests in individuals who have extreme hormonal imbalances due to underlying issues such as autoimmune diseases or undiagnosed conditions. The condition itself is not always apparent in people, especially when they may be overworked and under more stress than usual. Depression’s most common symptoms include extreme fatigue, a loss of joy in hobbies and social activities, overwhelming feelings of sadness and defeat, and a loss of motivation. Other signs such as dissipating hygiene, distance between loved ones, and a lack of emotions or emotional responses are also commonly displayed in individuals who are suffering from severe depressive episodes.
Visiting a therapist while also speaking to your doctor is highly advisable anytime you believe you are experiencing a depressive episode. While therapy and medication may help subside some of the negative effects of depression, it is important to determine whether or not there is another underlying root cause relate to a hormonal imbalance that is contributing to the depression you feel in your everyday life.
8. Thyroid Dysfunction
One of the biggest indicators that you have a hormonal imbalance is an overactive or inactive thyroid. Thyroid dysfunction is most common in women, and affects women of all ages generally as they reach adulthood. Hyperthyroidism and Hypothyroidism are two of the most common diagnoses associated with the thyroid, although there are more severe thyroid-related diseases closely connected with the two. The thyroid helps to manage and balance hormones, which is why it is essential to have your thyroid levels checked anytime you believe you have a hormonal imbalance.
Women who are diagnosed with Hashimoto’s thyroid autoimmune disease have extremely imbalanced hormones that require close monitoring and hormone medication in order to balance the hormones throughout the body. When a woman is affected by an autoimmune disease it can be extremely challenging to track hormones while ensuring you are taking the right medication and dosage at all times.
Meet with an endocronologist, a specialist who works with hormones and thyroid disorders to learn more about treating your thyroid dysfunction and how to go about regaining hormonal balance to live a healthy lifestyle again.
9. Endometriosis
Endometriosis is a condition that causes abnormal lining to form outside of the uterus, rather than solely inside of the uterus with normal function. Women who are diagnosed with endometriosis often report severe menstrual cramps, abnormal clotting on a regular basis, and extreme pain and fatigue throughout their menstrual cycles. For individuals who have endometriosis, it is important to have your hormones checked as the condition may be caused due to hormone irregularity, which can be remedied with the use of prescription hormone medications.
10. Painful Menstruation
Menstrual cycles are known to cause mild pain and discomfort for most women at some point or another during their lives. While menstrual cramps are quite common, extremely painful menstruation is not. If you experience menstrual cramps and other forms of pain that is disruptive and overbearing before, during, or after your menstrual cycle, it may be due to a hormonal imbalance. Visiting your OBGYN or a local endocronologist is highly advisable to rule out additional possibilities such as cysts, fibroids, and even endometriosis or PCOS.
Keep track of each of your individual menstrual cycles and record bouts of extreme pain you experience along with how severe each episode is to you. Share the frequency of the attacks you have with your doctor to gain more insight into the potential condition you may have and how to remedy it with proper medication and lifestyle changes.
Having a clear understanding of what triggers hormonal imbalances is a way for you to seek assistance from your general physician or a specialist, depending on your signs and symptoms. Tracking your symptoms and making necessary lifestyle changes while implementing your hormone medication is a way for you to feel yourself again without the adverse effects of unbalanced hormones.
