What Is a Hormone Imbalance?
Your body’s endocrine glands secrete various hormones. Once generated, they get released into the bloodstream.
Through this pathway, your hormones set the pace for various processes. In fact, your hormones directly influence your metabolism, reproductive health, skin quality, mood, and body temperature. In total, 50 types of hormones affect these and other functions.
Symptoms of a Hormone Imbalance
As we already mentioned, hormone secretions fluctuate during your lifetime. In some cases, this is natural. In others, your body may be producing too little or too much. This resulting imbalance ripples across your health and can become chronic.
What should you look for? Multiple signs point to a hormone imbalance:
- In women: Female patients can see fluctuations in estrogen and progesterone, as well as overproduction of testosterone and androgens. These hormonal imbalances can look like acne that doesn’t respond to treatments, excessive body hair, hair loss, heavy or irregular periods, hot flashes, night sweats, infertility, changes in libido, and vaginal dryness or atrophy.
- In men: Men may see a drop in or an increase in testosterone, as well as other hormones. These imbalances look like thinning or excessive body hair, erectile dysfunction, gynecomastia, infertility, declining libido, or a decrease in muscle mass.
Both sexes may additionally experience:
- Sharp mood swings
- Fatigue
- Insomnia or low-quality sleep
- Unexplained weight gain or obesity
- Dry or excessively oily, acne-prone skin, including into adulthood
- Weakened bones
- Changes in metabolism
- Constipation
- Diarrhea
- Numbness and tingling in the extremities
- Sensitivity to cold temperatures
- Dark patches on the skin
- Feeling thirsty frequently
- A change in hair texture, either thin and greasy or dry and coarse
Causes of a Hormone Imbalance
Individuals of all ages may experience a hormone imbalance. Any of the following might be behind your symptoms:
- Life stage: Hormones fluctuate around puberty for male and female patients. Women additionally experience changes during pregnancy, perimenopause, and menopause.
- Outside factors: Your body may be over- or under-producing hormones in response to chronic stress, steroid use, or a side effect from medication.
- Health conditions: Hormonal changes also occur in response to a tumor, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), an injured endocrine gland, thyroid disease, Cushing’s syndrome, or an autoimmune disorder.
What to Expect While Working With a Holistic Doctor in Buckhead, GA
Do you suspect you’re living with a hormonal imbalance? Work with a holistic endocrinologist to get to the root cause of your symptoms.
Holistic doctors examine your whole health. At CentreSpringMD, our holistic primary care providers take a proactive and multifaceted approach to hormonal imbalances. What does this look like? As we work toward your unique health goals:
- We conduct detailed and thorough lab work.
- We take into account factors that can throw off your hormones long- and short-term. This includes stress levels, physical activity, nutrition, and toxin exposure.
- We assess your full medical history, genetics, and lifestyle.
In terms of treatment:
- Testing can reveal if a patient has a tumor or is living with an autoimmune disorder, PCOS, or thyroid disease.
- We discuss hormone replacement therapy, from traditional methods to supplements that support hormone production.
- We examine factors that exacerbate a hormone imbalance, from smoking and drinking to a poor diet and excessive stress.
- We help you manage symptoms related to a hormonal imbalance, like thinning hair, dry skin, or weakened bones, through diet, exercise, and other lifestyle changes.
Work with CentreSpringMD to bring your hormones back to center. As a family medicine provider near Buckhead, GA, we assist patients of all ages experiencing hormonal changes. Contact us today to learn more or set up an appointment.
