As I have always stated before, us ladies are a symphony of hormones. If one hormone is out of tune, it is quite apparent. However, sometimes it is hard to hear what instrument (hormone) is out of tune because when one hormone is out of balance, others seem to follow suit. So remember, it is not a good idea to fixate on one hormone being out of balance. It's about balancing them as a whole.
Patients tell me all the time, they have estrogen dominance.' They read on the internet, and their symptoms fit estrogen dominance.' Yes, their symptoms do fit estrogen-dominance, but It does not mean their estrogen is the only hormone that is off.
I am going to go through some common estrogen dominance symptoms' that you might find on the internet. And I will explain what other hormones might be at work here besides estrogen. Later in another episode, I will delve into more detail, causation, and treatment to balance our hormones.
PMS:
“My PMS is off the chain 7-10 days before my period! . This is actually because the progesterone is too low compared to the estrogen level. It is not that estrogen is too-high, but because the progesterone failed to peak after ovulation or it dived too quickly before your period.
Fibrocystic breast tissue:
If your estrogen is high, it can cause dense breast tissue and fibrocystic breasts. Estrogen likes to grow things. So if estrogen is not balanced or is high, the breast tissue will thicken and can become fibrocystic. Also, caffeine can exacerbate or lead to fibrocystic breast tissue.
This is because the progesterone level is to low for the amount of estrogen. Your estrogen levels might be “normal,” but because the progesterone is lacking it cannot hold back the estrogen. So estrogen will continue to grow that uterine lining.
Headaches:
This again is because the progesterone is too low for the amount of estrogen. A drop in progesterone can cause hormonal headaches starting at 14 days before your period. If you have headaches the last half of your cycle, your progesterone might be too low.
Breast swelling and tenderness:
Estrogen can cause water weight. Our breast tissue is very sensitive to estrogen. So if your estrogen is high, it can cause water retention in the breast tissue, making them feel full, heavy and, tender.
Weight gain in the belly:
Female hormones can contribute to weight gain, but not by themselves. It happens via the connection that estrogen/progesterone has with insulin and cortisol. High levels of cortisol and insulin will cause fat to accumulate around the mid-section. When the progesterone is low, or estrogen is high, that can cause insulin and cortisol to elevate. This will make you gain weight and also make it hard to lose.
Mood swings:
Feeling grumpy, snarky, irritable, weep, or sad. When the progesterone to estrogen balance is off, it can definitely affect our moods. If progesterone is low, that causes irritability. When you feel like everything it aggravating and you are quick to anger. That is low progesterone. If you feel weepy and nostalgic, that is high estrogen.
Decreased sex drive:
I think this is because the progesterone is too low and it makes us irritable. And us ladies do not want to have sex if we are angry or aggravated. High levels of estrogen do not drop the sex drive. Low levels of estrogen drop the sex drive. That is why sex flies out the window when we enter perimenopause or menopause.
Fibroids/polyps/exacerbated endometriosis:
Again, estrogen likes to grow stuff. If estrogen is high, it can also grow fibroids and polyps. It does seem to aggravate endometriosis.
Cold hands/feet, hair loss, foggy thinking, memory loss:
If you have any of these symptoms, then we want to look at your thyroid. Thyroid comes into play with estr