Hormones play a very important part in the bodies of both men and women. While men also have estrogen, for women estrogen has a very strong role. An imbalance of estrogen or other hormones in the body can lead to a bunch of different issues.
What Is Estrogen? What is the Role of Estrogen in Women’s Bodies?
Estrogen is a sex hormone that is important in the reproductive development of females. This hormone helps to regulate women’s menstrual cycles, while also affecting their hearts, blood vessels, reproductive tracts, urinary tracts, and much more. Estrogen also affects things like armpit and pubic hair growth.
As estrogen is very important, a hormonal imbalance involving estrogen (along with other hormones) can cause serious issues.
Female Hormonal Imbalance Symptoms
Some of the most frequent symptoms of female hormonal imbalance include:
* Irregular menstrual cycle
* Low sex drive
* Excessive hair growth
* Back or abdominal pain during menstruation
* Infertility
* Mood swings
* Rashes
* Diarrhea
* Constipation
* Brittle bones
* Insomnia
* And others
If you are a woman and you are experiencing these symptoms, visit an urgent care facility or OBGYN. A doctor will help to diagnose the issue and see if there is a hormonal imbalance. They can then provide treatment.
Causes of Hormonal Imbalances
There are a lot of potential causes of hormonal imbalances. Some of these include:
* Hyperthyroidism
* Diabetes
* Stress
* Pituitary tumors
* Hypothyroidism
* Cancer
* Cysts
* Acromegaly
* Overweight or obesity
* Birth control or hormonal replacement
* And many others
Hormonal Imbalance Treatment and Hormones for Women
There are a lot of treatment options for women with hormonal imbalances. Some of these include:
* Hormonal replacement medications. If you are experiencing menopause, you may be experiencing symptoms that include hot flashes, night sweats, and more. Hormonal replacement medications help to reduce the more severe symptoms of menopause.
* Birth control. Birth control may be helpful for regulating your menstrual cycle. There are different options that can be considered.
* Vaginal estrogen. If you find you are experiencing changes in estrogen levels, you may be experiencing issues like excessive vaginal dryness. An estrogen cream can be applied that helps. There are also tablets and rings for this issue.
* Anti-androgen medications. To limit excessive hair growth, excessive hair loss, or to limit acne your doctor may consider anti-androgen medications.
* Clomiphene (Clomid) and letrozole. If you have PCOS, these medications may stimulate ovulation. Injections of gonadotropins may also help with increasing the chances of pregnancy.
There are other treatment methods available as well if the treatments above aren’t the right options for you.
Learn More
If you are a woman that is experiencing the symptoms listed above, set an appointment with an urgent care facility or OBGYN. If you schedule an appointment with our practice, a doctor with a lot of experience in the field will discuss the issues you are experiencing and perform an exam. If a hormonal issue is found, your doctor will put together a treatment plan to address the issues you are experiencing.