Hormones are your body's chemical messengers. Produced in the endocrine glands, these powerful chemicals travel around your bloodstream telling tissues and organs what to do. They help control a lot of your body's major processes, including metabolism and reproduction.
When you have a hormone imbalance, you have too much or too little of a certain hormone. Even small changes can have major effects throughout your whole body.
Think of hormones like a cake recipe. Too much or too little of any one ingredient affects the end product.
While some hormone levels go up and down throughout your lifetime and might just be the result of natural aging, other changes occur when your endocrine glands get the recipe wrong.
In females of reproductive age, the most prevalent hormonal imbalance is polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
Your normal hormone cycle also changes naturally during these phases:
Symptoms of a hormonal imbalance specific to females include:
Many causes of hormonal imbalance in women are related to reproductive hormones. Common causes include:
Treatment for a hormone imbalance will depend on what's causing it. Some common treatment options are explained below.
If you're experiencing hot flashes or other unpleasant symptoms of menopause, your doctor might suggest a low dose of estrogen. Be sure to go over the risks and benefits of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) with your doctor.
If you're experiencing vaginal dryness or pain during sex, you may want to try applying an estrogen cream, tablet, or ring.
Using this local therapy treatment helps eliminate a lot of the risks linked to systemic estrogen, or estrogen that travels throughout the bloodstream to the right organ.
Hormonal birth control can help regulate your menstrual cycles. Kinds of hormonal birth control include the:
It can also help improve acne and reduce extra hair on the face and body.
Androgens are male sex hormones that exist in both women and men. Women with high androgen levels may choose to take medication that blocks the effects of androgens.
These effects include:
Metformin is a type 2 diabetes medication that might help some women with PCOS symptoms. The FDA hasn't approved it to treat PCOS, but it may help lower androgen levels and promote ovulation.
Addyi and Vyleesi are the only medications that are FDA approved for the treatment of low libido in premenopausal women. Addyi is a pill, and Vyleesi is a self-administered injectable medication.
These medications might come with some major side effects, such as severe nausea and changes in blood pressure. Talk to your doctor to see if either one could be right for you.
This prescription cream is designed specifically for excessive facial hair in women. Applied topically to the skin, it helps slow new hair growth, but it does not get rid of existing hair.
For further information about Dr. Stengler’s practice and his clinic in Encinitas, California, please visit our website at MarkStengler.com or give us a call at (760) 274-2377.
