You just barked at your employees and snapped at the grocery clerk. You’re always in a bad mood and you don’t feel like your usual, optimistic self. But before you wonder if you’re losing your mind, relax: It could just be menopause.
Hormone levels are carefully balanced to support the smooth functioning of your body and mind, but menopause can cause some serious disruption to this equilibrium. Low levels of crucial hormones can cause several significant side effects that can affect your day-to-day life, such as:
A lot of these symptoms can be caused by other health issues, so how do you know that hormonal imbalance is to blame?
Hormonal imbalance commonly affects women experiencing menopause, but hormones can become unbalanced at other times due to stress, medical conditions, and even certain medications. There are a few telltale signs that a hormonal imbalance may be affecting you, so let’s discover what they are.
Estrogen plays an important role in the maintenance of your skin, as it stimulates the production of collagen and oils that keep it moist and tight. When levels of estrogen decline, this stimulation is reduced and your skin becomes drier and prone to bruising, and you may even break out into spots more often.
Maybe you’re experiencing constipation or nausea, but if your digestive system seems out of whack a hormonal imbalance could be to blame. Estrogen, and other hormones, can affect the microflora in your gut responsible for keeping your digestive system working well. When this flora is thrown out of balance by fluctuating hormone levels, you may experience problems including more frequent attacks of irritable bowel syndrome.
Hormonal imbalance can disrupt your thyroid function and cortisol levels, hormones that can affect your mood and energy levels dramatically. That can lead to fatigue, leaving you feeling like you’re completely drained with no energy to spare.
You might have noticed your hair thinning and shedding more often, and that’s a good indicator that your thyroid hormone is at a low level. Cortisol levels can also affect your hair; this stress hormone can be disrupted by menopause, causing you to lose hair as a result.
Low estrogen levels can cause a hot flash. A strong heat starts in your chest and spreads to your neck, a feeling that can last for several uncomfortable minutes. You might notice your heart pounding and your face sweating when you experience a hot flash.
You might experience hot flashes as you sleep, which can lead to night sweats. So if you wake in the morning feeling tired and sticky and your PJs are drenched with sweat, your hormones could be to blame.
You may find that your sex drive decreases because an imbalance between your estrogen and progesterone can significantly affect your libido. Your sex drive can also be hampered by the effect hormones are having on your vagina, such as dryness, itching, and irritation, making intercourse difficult and even painful.
These symptoms can be difficult to live with, but thankfully you don’t have to. Treatment can restore your hormones back to balance, allowing you to feel fit and well again. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is the most effective treatment for hormonal imbalance and our specialists here at New Beginnings OB-GYN use only the latest scientifically proven HRT to restore you to optimal health.
If you feel that a hormonal imbalance is causing your symptoms and you’re interested in what HRT can do for you, get in touch with us today for your consultation here at New Beginnings in Las Vegas.
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