Hormonal Imbalance
Restore Balance, Restore Your Health
If you’re feeling gaining or losing weight without changing your diet, feeling fatigued, you’ve lost your sex drive, or your hair is falling out, the culprit could be something as simple as a hormone imbalance. A hormonal imbalance simply means your body is producing too much or too little of one or more hormones. We believe the first step to better health is understanding the root cause of your symptoms and learning what you can do to take control of your health.
What Are Hormones?
Hormones are chemicals released into your body by your endocrine system. They tell your body’s systems, organs, muscles, and tissues what to do and when to do it. Your body produces more than 50 different hormones. Some work together with other hormones. Problems happen when the endocrine system is out of whack in one area or another.
What Is the Endocrine System?
Your endocrine system is made up of a group of glands spread out throughout your body. These glands secrete the chemical hormones that then travel via your blood throughout your body, sending important messages.
Your glands include:
- Hypothalamus
- Pituitary Gland
- Thyroid
- Parathyroid
- Adrenal
- Pineal
- Pancreas
- Ovaries
- Testes
Located in your forebrain, your hypothalamus links your nervous system to your endocrine system, and controls the endocrine system. Its big job is to keep your body in a stable state, called homeostasis.
Your pituitary gland at the base of your hypothalamus releases hormones that control several other glands, telling them to produce more hormones when levels are low, and stop production when hormone levels are high. It also controls your body’s growth.
Your thyroid gland is shaped like a butterfly, and located in your neck. It controls how your body turns food into energy (your metabolism).
You have 4 parathyroid glands, located next to your thyroid gland. They control the level of calcium in your body. Your heart, kidneys, bones, and nervous system need the right amount of calcium to function properly.
You have 2 adrenal glands, located on top of your kidneys. The adrenal glands produce several hormones, including aldosterone, cortisol, and epinephrine. They control your metabolism, blood pressure, sexual development, and response to stress.
Your pancreas does double duty, operating as part of your endocrine system as well as your digestive system. It releases the hormone insulin, which controls your blood sugars.
In women, the ovaries produce and release 3 sex hormones: estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone.
In men, the testes, or testicles, make sperm and release the male sex hormone testosterone. This hormone affects sperm production, muscle strength, and sex drive. The most common imbalance is low testosterone.
What Are Some Signs and Symptoms of a Hormonal Imbalance?
Signs and symptoms of a hormonal imbalance can be extremely varied, depending on the gland and hormone that’s out of whack. Some common symptoms include:
Metabolic Symptoms
- Slow or rapid heartbeat
- Unexplained weight loss or weight gain
- Fatigue
- Changes in bowel habits
- Numbness and tingling in your hands or feet
- High cholesterol
- Anxiety or depression
- Intolerance to heat or cold
- Dry skin and hair
- Increased or sudden skin tags
- Frequent urination with extreme thirst
Sex Hormone Imbalance Symptoms in Females
These symptoms can strike at any time, but may be more frequent during puberty, pregnancy, or menopause when hormones are fluctuating wildly.
- Acne
- Hair loss
- Irregular periods
- Heavy periods
- Excess body hair
- Hot flashes
- Loss of sex drive
- Vaginal dryness
Sex Hormone Imbalance Symptoms in Males
While low testosterone in men is more common, an imbalance can also lead to high testosterone. Each imbalance has different symptoms.
Low Testosterone Symptoms
- Erectile dysfunction (ED)
- Increased breast tissue
- Loss of body hair
- Loss of muscle mass
- Infertility
- Loss of sex drive
High Testosterone Symptoms
- Acne
- Excessive body hair
- High sex drive
- Excessive risk-taking behaviors
- Infertility
- Low sperm count
- Mood swings
Once again, it’s important to note that many of these symptoms may have a cause other than a hormonal imbalance, so it’s important to see a medical professional if you have new or persistent symptoms.
What Conditions Can a Hormonal Imbalance Cause?
A hormonal imbalance can cause several conditions, some of which are easier to treat and manage than others. They include:
- Irregular, heavy, or painful periods
- Infertility
- Acne
- Hormonal acne (Adult acne)
- Diabetes
- Thyroid disease
- Obesity
It’s important to note that many of these conditions have other causes, so it’s important to see a healthcare professional for a diagnosis.
What Causes a Hormonal Imbalance?
Your hormones naturally rise and fall every day, but generally, stay within a “normal” range. An imbalance can occur with some temporary changes in your body, as well as with medical causes related to chronic hormonal imbalances.
Let’s take a look.
Temporary Causes
- Puberty
- Pregnancy
- Menopause
- Aging
- Stress
- Some medications
- Steroid use
With these temporary causes of hormonal imbalance, balance can be restored with lifestyle changes, a change in medications, etc.
Chronic Causes
- Autoimmune disorders
- Tumors or adenomas
- Traumatic brain injury (TBI)
- Damage to an endocrine gland
For chronic hormonal conditions such as a thyroid disorder or diabetes, hormone replacement therapy or medications may be necessary to manage your condition. Lifestyle changes can also help reduce symptoms.
Hormone Imbalance FAQs
In addition to the overarching questions about hormonal imbalances addressed above, there are a few more questions we get a lot. Keep reading for more information.
Q: Can a hormone imbalance cause anxiety?
A: Yes. Several hormonal imbalances, including hyperthyroidism, can cause anxiety. But anxiety can have a number of causes, so it’s important to see a health care professional for a diagnosis.
Q: How is a hormonal imbalance diagnosed?
A: After taking your medical history and discussing your symptoms, your healthcare provider will order blood tests, which may reveal one or more hormonal imbalances.
Q: How do you treat a hormonal imbalance?
A: The answer to that depends on which hormone(s) are out of balance, and whether the cause is temporary or a chronic condition.
How Cima Health Can Help
Cima Health provides restorative, lifelong solutions that target the root cause of your hormonal imbalance. Your care will start out with a comprehensive analysis that will allow us to tailor treatments to your needs and goals. We may also ask questions about your work and home life, medications you take, lifestyle, and habits before making recommendations for an integrative plan of care. Together, we come up with non-invasive and alternative treatments that can help you get rid of the symptoms of a hormonal imbalance and restore your health. We also hope to inspire you to achieve whole-body wellness.
Diagnosing and treating a hormonal imbalance involves several treatment modalities, all of which you can receive in one location. They include:
Let’s take a look at how each of these areas works together to provide you with better health and inspires you to make lifestyle changes to prevent problems in the future.
Functional Medicine
In many cases, a hormonal imbalance is the root cause of some pretty distressing symptoms. But in many cases, it’s an easy thing to address. Our functional medicine team will run a blood chemistry analysis which will show any hormonal imbalances you may have. The analysis will also indicate if you have any underlying conditions causing your symptoms as well.
After a comprehensive analysis, we’ll develop a nutritional plan and healthy diet that can help restore balance and restore your health. This is because specific nutrients, dietary patterns, and overall nutrition may help support hormonal balance, or contribute to an imbalance. You might be interested in reading more about the links between nutrition and hormone signaling.
And since some hormonal imbalances are linked closely with obesity, if you are overweight, we will also develop a healthy weight loss program tailored to you. Shedding excess pounds can help restore hormonal balance.
Medical Care
If your hormone imbalance is low testosterone, the medical care team can assess whether you would be a good candidate for testosterone replacement therapy, or TRT. A man’s testosterone levels peak in the teens and 20s, and gradually decline after that with age. TRT can help restore your sex drive and energy.
Chiropractic Care
Regular chiropractic care can help restore hormonal balance naturally. Regular adjustments help your endocrine system operate at peak efficiency, sending the signals to produce just the right amount of hormones. In addition, chiropractic adjustments can relieve you of any aches and pains you’re having that are keeping you from living an active lifestyle.
Our Palm Beach Gardens chiropractors are all highly trained professionals and include:
If you suspect your child or adolescent has a hormonal imbalance, or you’re pregnant or menopausal, you may want to schedule an appointment with Dr. Natalie, because she specializes in the care of women and children.
Physical Fitness
Regular exercise, especially when combined with a healthy diet, is proven to promote hormone balance and correct some hormone imbalances. For example, exercising and losing weight can restore estrogen levels and boost testosterone, and can help regulate insulin levels. Pilates can help reduce stress, and regulate your cortisol levels.
Our physical fitness team of personal trainers can help develop an exercise regimen tailored to you that boosts your energy and helps you reach peak performance. The entire team at Cima Health works together to provide you with coordinated care and restorative, lifelong solutions.
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If you’re ready to feel better and live a healthy life, we can help. Book an appointment today to determine the root cause of your symptoms and get a treatment plan tailored to you.
