IF YOUR hormones are imbalanced, there is a significant impact on your body, mind, or mood. You get cranky, irritable often without any reason, and suffer energy crashes. This could also bring stress and make you prone to depression and anxiety. It may also affect sexual function. Having hormonal imbalance may decrease libido and cause erectile dysfunction in men.
Hormones help regulate many bodily functions. They help you with a goodnight’s sleep, get pregnant, grow hair, grow your body, metabolize food and keep you warm.
These hormonal imbalances mostly happened when your endocrine glands that produce and release hormones get crazy. Most improper functioning of endocrine glands are caused by certain medications or health conditions, extreme stress, obesity, and a poor diet.
Other causes of hormonal imbalance point to certain conditions or diseases such as diabetes (type 1 and type 2), diabetes insipidus, hypothyroidism, or an underactive thyroid, hyperthyroidism, or an overactive thyroid, hyperfunctioning thyroid nodules, thyroiditis, hypogonadism, Cushing syndrome, or high levels of cortisol, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, which causes low levels of cortisol and aldosterone, and Addison’s disease.
Negative effects of hormonal imbalance
Most women are the victims of hormonal imbalances. For others, their hormones return to balance after they get their periods or stress is lessened. But for some, hormones remain out of balance and the effects are quite disturbing. Common signs of hormonal imbalance are: irregular periods, weight gain, growing of hair not in proper places like your face, thinning of hair, mood swings and depression, irregular sleeping habit or difficulty of sleeping, changes in heart rate, feeling fatigue and lethargy, excessive sweating and hot flashes, low sex drive, and acne.
Treating hormonal imbalance
Treating hormonal imbalances depend on what causes them. If your symptoms are uncomfortable menopause or you are experiencing hot flashes, your doctor may recommend a low dose of estrogen but if you are experiencing vaginal dryness or pain during sex, you can use estrogen cream, tablet, or ring.
For women experiencing hormonal birth control, using a birth control pill, birth control patch, birth control shot, vaginal ring and Intra-Uterine Device (IUD) can help regulate your menstrual cycles.
Other people find that yoga can treat symptoms of hormonal imbalance. Yoga is best to have strength, flexibility, and balance. Doing yoga may also aid in weight loss that can help regulate your hormones.
Lifestyle changes such as losing weight, and eating a well-balanced diet, will be a great contributor to getting good health.
If you experience vaginal discomfort, you can use lubes or moisturizers that are free of parabens, glycerin, and petroleum.
Avoiding and identifying the cause of hot flashes such as warm temperatures, spicy food, and hot beverages can minimize the feeling of hot flashes.
Other complications
Hormonal imbalances may also be associated with chronic disease and health conditions. Without proper treatment, you could be at risk of another serious medical condition including diabetes (type 1 and type 2), high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, neuropathy, obesity, sleep apnea, kidney damage, depression and anxiety, endometrial cancer, breast cancer, osteoporosis, loss of muscle mass, urinary incontinence, infertility, sexual dysfunction, and goiter.
Hormonal imbalance is not a simple disease and it can cause a variety of serious complications, so itās important to seek treatment as soon as possible.
Cheryl Luis is the wife of George N. True II. Like her husband, she advocates health and lifestyle writing and vows to continue āHealth Frontiersā as her husbandās legacy./PN
