Hormonal Imbalance Symptoms

Quick view: What are the signs and symptoms of Hormonal imbalance? 

The first signs of Hormonal Imbalance are hormonal weight gain (obesity), hormonal cystic acne, infertility, irregular periods, and fatigue. The most common causes of hormonal imbalance in both men and women come from poor diet, and stress, during the teenage to mid-twenties and over the age of 40. There are natural remedies to help regain a healthy happy hormonal balance. 

Quick Review: Here is what we will be covering in this post. 

• What are the symptoms of hormonal imbalance in female?
• How to identify hormonal imbalance?
• How can I fix my hormonal imbalance?
• What is the main cause of hormonal imbalance?
• What vitamins help balance hormones?
• Is hormonal imbalance curable?

What are the symptoms of Hormonal Imbalance in Female?

Hormonal imbalances occur when there is too much or too little of a hormone being produced by the body. Even the smallest change in hormonal production can cause a domino effect on the body’s ability to properly produce and regulate hormonal balance. 

It is most common for women during the ages of puberty normally ranging between ages 13 to 21, pregnancy most commonly ages 24-36, and women who are entering menopause around the age of 40 to experience various levels of hormonal imbalance due to changes in hormones during those time. However, it is when the hormones fail to return to balance that leads to hormonal disfunction and autoimmune diseases.

Most frequent signs and symptoms of hormonal imbalance. 

• Irregular menstruation (periods)
• Infertility
• Acne and hormonal acne
• Diabetes
• Thyroid disease/disorder
• Obesity 
• Slow heartbeat or rapid heartbeat 
• Unexplained weight gain or weight loss.
• Fatigue.
• Constipation.
• Diarrhea or more frequent bowel movements.
• Numbness and tingling in your hands.
• Higher-than-normal blood cholesterol levels.
• Depression or anxiety.
• Unable to tolerate cold temperatures or warm temperatures.
• Dry, coarse skin and hair.
• Thin, warm, and moist skin.
• Irregular body fat distribution.
• Darkened skin in your armpit or the back and sides of your neck.
• Skin tags (small skin growths).
• Extreme thirst and frequent urination.

How to identify Hormonal Imbalance?

There are two options for testing your hormone levels you can test them at home, I linked a great at-home hormone panel test kit below from Amazon to check out, or you can request blood work from your doctor called a full hormonal panel test. 

A saliva-based hormone test, measuring 5 important female hormones.

How does the at home female hormone health check test work? 
After your order is taken, the test kit will be delivered to you. You collect your sample from the comfort of your home and send it right back to the Verisana Laboratory. After running the analysis, we send you your results via email in a confidential format.

This test kit contains:

• instruction for collecting your saliva sample
• test tube & straw
• return label for your saliva sample

Medical Disclaimer: This is a good time to note that I am not a doctor. I am a normal person just like you who had a hormonal imbalance that I was told was incurable by a medical professional. I refused to believe it and took my health into my own hands. Healing my autoimmune system (hypothyroidism) and weaning off all medication naturally losing over 50 pounds in the process and keeping it off for over 6 years now! The information I share is based on my own journey and is not medical advice, but it is meant to help lead you to find your own answers and solutions in your healing journey. 

CLINICAL BLOODWORK: REQUESTING A FULL HORMONE PANEL FROM YOUR DOCTOR

Your second option is to have a doctor or specialist check your hormone levels for you by requesting full hormonal panel bloodwork be done. Take the time to research and find a doctor who takes a more natural approach otherwise they will do what Dr. Hyman calls “diagnose and adios”. 

If there is a hormonal imbalance they will simply write you a prescription and send you on your way. This will help to supplement the hormones your body is not producing BUT it will not fix the problem, and often people find they have to continuously increase the medication as it becomes less and less effective. 

To avoid this do a quick google search or ask around for a good functional medicine doctor, or doctors that focus on taking a wholistic approach to medicine. There are not many of them out there so you might have to do some digging to find a good one. 

Here is a great podcast by Dr. Mark Hyman to check out next: What Really Causes Autoimmune Disease with Dr. Todd LePine

How can I fix my Hormonal Imbalance?

Maintaining a healthy weight is at the core of keeping a happy healthy hormonal balance.  Many foods out there are known endocrine disruptors (aka wreck hormones). Focus on eating a clean, balanced healthy diet. Exercise regularly and do your best to manage your stress. Sleep is one of the most overlooked areas in causing obesity and hormonal imbalance.

Sleep Tracker we use and love: 

Managing any chronic health conditions well you may have is going to be key in helping to reset your hormones, as well as avoiding being around or smoking tobacco products. 

What is the main cause of hormonal imbalance?

Hormonal Imbalance is most often affected by an unhealthy diet, obesity, diabetes, menopause, pregnancies, poor sleep quality, or unusually high stress in our lives. Bad diets start the dominos effect causing both obesity and diabetes which then results in a hormonal imbalance. Times in our lives such as pregnancy or menopause the body undergoes big hormonal changes and never rebalances.

Eliminate Foods Causing Hormonal Imbalance

“Food is either medicine or it is poison, food is either healing and nourishing your body or it is slowly poisoning it.” Dr. Mark Hyman

The first time I heard this quote was by Dr. Mark Hyman, an absolutely brilliant functional medicine doctor and the head of the Clevland Clinic, I was taken back for a moment. I had never stopped to consider the real effect foods have on our bodies.

This quote came to me several years into my journey and I had already eliminated many of the foods Dr. Hyman listed that are “poisoning our bodies”. 

The Custom Keto Meal Planner

Instead of me giving you the laundry list of foods that are endocrine disrupters, aka foods that are wrecking your hormones, right up front let me share the BIG red easy button.

We will skip the two years of me trying so many different things and nothing working in my own journey to healing my autoimmune system and I will skip to the thing that finally did work, Keto.

To rebalance our hormones we need to eliminate foods that are known to have a negative effect on them. Foods that are highly inflammatory, processed, and full of chemicals that are not natural. I tried several different eating styles with no luck before starting keto.

Within 3-6 months of being on Clean Keto, which is a dairy-free and low-processed food version of keto, I had lost over 50 pounds and reduced the thyroid medication by half the dosage.

Pretty amazing right?

I continued on the Keto diet for around one year before transitioning to adding a bit more clean carbs into dinner.

That was 6 years ago now and I am currently off all Thyroid medication and have kept the weight off successfully. A Keto for breakfast and lunch and a more Paleo-style dinner.

For more on this topic check out this post next: Hormonal Imbalance Diet

What vitamins help balance hormones?

The best vitamins to help with hormonal imbalance are magnesium, B vitamin, probiotics, a liver-enhancing supplement, krill oil, and vitamin D. It goes without saying supplements alone without eating a clean diet and getting quality sleep will not help much in resetting a healthy hormonal balance. 

Here are some of the vitamins and supplements I have taken for years that played a key role in helping me heal my autoimmune system.

If you are someone who does not currently take vitamins or supplements this may be a bit overwhelming. I recommend starting with what I call the Multi-Vitamin for Healthy Hormones.

Click here for an in-depth review Hormonal Harmony Supplement Review

Can I balance my hormones myself?

Yes and no. Depending on the level of hormonal imbalance you have there may be a time when you need medication, however, with a clean diet eliminating foods that are causing problems, and removing toxic hormone-blocking ingredients from your skincare, personal hygiene, and products around your home you can bring your hormones naturally back into balance over time. 

WHAT AGE DOES HORMONAL IMBALANCE START?

There are three times in a woman’s life that hormonal imbalance occurs most. Puberty, pregnancy, and menopause (pre-menopause). For men, hormonal imbalances become more of an issue later in life around age 40 when testosterone tends to drop causing hormonal weight gain among other difficulties. Though it is not unusual during the teenage years that cause hormonal acne and changes in mood.

Conclusion

Having a hormonal imbalance is frustrating until you discover the root cause. When you identify what is causing the problem it gives you the power to correct course and fix it. It took me personally several years of patience and consistency but I was able to heal my autoimmune system by following the steps outlined in this post and working with my doctors who closely monitored and helped me wean off of the Hypothyroid medication because my body healing and becoming able to produce all it needed itself agin.

Again, I am not a medical professional. This post and blog are my way of sharing my own personal experience in my healing journey, as a normal everyday person just like you, who has spent the last 6 plus years researching and applying what I learned to heal my body.

My hope is that the information I provide can help guide you and save you the time it took me in navigating your own healing journey.

XOXO,

K’Lee