Hormone Imbalance

What causes a hormone imbalance?

Hormones control many of your body’s essential functions, including your metabolism, mood, and temperature. When you have too much or too little of a hormone, your body can’t function the way it should, causing a hormone imbalance and potentially significant symptoms. 

Lifestyle, food intolerances, gut health, chronic stress, and environmental toxins may contribute to hormone imbalance. Other causes include:

Thyroid disorder

The thyroid is the butterfly-shaped gland at the base of the front of your neck that controls your digestive function, ability to regulate temperature, metabolize food, and more. Some thyroid disorders include Hashimoto’s (autoimmune thyroiditis), hypothyroidism (low hormone production), and hyperthyroidism.

Adrenal dysfunction

Your adrenal glands sit atop each kidney and produce many essential hormones, including cortisol, which regulates your stress response. Adrenal dysfunction causes ineffective production of hormones, causing symptoms such as fatigue and other signs of hormonal imbalance. By studying how your cortisol fluctuates throughout the day, Dr. Kapoor identifies the underlying causes of adrenal dysfunction.

Low hormone production

As you age, your body naturally reduces the production of many hormones, including insulin and common sex hormones like estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. Low hormone production causes symptoms associated with premenopause, perimenopause, and low testosterone. 

Dr. Kapoor works closely with you to identify unique underlying factors that contribute to your hormone imbalances. 

What are the signs of a hormone imbalance?

Hormone imbalance can cause a broad range of symptoms, including:

• Night sweats
• Hot flashes
• Weight gain or loss
• Fatigue
• Anxiety or depression
• Muscle weakness
• Body aches
• Joint pain
• Increased or decreased heart rate
• Low libido
• Mood changes

Symptoms of hormone imbalances relate to what hormones are out of balance. For example, when the pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin, your body can’t metabolize glucose, causing insulin resistance, Type 1, or Type 2 diabetes. These conditions cause chronically elevated blood sugars.

What conditions are associated with hormone imbalance?

Hormone imbalances can cause or contribute to many conditions, including chronic stress and fatigue, obesity, infertility, premature ejaculation, anxiety, depression, and acne.

Other conditions associated with hormone imbalance include: 

• Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), fluid-filled cysts, elevated androgens, irregular menstrual cycles, and poor ovarian function
• Premenstrual syndrome (PMS), discomfort and a wide variety of signs and symptoms, including mood swings, tender breasts, food cravings, fatigue, irritability, and depression
• Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), severe PMS-associated symptoms 
• Menopause and perimenopause, symptoms associated with low estrogen production
• Erectile dysfunction (ED), inability for a man to achieve or maintain an erection 

When you have signs of hormonal imbalance, Dr. Kapoor asks questions, performs physical assessment, considers your health history, and orders specialty lab testing, including nutrigenomic testing. She collects valuable information to diagnose your condition, identify the underlying causes of your symptoms, and create a personalized care plan to relieve your symptoms. 

For a customized hormone imbalance treatment plan, call ARA Integrative and Functional Medicine or schedule an appointment online now.