If your doctor suspects that you might have high estrogen, they'll likely order a blood test to check your hormone levels. A trained professional will collect a sample of your blood to be tested in a laboratory. The results will indicate if your estrogen levels are too low or too high.
Summary. High estrogen levels can cause symptoms such as irregular or heavy periods, weight gain, fatigue, and fibroids in females. In males, they can cause breast tissue growth, difficulty getting or maintaining an erection, and infertility.
Low estrogen levels in women can cause symptoms including irregular periods, hot flashes, painful sex, headaches, mood swings, and more. The most common cause of low estrogen is menopause. But too much exercise, disordered eating, or complications with your ovaries could also lead to lower levels.
Your body needs estrogen for your reproductive, cardiovascular and bone health. Too much estrogen, though, can cause irregular periods and may worsen conditions that affect your reproductive health.
Blood tests – At-home estrogen blood tests are quick and easy. You just need to prick your finger and collect a small blood sample in a vial. After that, you can send your sample to a lab for testing. Urine tests – Estrogen tests that use urine take a little longer to administer.
Estrogen regulates glucose and lipid metabolism. If your estrogen levels are low, it can result in weight gain. Research suggests that this may be why women approaching menopause are likely to become overweight. Being overweight can increase your risk for obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
Hot flashes and Night Sweats
Estrogen affects the hypothalamus, which regulates body temperature. Low estrogen causes hot flashes and night sweats, two annoying symptoms of menopause and perimenopause.
It depends on your situation. Not all women need, want or are candidates for estrogen therapy. Estrogen can reduce menopausal symptoms like hot flashes, night sweats and vaginal dryness. If you have a uterus, you'll likely need to take progesterone along with the estrogen.
A Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center study involving postmenopausal, overweight, and obese women who took 2,000 IUs of vitamin D daily for a year found that those whose vitamin D blood levels increased the most had the greatest reductions in blood estrogens, which are a known risk factor for breast cancer.
As you age and approach menopause, your oestrogen levels naturally decrease. So it's common to experience tiredness and fatigue at this time. Mood swings, headaches, and finding it hard to concentrate are also common menopausal symptoms.
Many women also notice an increase in belly fat as they get older — even if they aren't gaining weight. This is likely due to a decreasing level of estrogen, which appears to influence where fat is distributed in the body.
Some evidence suggests that estrogen hormone therapy increases a woman's resting metabolic rate. This might help slow weight gain. Lack of estrogen may also cause the body to use starches and blood sugar less effectively, which would increase fat storage and make it harder to lose weight.
Hormone imbalance symptoms that affect your metabolism
Symptoms of hormonal imbalances that affect your metabolism include: Slow heartbeat or rapid heartbeat (tachycardia). Unexplained weight gain or weight loss. Fatigue.
Research shows that avocados can help reduce the absorption of estrogen and boost testosterone levels. They also improve heart health and aid in satiety. We need enough healthy fats to make hormones, and avocados are a great source of hormone building blocks.
As a girl approaches her teen years, the first visible signs of breast development begin. When the ovaries start to produce and release (secrete) estrogen, fat in the connective tissue starts to collect. This causes the breasts to enlarge.
Blood test
Your doctor will send a sample of your blood to a lab for testing. Most hormones can be detected in the blood. A doctor can request a blood test to check your thyroid and your levels of estrogen, testosterone, and cortisol.
A combination of diet and exercise may help symptoms. A person can perform exercises that burn fat, such as running, walking, and other aerobic activity. Reducing the calories a person consumes can also help. A person can learn more about how to reduce belly fat here.
The decline in estrogen that occurs with menopause also puts women at greater risk for bone loss or osteoporosis and inflammation of the tissues surrounding the teeth (called periodontitis). Loss of bone, specifically in the jaw, can lead to tooth loss.
Around age 50, women's ovaries begin producing decreasing amounts of estrogen and progesterone; the pituitary gland tries to compensate by producing more follicle stimulating hormone (FSH). While menopause is normal and happens to all women, some of the symptoms can be irritating or even dangerous.
Estrogen is responsible for an increase in cortisol and testosterone levels, which naturally increase energy levels. Progesterone is the hormone that is dominant AFTER ovulation and is what prepares the uterus to receive a fertilized embryo.