Estrogen Dominance Symptoms

Estrogen dominance is a medical term that has been in existence for more than one decade and it presents a different perspective on various medical problems faced by women, and to some extent, by men. This term gained popularity in 1996, after John R. Lee and Virginia Hopkins released their book, What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause: The Breakthrough Book on Natural Progesterone. As per the theory mentioned in the book, 'estrogen dominance' is nothing but a hormonal imbalance in two of the most vital hormones of the body, that are, estrogen and progesterone. These two hormones are found dominantly in women, with the exception of estrogen that is produced in certain amounts in men also, play a vital role in maintaining women's health. An hormonal imbalance due to 'estrogen dominance' leads to various estrogen dominance symptoms in a woman's body. Hormonal imbalance in women can either be due to high levels of estrogen or due to improper ratio of estrogen and progesterone. How vital are these two hormones for the health of a woman? Let's know more about the same, further.

Functions of Estrogen

• It favors sexual growth in women by influencing growth of sexual organs.
• Growth of uterus and similar reproductive organs in women is accelerated by proper levels of estrogen.
• Holistically viewed, estrogen also helps in skin care, menstrual cycle regulation, fertilization, reproduction, bones growth, and overall growth of sexual characteristics in a woman's body.

Functions of Progesterone

• It is one of the important hormones that helps in female menstrual cycle, pregnancy and functioning of other reproductive parts of a woman's body.
• In combination with estrogen, progesterone acts as a major hormone for preparing uterus lining for accepting an egg.

Symptoms in Young Women

Breast tenderness before periods, irregular menstruation accompanied by mood swings, weight gain due to premenstrual fluid retention, anxiety and panic attacks, decreased sexual desire, severe menstrual cramps and depression are the most visible and prominent symptoms of estrogen hyperactivity. These are the signs that the body generally shows first. In fact, many women experience signs of estrogen dominance during or before menopause. Apart from these, other symptoms like, uterine fibroid tumors, pain in joints and muscles, heavy periods with clotting, restless sleep or even insomnia, dry eyes, hormonal headaches or migraines, hair loss, thyroid dysfunction are some of the other symptoms that are seen during this period. Estrogen dominance being a hormonal imbalance, results in many disorders in the body that are either directly or indirectly hormone dependent. Some of these symptoms of hormonal imbalance may include breast tumors, infertility, miscarriage, adrenal gland fatigue, thickened uterine lining, endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome, autoimmune disorders, fibromyalgia, cyst development in the breast and sometimes, it may even lead to accelerated aging.

Symptoms in Men

It is highly unlikely that a male will experience dominance of the hormone estrogen in his body. However, there have been cases where several men have been diagnosed by medical experts with signs that hint toward possibility of estrogen dominance in their bodies. In men, it is xenoestrogens that causes such problems. Some of the most common complications that men show due to this hormonal imbalance are signs of male baldness or extreme hair loss, gynecomastia or male breast enlargement, impotency (in extreme cases, though), weight gain and low sexual drive.

In women some common causes of estrogen dominance include obesity, stress, high estrogen production, eating food that have been fed with estrogen type hormones (poultry and vegetables) and excessive coffee consumption. While these are some of the most common reasons, various other reasons can be lack of vitamins and nutrients in the body, eating excessive sugar or fatty foods and even environmental pollution. Anybody experiencing complications because of fluctuations in estrogen levels in the body must visit the doctor for complete check up to ensure healthy body. Many times doctors advise estrogen injections to boost low levels of estrogen in the body however, owing to estrogen side effects one must be careful before going for this treatment option.