Hormonal Imbalance in South Africa

Hormones play a very crucial role in women’s health. When hormone levels fluctuate, this can impact on your mood, weight, sexual desire, ovulation and fertility. This can lead to those moments when we feel emotional, frustrated and angry, sometimes for no apparent reason.

It is a malfunction of one or more hormones in the body. A hormonal balance may be asymptomatic or inconsequential. Hormonal imbalance can cause many diseases such as diabetes, acne, thyroid disorders, obesity or infertility.

There are several things that can cause imbalances in your hormone levels. The most common culprits are puberty, pregnancy, menopause, the contraceptive pill, menstrual cycle. Lifestyle factors such as stress, poor diet, inconsistent sleep patterns and lack of exercise can also cause fluctuations in hormone levels. Other causes may be diabetes or thyroid issues.

• Sleep Disorders: You may find it hard to fall asleep just before your period. This may be due to a drop in progesterone at that time.
• Persistent Acne: Most women breakout just before their periods. However, persistent acne could be due to testosterone.
• Memory Fog: This could be due to consistently high levels of cortisol that can hamper your learning ability and memory.
• Constant Hunger: Sleep deprivation raises levels of the hormone ghrelin making you extremely hungry while levels of leptin and oxyntomodulin hormones which suppress hunger lower.
• Digestive Problems: If you suffer from irritable bowel syndrome, it could be due to abnormal levels of serotonin
• Constant Fatigue: If you feel exhausted every day, then you could be suffering from a lack of a thyroid hormone, a condition called hypothyroidism.
• Mood Swings and Depression: It is likely due to a hormone imbalance, which could be linked to menopause.
• Weight Gain: The problem could be your adrenal system becoming fatigued and then signaling your thyroid that there is a problem.
• Headaches & Migraines: This could be due to hormonal imbalances around certain times of the menstrual cycle.
• Hot Flashes & Night Sweats: This could be due to too much estrogen and too little progesterone, or other hormone imbalances in your body.
• Vaginal Dryness: The reduction of estrogen levels causes changes in the vaginal wall. This may cause vaginal dryness, hence makes sex uncomfortable.
• Breast Changes: As women age, high levels of estrogen can make breasts feel sore and tender, which could lead to cysts, lumps and fibroids.
• Loss of Libido: A low sex drive could be due to low levels of estrogen

If you suspect that your signs and symptoms are related to hormonal imbalances, it is wise to visit your doctor to find out for sure. In this day and age, hormonal imbalances are well recognized. Trained specialists such as obstetricians, gynecologists and reproductive endocrinologists will be able to diagnose and treat you.

• Restore the normal regulation of these hormones
• Dietary changes
• Exercise
• Cut back on caffeine and wine
• Low dose birth control pill
• Lubricants