Is Estrogen Dominance Causing Your Symptoms?
Today I invite you to start thinking about what it would be like to be released from mood swings, decreased sex drive, irregular or heavy periods, bloating, fatigue, and mental fogginess...totally free to enjoy vibrant health that is sustainable.
Think about what your days would be like if you were able to identify the root cause of your hormone symptoms and discover a step-by-step predictable way to rebalance your hormones, so you feel like yourself again.
I have seen this happen over and over again for women who are struggling with estrogen dominance.
It wasn’t until they uncovered how estrogen dominance was impacting their unique body and what actions to take to find balance.
What is Estrogen Dominance
Estrogen dominance is the condition of increased estrogen levels relative to progesterone levels in the body. There are different reasons why estrogen levels may become elevated and this is often experienced in women 5-10 years before menopause when the body produces less progesterone but keeps producing the same amount of estrogen.
For some women, interrupted sleep patterns affect their diurnal rhythm, which is the biological rhythm that is synchronized by light/dark cycles. This causes signaling problems with the Luteinizing Hormone (LH) surge that is necessary to trigger ovulation. After ovulation the corpus luteum then secretes progesterone. When ovulation does not occur the result is inadequate progesterone to counterbalance estrogen.
Estrogen dominance may occur when you do not have sufficient nutrients to properly detoxify estrogen as it passes through the liver and is then reabsorbed into the body causing dominance.
High stress is another root cause of estrogen dominance because progesterone is also produced by the adrenal cortex, however, when the demand for other hormones such as cortisol, epinephrine, and norepinephrine is high, this lowers progesterone production.
12 Signs of Estrogen Dominance
Mood Swings – while many hormones are likely to cause mood swings if your mood changes quickly or dramatically for no reason, it may be because you have too much estrogen.
Irritability – Estrogen affects overall brain function, while low levels have been linked to cognitive decline, elevated levels can cause excessive stimulation.
Worsening PMS Symptoms – another sign of estrogen dominance is breast tenderness, headaches, acne flare-ups, and mood changes with your cycle.
Heavy Periods – because of inadequate protection of the endothelial lining of the uterus women with estrogen dominance can cause heavy and painful periods.
Weight Gain – increased weight despite diet and exercise. This may also include an increase in body fat percentage or carrying weight in different areas of your body.
Hair Loss – this can happen during perimenopause or menopause and if it happens before menopause, it may be a sign of estrogen dominance.
Bloating – you may experience bloating at different times during your menstrual cycle.
Anxiety – too much estrogen can cause anxious feelings especially if there is an imbalanced ratio of estrone to estriol.
Trouble Sleeping – this often goes hand in hand with decreased progesterone as the LH (luteinizing hormone) surge which prompts ovulation, and the creation of progesterone is highly influenced by your diurnal rhythm (which is the biological rhythm that is synchronized with day/night cycle).
Fatigue – if you experience persistent tiredness or feel more drained of energy than usual, estrogen dominance may be a cause.
Memory Problems and Mental Fog – this includes problems recalling details or putting your thoughts together.
Hot Flashes & Night Sweats – this is often a surprise for women to learn that elevated estrogen can cause these as well as significant changes in estrogen levels.
How about creating a predictable plan to rebalance your hormones, so you can boost your energy, feel clear and calm and release those unwanted extra 10 pounds?
Sounds wonderful, right?
Yes, but how do you get there from here?
Let’s first address the fact that you didn’t envision your life to include fits of temper, sleepless nights filled with racing thoughts, and embarrassing weight gain. You probably also didn’t intend to create a rock-solid health foundation.
Here’s the thing you are likely experiencing now: your life has evolved, but your healthy lifestyle has not grown. Your certainty, confidence, and health clarity have not grown and you (yes you!) have become the bottleneck in your health.
You are the bottleneck, and this is causing symptoms.
It’s causing overwhelm and frustration. Even if you have a history of going to annual check-ups, looking up healthy recipes, and following health podcasts, you are probably still not fully aware of your unique body’s hormone balance and root cause dynamics of your symptoms.
Your health cannot and will not improve significantly until you have new information, new tools, and creative solutions.
So what do you do now?
Well, let’s admit that you’ve become the bottleneck, and let’s get clear on exactly what aspects of your health are still holding you back, and this will give us some clues.
The Bottleneck Assessment.
Pull out your journal and ask yourself the following questions:
What specific areas of my health am I still in the dark about?
Make a list with space in between for each aspect of our health and list specifically what you are unclear or inconsistent within each area.
These are categories I suggest: sex hormone balance, digestive/gut health, insulin and blood sugar health, right-fit nutrition, metabolic and cholesterol health, immune system health, and right-fit activity.
Bottleneck Repercussions
Now that we’re a bit clearer on where you are uncertain or disempowered about your health, ask yourself these questions:
How specifically is being unclear about my unique health needs affecting or preventing you from feeling your best?
How specifically is it affecting your personal life?
When you get really specific and can see these effects on paper, you’ll see that while you may have the best of intentions for improving your health, it’s ultimately having a negative impact on you.
Starting to see what’s not working, but unsure what to do differently? That’s exactly what we’re here for, to help you step out of the routine of ‘hoping’ another diet program or workout will get rid of your symptoms.
If you would like more ways to improve your hormone health, get your energy back, we would love to help.
You can start today by taking the hormone assessment now.