I think it goes without saying, as women we’ve all suffered an occasional hormonal meltdown. That’s fine as long as it’s just occasional. But if you’re finding yourself crying over every little thing, or losing your temper over burnt toast, it might be time to take a closer look at your estrogen levels and reign them in.
Let me start by saying that estrogen itself is a good thing and an essential part of staying a healthy woman. It’s both immunoprotective and neuroprotective, it helps our skin glow, it boosts our mood and it keeps us feeling sexy. As women, we need estrogen! We just don’t need too much of it. That’s when things start to go awry. This could happen at any age but is more common when women are in their perimenopausal years. As far as the signs and symptoms go, you may have just one, some, or all and still be dealing with too much estrogen.
HERE ARE 5 SIGNS YOU COULD BE DEALING WITH ESTROGEN DOMINANCE.
- Mood Swings– You might find yourself reacting to situations in ways that just don’t seem, shall we say “normal”. And you know it! But you just can’t seem to control it. It’s like PMS on steroids!
- Weight Gain, etc. – Usually the weight gain is unexplained and extremely hard to lose! I often say that “estrogen likes to grow things”. It could be weight gain around the mid-section, hips and thighs, consistent belly bloat or unusually swollen breasts. On a more serious level it can be associated with things like fibroids, or even cancer (see metabolite testing below!).
- Fatigue– You may notice that you just don’t have the energy, strength and endurance that you once had. You used to wake up ready to take on the day and now you’re just feeling slightly heavy and lethargic all the time. Not to mention your sex drive…where did that go?
- Irregular, Heavy & Painful Periods– Your cycle may be a few days early or a few days late, it could be accompanied by more severe cramping, or maybe it’s heavier than what it normally is or what anyone should have to endure. Why has no one ever warned you about this?!
- Inflammation– Feeling stiff and noticing more aches and pains? Maybe you just look and feel puffy? Estrogen is metabolized along three major pathways. Two of these pathways can be very oxidative to our bodies; the 4-OHE1 and 16-OHE1 routes. Too much estrogen being metabolized into the 4’s and 16’s is inflammatory, disruptive and could have serious repercussions to our health! It’s also the reason why I test all the hormones AND their metabolites.
Luckily, through supplementation and lifestyle changes, we can bring estrogen to healthy levels, balance your hormones and get you back to your good ol’ self again! Testing is simple and performed at home through a urine sample, as it’s much more accurate than blood. Please see below for scheduling. We would love to take care of you!
Call us at (720) 503-5111 or schedule your complimentary, 10-minute preliminary consult with Dr. Wolfe today at drgingerwolfe.com