Feeling lazy, irritable, and sleepy all day long? You might be suffering from Hypothyroidism (hormonal imbalance)….
Your hormones can affect you in more ways than you think. Your body makes chemical messengers called ‘hormones’ that play an important role in your well-being by controlling everything from your moods to your metabolism.
But sometimes when your endocrine glands release too much or too little hormones, it can lead to a hormonal imbalance in your body that can affect your whole body and can lead to many diseases and conditions.
Symptoms of Hormonal Imbalance
These are the signs that you may notice when hormones are imbalanced:
- Unexplained weight gain
- A hump of fat on the back of your neck (between your shoulders)
- Unexplained and/or sudden weight loss
- Fatigue
- Muscle weakness, aches, tenderness, and stiffness
- Pain, stiffness, or swelling in joints
- Unexplained headaches
- Hot flashes
- Hyperpigmentation (especially on your neck folds and armpits)
- Increased or decreased heart rate and palpitations
- Sweating (especially night sweats)
- Increased sensitivity to cold or heat
- Chronic Acne
- Memory issues like brain fog
- Mood swings and depression
- Sleep problems (too much or too little sleep)
- Constipation or frequent bowel movements
- The urge to pee more often
- Increased thirst
- Increased appetite
- Decreased sex drive
- Nervousness, Anxiety, or Irritability
- Blurred vision
- Infertility and Erectile dysfunctions
- PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome), Miscarriages, Infertility, and/or problems with your periods.
- Thinning hair or fine, brittle hair
- Dry skin
- Puffy face
- Weird (purple or pink) stretch marks
Medical Conditions that affect hormones production:
- Diabetes: It is a disease where our body fails to produce/effectively use insulin to control sugar levels.
- Hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism: Conditions where the thyroid gland is producing excess or not producing enough thyroid hormones.
- Autoimmune diseases like Hashimoto’s disease, Graves’ disease, Addison’s disease and Polyglandular syndromes.
- Cushing Syndrome: In this syndrome, adrenal glands produce too many corticosteroids.
- Acromegaly: In this condition, the pituitary gland overproduces growth hormones.
- Tumors and Cancers of pituitary, thyroid, or other glands.
- Chemotherapy and Radiation therapy
- Iodine deficiency (goiters): A lack of iodine in the diet leads to poor production of thyroid hormone and enlargement of the thyroid gland(goiters).
- Hereditary pancreatitis: It is a genetic condition that is marked by episodes of inflammation of the pancreas(pancreatitis).
- Some syndromes like Turner syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome
- Anorexia and other eating disorders.
- Congenital genetic abnormalities
- Chronic stress
- Poor diet and nutrition
- Obesity and excess weight
- Hormonal replacement or birth control medications
- Misuse of anabolic steroid medications
- Exposure to toxins, pollutants, and chemicals, including pesticides and herbicides
It is normal to have hormonal changes a few times in your lifetime. It happens mostly during puberty, menstruation, pregnancy, menopause, and aging.
Hormone imbalances can impact your health, but an endocrinologist can help you manage these imbalances & improve your quality of life.
Contact Doral health & wellness today to schedule a free endocrinology consultation.
