10 Warning Signs You Have Estrogen Dominance

Your hormones do a lot for your body and they need to be in perfect alignment for your body to function properly. When any of them are out of balance, you may experience some adverse side effects.

Estrogen is typically considered a “female” hormone since women produce a high amount of it. It jumpstarts your sexual development and plays a huge role in your reproductive cycle along with another hormone called progesterone. However, when you have too much estrogen and not enough progesterone to balance it out, you can have what’s called estrogen dominance. 

High amounts of estrogen can cause all sorts of health issues. Our team at Center for Women’s Health Richmond located in Sugar Land and Richmond, Texas, wants you to be able to spot the warning signs of estrogen dominance so you can get proper gynecological treatment and regain your quality of life.

Causes of estrogen dominance

While your body can produce too much estrogen and not enough progesterone for numerous reasons, these are some common culprits:

• Medications: Different types of birth control or hormone therapy can raise estrogen levels

• Obesity: Fat tissue secretes estrogen, so when you have high amounts of body fat, your body can be producing too much estrogen 

• Stress: When you’re stressed, your body makes cortisol which suppresses progesterone, leaving estrogen levels to grow unchecked

• Health conditions: Having polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), insulin resistance, or liver problems can all contribute to having too much estrogen in your body

In rare cases, having high estrogen levels could be the result of estrogen-producing tumors from ovarian cancer.

How to spot estrogen dominance

Unfortunately, having a high amount of estrogen in your body can lead to many unwanted side effects. Here are 10 of the warning symptoms to look out for: 

1. Irregular periods with light or heavy bleeding
2. Weight gain, especially around thighs and hips
3. Headaches
4. Worsening of premenstrual syndrome (PMS)
5. Breast tenderness
6. Fatigue
7. Decreased sex drive
8. Anxiety and depressed mood
9. Uterine fibroids
10. Bloating

These symptoms can also be associated with other conditions so proper diagnosis is essential for effective treatment. If you’re experiencing these symptoms, it’s important to speak to our team to confirm whether you have estrogen dominance or another condition. 

Next steps

If we confirm you have estrogen dominance, we can help you make some lifestyle changes or adjust medications, depending on what’s causing your symptoms in the first place. Many people find that making lifestyle changes such as decreasing body fat percentages, reducing stress, eating a healthy diet, and limiting alcohol intake can help reduce estrogen levels and therefore reduce symptoms as well.

To set up an appointment with our team to discover what’s causing your estrogen dominance and get your hormones back into balance, contact us today by giving us a call or using our online scheduler.