Estrogen dominance is a recent buzz-word thrown around in the functional medicine world. What does it actually mean? Estrogen dominance means two things: either the woman has progesterone levels that have tanked or she has normal levels of progesterone but too much estrogen in relation to progesterone.
The symptoms of estrogen dominance are going to be the familiar symptoms of high estrogen or low progesterone. These symptoms include PMS symptoms, water retention, migraines, anxiety, fertility struggles, clots, fibroids, polyps, insomnia. Estrogen dominance is not the only cause for these symptoms, which is why hormone testing is crucial.
WHY does the decrease of progesterone lead to estrogen dominance? There are a ton of reasons why progesterone decreases and they are similar to why estrogen decreases. Age or menopause, hysterectomy with the ovaries removed, anorexia or disordered eating, low cholesterol, inflammation in ovaries, extreme exercise, extreme stress, infections such as mold, candida, or parasites, uncontrolled diabetes, PCOS, lack of sleep, and thyroid issues can all affect hormones. One fact I recently learned was as little as 10 days of NSAID use can suppress ovulation!
Natural supplements can help support progesterone. Chaste tree berry, maca, fenugreek, evening primrose oil, and vitamin c are some of the most common ones. Hormones can be temperamental, so I recommend running labs as often as every 3 months if you are trying to fix a hormone imbalance. If you choose to go on HRT it is even more important to keep checking them to make sure you are on the correct dosage. When running a hormone lab, men can test any day of the month. If you are a woman, and looking to get your estrogen and progesterone levels, it is important to do a hormone lab on either days 19-21 of your cycle.
Confused yet? Interested in getting your hormone levels checked? There are various labs that can help you! Please contact me for more information!