Estrogen Deficiency – What are the symptoms?
Estrogen deficiency is all too common in women.
Not sure what it feels like to have estrogen deficiency? Check out this list of signs and symptoms from the book Natural Hormone Balance for Women – Look Younger, Feel Stronger, and Live Life with Exuberance by Uzzi Reiss, MD/OB-GYN:
- Mental fogginess. “I’ve lost my mind.”
- Forgetfulness. “I can’t remember the birthdays of my grandchildren anymore.”
- Depression. “It’s like I’m living in a dark tunnel.”
- Minor anxiety. “I can’t seem to control my worries.”
- Mood change. “Sometimes I wonder how I’m going to feel tomorrow.”
- Difficulty falling asleep. “My mind is racing and I can’t stop it.”
- Hot flashes. “This wave of heat spreads through my body.”
- Night sweats. “I wake up soaking wet.”
- Temperature swings. “I feel like a broken air conditioner.”
- Day-long fatigue. “I can’t keep my head up.”
- Reduced stamina. “I can’t push it like I used to.”
- Decreased sense of sexuality and sensuality. “I have lost all pride in my body.”
- Lessened self-image and attention to appearance. “I could care less how I look.”
- Dry eyes, skin, and vagina. “My body is like a dry summer.”
- Loss of skin radiance. “I’ve lost my skin glow.”
- Sense of normalcy only during second week of cycle: “I am myself only one week out of the month.”
- Sagging breasts and loss of fullness. “These aren’t the breasts I used to have.”
- Pain with sexual activity. “I’m not lubricating as well.”
- Weight gain, with increasing lack of concern about it. “I’m like a balloon that can’t pop.”
- Increased back and joint pain. “My body is stiff and hurts.”
- Episodes of rapid heartbeat, with or without anxiety. “Out of nowhere my chest feels strained and I get palpitations.”
- Headaches and migraines. “I seem to be controlled by pain that I never knew before.”
- Gastrointestinal discomfort. “I feel bloated.”
Want to know the best way to test for estrogen?
It is with a saliva test, NOT a blood test. Saliva tests measure the amount of ACTIVE estrogen available to stimulate your body. Blood tests cannot do this, and this is why you can have all the symptoms of obvious hormone imbalance, but still be told you have “normal” hormone levels in your blood. Trust me, saliva testing is the way to go.
Here is a perfect example…
This 34 year old female patient of mine had obvious signs of hormonal imbalance. The long and short of it is she only got her period every 2-3 months and had been trying to get pregnant for two years to no success. She went to a fertility specialist, and was told that all her hormones were “normal” (she had the typical blood testing done) and all her body parts (uterus, ovaries, tubes) were normal, too. That makes no sense, right? I know.
This is what we did for her…
I ran a month-long saliva panel on her. She had to spit in a vial every other day for a full month to map out her estrogen and progesterone cycles. These are her estrogen results:
Now, normally, a 34 year old female should have total estrogen levels of about 30-40. This patient is at 21.8. It turns out her estrogen levels are not “normal” but more like a 60-70 year old. This is why I love saliva testing, and totally love helping women with their hormones!
Here’s what else you should know…
When estrogen levels are out of balance there is always an underlying reason. Estrogen NEVER just goes out of balance all by itself. There is ALWAYS something else out of balance in the body triggering the estrogen to either be used up or not made. I commonly find problems in the adrenals, GI system, and detox pathways as the main underlying causes of estrogen deficiency. This is true even for women going through perimenopause/menopause.
Here’s what to do next…
Call or email my office and speak with me directly to see what can be done for your hormones.